করলা বেগুন (Korola Begun) - Karela/Bitter Gourd with Baingan/Aubergine

This is one of the simplest recipes that I tried after getting my hands on the two volumes by Renuka Debi Chowdhurani-রকমারি আমিস রান্না (Rakamari Amis Ranna) and 

রকমারি নিরামিস রান্না

  (

Rakamari Niramis Ranna)

I could not lay my hands on the kind of বেগুন or baingan (aubergines) that I normally would find in Kolkata. So I settled for the variety that is commonly available here in Mumbai.

I would have ideally wanted to cook উচ্ছে (uch-chay)--a smaller cousin of karela that you get in Bengal but then... 

The most time consuming part about this is the amount of chopping needed. First the karela got chopped into tiny dices...

Then the বেগুন/baingan become little cubes less than a centimetre across...

A little splash of vegetable oil fumed with heat and I tossed in the karela bit while I chopped the baingan.

I sautéed till the karela was a little browned...

I kept the karela aside and heated a few teaspoons of oil in the same pan and added a little sputter of mustard seeds. I used these but the normal ones work and taste just as well... 

... then I added the baingan/বেগুন and cooked it a little but not till mush.

I added the turmeric/haldi/হলুদ mixed with a little water since the original recipe called for হলুদ বাটা or ground fresh root turmeric. 

... after a few tosses, I added the karela in and mixed everything together and cooked for a few minutes more...

And... I was ready to eat :)

Bhaja Kari Inspired Beguner Torkari

I remember my mom making a dry fish preparation called Bhaja Curry with begun (baingan/aubergine). I think that it has its origin in East Bengal since I have not really heard of it elsewhere.


This dish needs a certain type of begun (baingan/aubergine) that I have not really seen since I moved away from Kolkata. Now, this type of begun is elongated and unlike the baingan  that I normally find in the market (either small or large but with a distinct shape that defines our memort of baingan) 

When I saw these with Sita (my vegetable vendor of choice), I bought them on a lark and then wondered what to do with them.


Making bhaja curry is quite impossible without the fish (and that too when you wake up on a work day morning). So I tried to replicate as much I could dredge from my memories of sitting in my grnadmom's kitchen in Bandel. Most of the memories were rather obscured by rather more vivid memories of one or the other dog in that kitchen—Honey, Gypsy, Sandy, or perhaps even Candy... Anyways...


I sliced the begun as quickly as I could...

Once all the begun was sliced, I put them in the vessel I use as an impromptu colander...


I sprinkled haldi (turmeric) and worked it into the begun without crushing or mangling them.

Then I put some dhania powder and worked that in as well, and then kept the lot aside as I prepared for the rest of the process...

Just before I started cooking I added a little salt to the begun as well, since adding it before would result it the begun releasing all the water in them and becoming a mangled useless pulp.


Now this is where I went completely away from the 'Bengali'ness of the original recipe.

I took methi, til (sesame), curry patta (curry leaves), and chopped some garlic as well...
All this went into the pan with whatever cooking I had at hand...

I added the begun and cooked the mixture by tossing the entire thing to coat the oil instead of using a ladle. If I used a ladle the thin and delicate begun slices would immediately mangle into a rather pulpy mass...

Idea is to cook the begun well while retaining the coat of spices without destroying the slices that provide the texture.


I knew that I was done when it looked like this....

Then it was into a recycled take-away dabba and I rushed to 

Baingan Bharta with Panch Phoron

I wanted to break away from the standard mix of powdered spices (dhania, jeera, and garam masala) and give a little twist to the north Indian version of baingan bharta. I also wanted to dispense with the haldi and the onions to bring out the flavours of the 'whole'/(unpowdered) spices that I would be using.

* Aside - I remember the standard Bengali 'Begun Bhorta' as something that just blends coal char-cooked aubergine/begun(bengali)/baingan(hindi) with chopped green chillies and raw (and VERY strong) mustard oil and that is served piping hot on some steaming rice...

I've recently bought myself a granite mortar and pestle to grind wet spices.  I find a marked difference in taste and texture when I use this compared to a quick whirl in the mixer-grinder. So... The ginger and garlic went it it for a quick grind...

I got bugged with the mess when I tried char-grilling things on a gas oven, so, I've resorted to using an iron mesh. Very nifty. The baingan cooked on it for about 7 minutes.

I keep turning it to get it to cook evenly. It shrinks considerably after it is done...

I like the charred flavour, so I kept most of the skin. You can remove it if you don't like it as much. I squashed it and got ready to dunk into the phoron/chaunk that was sputtering on the other hob. 

While the baingan/aubergine was cooking, I warmed up some mustard oil in a pan (this needs a good dollop of oil. Putting in too little makes for a not-so-nice bharta). The panch phoron and the ground ginger and garlic happily cooked and sputtered sending a splendid aroma wasting around. The cat decided to drop in through the kitchen window. I got it off the platform quickly and got going again. 

The baingan/aubergine landed in the pan and I sautéed it for a while to work the flavours in. 

I added some tomatoes, since they provide a bit of a contrast and sautéed some more...

...and voila! My dinner was ready.