Crisp Breaded Pan Fried Brinjal Recipe

While i wondered about what to put in the title of the post…..baingan fry came to my mind, but it was too  unbecoming of this dish…..and pretentious though it sounds, i am glad i settled on something else!!

Poor baingan for bharta was sitting in the fridge, sad and looking for something to be a part of……a couple of times, it came out, hopeful of not being sent back to chill in the vegetable tray, but alas…..then comes a time when both are so desperate that anything will do….and I think that’s when the most unexpectedly surprising things happen……

I remember my mother making something like what this turned out to be….but brinjal not exactly being my favourite vegetable in childhood and fuzzy memories both meant that the final dance was my own……slices of brinjal, in a marinade and then tava fried to brown crisp delight…..its insane sometimes what cooking can do to you…… the result is golden fried crispness within which there is a buttery softness of the brinjal, with the mildness of the spices which married in the marinade……great as a starter, or as accompaniment with rotis or rice…..i love things which can multitask…..the best part, it takes less than 15 minutes from slicing to savouring….. J

Crisp breaded and pan fried brinjal

Ingredients (to serve 2)

10 slices of brinjal – the large variety, sliced about ½ cm thick

3 T chickpea flour

Salt to taste

½ t red chilli powder

½ t ginger garlic paste

2 T oil

5 T bread crumbs

In a shallow bowl, mix the chickpea flour with the red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and salt to a medium batter with about 3 T of water. The batter should be thick enough to coat the slices of brinjal evenly.

Coat the slices of brinjal with this marinade and set aside for about 10 minutes.

Heat the one tablespoon of oil on a skillet (I used non stick) and spread it a bit. When hot, coat each slice of the marinated brinjal with bread crumbs evenly and fry on medium heat on both sides till golden brown outside and cooked through (about 2 minutes). Drizzle a few drops of oil if required. Repeat till all the slices are cooked. Serve hot while crisp. Garnish is totally cosmetic.