I will most probably write thousands of recipes of aubergine! Probably it is my most favorite vegetable, but aubergine has definitely the amazing ability to turn into a delicious dish, so it is of course not my fault to use it often for my vegan palate!

It is pretty simple to make aubergine fry or Begun Bhaja (বেগুন ভাজা) ! As bhaja(ভাজা)  means fry in Bengali, we will need loads of oil to make this oily goodies! Begun Bhaja has always amazed the crowd, even my friends from Europe were pretty surprised to taste this simple yet delicious recipe were made by only three simple ingredients – salt, turmeric and oil!

Now, slicing the aubergine is very important here, if you don’t want to eat raw or half cooked fry. I have cut them in 1cm slices, you can do it thinner but try not to slice too thin or too thick, as I found 1cm is the optimum.

Coat the sliced aubergine with salt and turmeric powder. Many likes to add rice flour or other spices like chili or cumin powder etc. But I like to keep it simple as I do not like to overdo spices here to cut off the amazing taste of aubergine.

Coat aubergines with spices homogeneously. Now, remember that you do not need to rest it to get the extra water out, as you are not baking them. We are going to fry them immediately so if you rest them to leave extra water, aubergine tends to loose its consistency after frying.

So, warm your vegetable oil and fry the aubergine in medium high heat. I have used neutral tasted vegetable oil (sunflower oil) but you can use mustard, olive or coconut oil, but again these oil may overpower the aubergine taste. Also if you are brave, fry some dried chili together. Oil fried chili is a must go for me with aubergine fry!

Tips 1: Do not rest aubergine to leave extra water out unless you are baking, as its consistency will be lost after frying

You may think that this is too much oil to fry. Well, you can of course shallow fry them with minimum oil quantity, then remember to cover them while frying to ensure thorough cooking. Since I am using enough oil, I am not covering my pan, as the oil will help to cook aubergine thoroughly.

Flip aubergines after 5 or 6 minutes and always keep an eye on not to burn them. When both sides look golden brown, take them out and place it on a serving dish. I do not like to place it on kitchen towel to absorb extra oil as the paper affects the taste!

Tips 2: Cover aubergine while frying to ensure thorough cooking, if you fry them with shallow oil

Serve this simple yet delicious aubergine fry with rice or tortilla. This is a perfect side dish but it will never leave your side if you try it once!

Recipe: 6 Servings Prepping time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: Vegetables 1 big round Aubergine (purple/ green/ striped -does not matter) Spice and Condiments 100ml Vegetable Oil (preferably with neutral taste) 1/2 tbs fine Salt 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 2-3 dried Chili (optional)

Instruction 1. Slice aubergine 1cm thick. Coat them well with salt and turmeric powder. 2. Warm oil in a frying pan to medium heat. 3. Fry aubergine both sides until golden brown. If you use less oil, cover them with a lid to ensure through cooking. 4. Place fried aubergine on a plate and serve with rice or tortilla.