Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Baingan Patiala | Eggplant Stir Fry

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Have you heard of baingan patiala? Well, this is an eggplant dish named after the princely city of Patiala in Punjab. You can find this dish on the menu of some fine dining restaurants of India. I don’t know how it got its name and there is no such written record ( well, at least not one I could find) but with my recipe you can make this restaurant style eggplant stir fry at home. This Punjabi specialty is a side dish, essentially a savory and medium spicy recipe with golden raisins as the sweet component.

 

 

It is a fairly simple yet impressive recipe, and one that doesn’t require prep work in advance. The selective use of whole spices, dried fruit and the way it is cooked is just amazing. My mother used to make this dish for our family on special occasions. These special occasions were usually birthdays or when we had guests.  I remember most of our birthday celebrations not by the gifts we received but by certain dishes that she made for us. This is one of that great hearty dish to please everyone in the family. Even eggplant skeptics will love this recipe.

I’ve made this recipe a many times over the years, each time tweaking it a bit, and have come to rely on this version. We really really love it.

 

 

For this recipe the eggplant is grilled rather than fried.  Frying it is great – it’s the traditional way to do it, but too much oil is needed and it soak up all the oil shockingly fast. If you want your waistline to be more happier you can bake the eggplant with little cooking spray until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes turning them halfway through for even browning. This is a repost of a 2011 post. Video is uploaded on you tube channel and the post is altered slightly (my previous recipe called for baked eggplant), but the ingredients remain the same. I use grill pan now because its faster and the eggplant looks amazing with grill marks. Once it is grilled I combined  with the rest of the ingredients for a couple of more minutes and the dish is done and ready to be served.

With just simple ingredients, you’ll be enjoying restaurant-quality eggplant dish. It goes well with any lentil and rice for a quick and simple dinner. Add in a chopped salad or some raita, and you have a complete balanced and nutritious meal ready. My favorite way to enjoy this dish is on top of naan! Yum!

 

 

If you are looking for more easy eggplant recipes, then this Baingan Patiala would not let you down. I hope you enjoy making this tasty eggplant stir fry at home. If you like this recipe, please leave a comment and share it with your friends!

 

 

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Patiala Baingan | Eggplant Stir Fry

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 4 -5 servings

This eggplant stir-fry is surprisingly simple to make and yet is absolutely packed with flavor and sweet bursts of golden raisins.

Ingredients

  • 1 average size eggplant or 2 medium size long eggplants
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1/2 onion, sliced crosswise
  • 1 tbsp ginger juliennes
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/2 tsp kalunji (nigella seeds)
  • 1/2 tsp saunf ( fennel seeds)
  • 1/2 tsp cracked (crushed) coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp methidana (fenugreek seeds)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 2 -3 green chilies, sliced lengthwise
  • oil as required and salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Cut the tomato in round or half-moon slices.
  2. Cut eggplant into 1/4" thick rounds or half-moons (according to the diameter of eggplant)
  3. Heat a grill or cast iron grill pan over medium-high heat.
  4. Brush the eggplant rings with oil. Grill until tender and slightly charred.
  5. While the eggplants are grilling, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a shallow pan on medium low heat. Sizzle kalonji, cumin, coriander, methidana and saunf.
  6. Add sliced onion. Sauté for a couple of minutes on medium heat until they change color (keep an eye on eggplant rings they can burn easily).
  7. Add turmeric, red chili powder, salt, and tomato Mix.
  8. Let cook until tomatoes get little soft but not mushy.
  9. Add the grilled eggplant into the pan along with raisins. Stir-fry for 2-5 minutes taking care that the eggplant rounds retain their shape.
  10. Check seasoning, and adjust if required.
  11. Remove from heat, serve garnished with slit green chilies and ginger julienne.
    12. Cooking eggplant in oven
  12. Preheat the oven at 450 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or non stick baking mat.
  13. Arrange oiled eggplant rings in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes until they get charred marks. Flip half way through.
https://www.simpleglutenfreekitchen.com/2021/09/baingan-patiala.html

 

baked eggplant rings photo from 2011

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. The one which I ate in the restaurant was fried and I liked it. I started making it the same way. Now I can try roasting the eggplant in oven, Thanks.

    Reply

  7. Balvinder, This looks and sounds amazing! That list of spices and the ease of this recipe sounds like this is a must-make! I’m not adept at cooking eggplant, in fact, I struggle with what to do with an eggplant, and so I’m thrilled to have this recipe! Thanks so much!

    Reply

  9. Balvinder, always looking for different ways to prepare eggplants and this baingan patiala sounds very very delicious with spices like kalonji and saunf. Such a doable recipe. Bookmarking it to try out.

    Reply

  14. That looks quite interesting and quite flavourful with kalunji and fennel seeds. I like the grilling option as I know baingan soaks up a lot of oil. Nice one.

    Reply

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