Dahi Baingan Recipe: Eggplant Curry In Spicy Yogurt

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Dahi Baingan is an aubergine (eggplant) curry cooked in spicy yogurt. The pan-roasted eggplant has a smoky, bittersweet aroma that complements the tangy, spicy yogurt well.  This creamy baingan is delicious with naan bread, roti/ chapati, or plain white Basmati rice. 

Dahi Baingan

The first time I made this Dahi Baingan, it was because of my husband’s craving. He fancied having aubergine curry the way his mom made it. I think he was missing his late mom at the time. But the problem was that I had never had this dish before, so it was such a mission for me to cook it the way my husband’s mom made it.

If I think about it again, it was so funny. Even though my sister-in-law taught me how she cooks aubergine, hubby says it’s not the same as his mom’s.

So he tried to find YouTube recipes showing how his mom made them. Recipe videos by Manjula’s Kitchen and Hebbars Kitchen caught our attention. But when I went through the ingredient details, I realized their recipes wouldn’t be the same as my late mother-in-law’s. Both recipes use Hing (Asafoetida), which is often used in Indian dishes but NOT Pakistani foods. 

In the end, I recreated and developed my recipe. After a few trials, my husband approved this dish, reminding him of his mom’s Dahi Baingan. Mission accomplished. 

The Items You Need to Make Aubergine in Spicy Yogurt

Aubergine, or eggplant, is the most essential ingredient for this dish. When choosing a good aubergine, ensure the fruit is firm when you hold it. You can tell if it’s not good by touching the skin. If it feels soft, it means it’s overripe.

A good aubergine will have firm flesh when you cut it, and it doesn’t have many seeds inside. Any seeds grown inside its flesh will be so tiny you can hardly notice them. That’s the best eggplant. 

As for other ingredients, you need plain natural yogurt, gram flour, ginger, garlic, dried fenugreek leaves (methi), coriander leaves, some ground spices, and whole spices. 

One thing to note is that I also use Panch Puran/ Panch Phoron and regular whole cumin seeds. It mixes five whole spices: whole cumin/jeera, Nigella sativa/black seeds, fenugreek seeds/methi, black mustard seeds, and fennel seeds/Saunf. 

When it comes to yogurt, please choose natural yogurt, preferably from Asian/ Pakistani shops, because it has more tang. And make sure you don’t use Greek-style yogurt. Not only will the taste be different, but the texture will be so creamy that the whey breaks easily. When you whisk the yogurt with all the spices and gram flour, make sure you whisk until the mixture is smooth and at room temperature before using it.

How to Make Dahi Baingan 

1. Get your yogurt mixture ready. Place the gram flour, cumin powder, ground coriander, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Whisk it until you get a very smooth mixture with no lumps. 

3. Get the eggplant ready. Cut it lengthwise into wedges. Rinse the aubergine with fresh water and squeeze gently. Then, heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Fry and steam the aubergine until it’s fully cooked and softened. It will also have brownish spots, giving it a pleasant smoky aroma. You can put the lid on the pan in between to cook the eggplant faster. Once done, transfer the eggplant wedges to a plate and set aside.

4. Then heat a little oil in the same frying pan, and fry the chopped onion in the oil with the whole cumin seeds and Panch Puran. When the onion becomes translucent and fragrant, add the ginger-garlic paste. Fry further for a minute or two until the ginger-garlic releases its aroma. 

5. Now pour the yogurt mixture into the onions. Stir it, then leave it to cook with the lid on at a moderate, low heat. 

6. When the yogurt is bubbling, add the aubergine and stir well. You can add fresh green chilies if you like. Continue cooking your Dahi Baingan for about 5 minutes to let the aubergine absorb the spiced yogurt and the flavor. Lastly, sprinkle some dried fenugreek leaves and freshly chopped coriander leaves. 

Ways to Enjoy Dahi Baingan

Dahi Baingan can be served with roti/chapati, naan bread, or plain white Basmati rice, like any other curry. 

This dish is excellent to enjoy alongside other dishes such as Aloo Palak, Aloo Methi, Chana Aloo, Chicken Karahi, Keema Matar, or Lauki Gosht.

Thank you and all the best.

Dahi Baingan – Aubergine In Spicy Yoghurt

4.50 from 6 votes

Dahi Baingan – the aubergine in spicy yoghurt – has a smoky bittersweet aroma from the roasted aubergine with tangy and spicy yoghurt sauce. It's delicious to enjoy with roti/ chapati, naan bread or plain white Basmati rice.

BY: Devy Dar

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Prep : 10 minutes mins

Cook : 30 minutes mins

Total : 40 minutes mins

Servings: 5

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Cooking pan with lid.
• Wooden spoon

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Ingredients

 

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US CustomaryMetric

• 1 large eggplant/ aubergine.
• 1 cup natural yoghurt.
• 1 teaspoon besan flour/ gram flour/ chickpea flour.
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder.
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander.
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder.
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
• 1 teaspoon salt I use Himalayan salt, and extra for aubergine.
• ½ inch ginger.
• 4 garlic cloves.
• ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons water.
• 1 medium onion chopped.
• ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds.
• 1 teaspoon Panch Phoron.
• 5 tablespoons cooking oil.
• ½ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves/ methi leaves.
• A handful of coriander leaves for garnish.
• A few green bird’s eye chillies.

Instructions

• Peel the ginger and garlic. Mince or pound them to paste. 
• In a mixing bowl, place the yogurt together with gram flour, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Add in ⅓ cup of water. Stir and mix well until it’s smooth. Set aside.
• Cut and slice the aubergine lengthwise. Then rinse it with water and squeeze the aubergine.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on a large cooking pan and cook the aubergine at moderate heat. You can put the lid on in between to quicken the cooking process. Steam fry until it’s softened and slightly brown.Set aside.
• On the same pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil and fry the chopped onion, Panch Phoron and cumin seeds. Cook until the onion becomes translucent and all the spices release an aroma. Then add in the ginger-garlic paste. Continue frying for another minute.
• Add the spiced yoghurt mixture into the onion and give it a stir. Continue cooking until the yogurt bubbling. 
• Then put the aubergine in the yogurt mixture and add in 2 tablespoons of water or more if the gravy is too thick. Carefully stir it and put the lid on to cook at low heat. Add the green chillies if using. 
• Continue cooking for about 10 minutes or until the yogurt sauce bubbling and a little bit of oil separates from the edges. Sprinkle the dried fenugreek leaves (methi) and some chopped coriander leaves before serving (if using).

Notes

• I now use pink Himalayan salt for my cooking. You can use regular table salt at the same measure or adjust it according to your taste.
• When it comes to chilies, you can always add more or less according to how you like. You can also use red dried chili flakes if you don’t have red chili powder. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 537mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 20g

Devy Dar

Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.