Description
Begun Pora is a classic Bengali vegetarian side dish prepared with roasted eggplant
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 Eggplant/ Begun
- 2 Onion
- 2 Garlic Clove
- 1 Tomato
- 3 Green Chili
- 40g Coriander Leaves (2 sprigs)
- 3.5 Tbsp. Mustard Oil
- 1 Tsp. Salt or to taste
Instructions
- Cut the Eggplant both horizontally and longitudinally till the edge of the stalk. You may refer to the Begun Pora Recipe video I have shared below for reference.
- Take two onions and after removing the skin chop those.
- Chop a fresh bunch of Coriander leaves as well.
- Slice the lemon. The Juice will be used.
- Rub some Mustard oil inside and out of the Eggplants.
- This step is a must as Mustard oil will help in roasting the Eggplant and it will also provide a lovely aroma to the dish.
- Take a clove of Garlic and tuck it within the eggplant.
- Switch the flame on and place a regular bread roaster (Jali).
- Now place the marinated Eggplant and roast it from all sides.
- It will take around 10 minutes to roast one eggplant.
- Flip the eggplant once one side is done.
- The eggplant once roasted properly will be soft and well-cooked from inside.
- Pora stands for "burnt" and hence it is the smokiness that makes the dish great.
- I prefer to roast the tomato and then use it in the recipe.
- Instead of that, you can use chopped tomatoes as well. However, roasted tomato makes it better.
- Roast the tomato for around 5-6 minutes.
- While you have roasted the tomato for around 3 minutes add green chilies to the roaster.
- Burnt chilies works!
- Take the roasted eggplant in a bowl.
- Pour some water over it.
- Soak for a while.
- This helps in removing the burnt skin of the eggplant.
- Now remove the skin of the eggplant.
- Following the same process clean the other eggplant and the tomato as well.
- Now roughly chop the tomato.
- Chop roasted chilies as well.
- Take cleaned eggplant in a bowl.
- Now add chopped roasted tomatoes and green chilies
- Add chopped onion and also coriander leaves.
- Now add 3 Tbsp. Mustard Oil
- Add around 1/2 Tsp. Salt.
- Now add the juice of one lemon.
- Adjust the spices and oil based on your preference.
- Now mash the veggies to make a rusting mixture.
- Use your hand as we do in a typical Bengali Kitchen.
- Spoon will not work.
- Once you are done with the mixing, Begun Pora is ready to serve.
Notes
I prefer the traditional way of making this dish. Instead of roasting over the flame, you can oven-roast the eggplant as well.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: roasting
- Cuisine: Bengali
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 75g
- Calories: 175
- Sugar: 7.6g
- Sodium: 622mg
- Fat: 12.8g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4g
- Carbohydrates: 15.4g
- Fiber: 8.6g
- Protein: 2.7g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
