Dahi Baigana - Odisha Cuisine

Dahi Baigana is an Oriya food prepared from curd and eggplant / brinjal especially during festivals. This dish can be prepared even without using garlic when they are not allowed in some auspicious festivals.

This is a mouthwatering dish. We really enjoyed this dish. I took a plate for myself had soothing dish as my dinner.

Sending this to this month's BM week 3 - Do Eggplant Dishes.

Let's go to the recipe...
Ingredients

1 Large eggplant - cut into roundels or halves
2 Cups Thick Curd

1 Green chilly - finely chopped

Salt to taste

A pinch of Chat Masala

For the Tadka

2 Cloves Garlic - chopped
3 Button Dried Red Chilies
1/4 Teaspoon Mustard seeds
1/4 Teaspoon Cumin seeds
4 -5 Grains Fenugreek seeds
1/4 Teaspoon Fennel seeds
Oil for frying

Method

Cut the eggplant into roundles and sprinkle little salt on the slices and keep aside.

Take curd in a bowl, add a little water, salt to taste, chat masala and green chilly, mix well and then keep aside in the refrigerator to chill.

Heat a frying pan with little oil place the eggplant slices and fry until they turn golden brown. Remove the fried eggplants from the pan into a plate and keep it aside to cool it completely.

In a small pan add a tablespoon of oil and heat it. Then add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and fennel seeds. When they crackle, add red chilies and chopped garlic. Sauté for a few seconds and then take off flame.
Add half of this to the curd and mix well. Keep the remaining aside to pour on top.

In a serving dish arrange the eggplant and then pour the curd and the remaning tadka on top, keep it in the refrigerator again to cool and also so that eggplant absorbs some of curd.