Aubergine and Potato is a good pair for any dish, especially if its a curry! Today I am gonna share the most common yet easy delicious Bangladeshi Alu Begun Banjon ( Potato Aubergine Curry). The love for aubergine is well known in Bangladesh and there are many folk songs about aubergines and curry made with it! You can listen to the beautiful song that I posted below, where you will also see the traditional music instrument played by the team!

The ingredients are very common, yet one of the ingredient is very special for this recipe,that is black cumin (Nigella sativa). This is also mentioned in the song! – ভালা কইরা রাইন্দ বাইগুন কালা জিরা দিয়া – Cook aubergine nice with black cumin! Other than this specialty, this recipe is onion less, but so tasty that you won’t even miss the onion!

Basically, you just need potato, aubergine and some usual spices like ginger paste, turmeric, coriander, cumin and chili powder for this curry! I have also used two red chilies in this curry.

First, you need to cut the veggies. There is one different step you have to do than you do for other curries, that is to fry the veggies in shallow oil before you cook them. So wash and cut the veggies in big cubes. I have kept the skins of my potatoes, as they are new. If you want, you can use a spoon to slightly peel the potato skin off.

Now, fry the potato and aubergine cubes separately in a skillet. You don’t have to deep fry them, as the veggies just need to roast slightly until they change colors. There is even no need to coat the veggies with turmeric or chili powder, as they will burn and turn black in the hot oil.

Shallow fry the potatoes first and then fry the aubergines. You can sprinkle some salt when you are frying potatoes, but it is not a must. Aubergine tends to soak lots of oil, so try to fry them in shallow oil in medium heat. Set them aside on a plate, when they are nice and golden.

In the same skillet or pan, add some oil again. When the oil is hot, add black cumin and cook them until seeds change color and get fragrant. Make sure to keep the heat in medium to low, otherwise you will end up with burnt spices.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, make a thin paste of turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder and ginger paste with some water. As we are not using any onions, the gravy is thinner and it is important to make this paste with water, so they don’t get burnt when you add them in pan.

So, when the black cumin is fragrant and starts bubbling, add the spice paste. Cook them over low to medium heat for 5 minutes.

As you can see in the picture, spices are getting cooked and changing in consistencies. When you see the oil starts to get separated (like the picture on right), you know that spices are cooked.

Add the fried potato in the pan with cooked spices. If you see that potatoes are getting stuck at the bottom, add some water. It will help in loosening and boil potatoes .Cover and cook the potatoes for few minutes.

Now add the aubergine and stir cook for about a minute, let them coat in gravy really well.

Add some water in the pan, so the veggies are just over the water level. Turn the heat over medium-low and cover the pot. Its time to let the veggies get cooked. As you have shallow fried them before, you do not need to stir them. Just make sure they don’t get burnt at bottom.

Gravy starts to get shortened. I have added chili at this point. After 15 minutes of cooking, check if the potatoes and aubergines are soften and cooked.

The gravy looks pretty thick after 15 minutes, oils are separated and veggies are cooked. Check salt and add more if needed.

I have garnish my potato aubergine curry with some home grown coriander leaves. This curry goes best with rice or even better with hand made bread (ruti)! So, enjoy this very easy and delicious recipe and let me know if you have tried it!

Recipe: 4 Serving Prepping time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients: Vegetables 1 Medium Aubergine 5 Medium Potatoes Spice and Condiments 40ml Vegetable Oil 1tbs fine Salt 1tsp Turmeric powder 1tsp Coriander powder 1tsp Cumin powder 1tsp Chili powder 1tsp Ginger Paste (or Ginger powder) 1tsp Black Cumin (Nigella Seed) 2-3 Chili (optional)

Instruction 1. Wash and cube potatoes and aubergines into 2cm (you can keep potato skin on if you like). 2. Heat 2 table spoon of oil in a wok or skillet. Shallow fry potatoes and aubergine until they are golden. Set them aside. 3. Add black cumin (nigella seeds) and let them cook until they start bubbling. Meanwhile, make a paste with all the dry spices and ginger paste. 4. Add spice paste to bubbling nigella seeds and let the spice cook for 5 minutes (or up until the oil starts to separate and float). 5. Add fried potato, salt and give them a very good stir until they are mixed well with cooked spice. Add 50ml water, cover and let them cook for 5 minutes. 6. Then add aubergine and stir them until they are coated well with the spices. 7. Now add 100 ml water or just enough to cover the veggies. Cover pot with lid and cook until the veggies are soft and cooked. 8. Simmer curry til the gravy is in desired consistency. Garnish your curry with coriander leaves or ground cumin powder as per desire. and Enjoy with rice or bread!