Odia Dahi Baigana Recipe

Dahi baingan recipe is a popular Odia dish and you will find this on the food menu of most weddings. This dish is also an absolute favorite of Odisha families, especially in Summer. Dahi baingan is a savior when guests arrive suddenly at your home and you have few ingredients to prepare something faster and yummy. It is a simple recipe that requires mainly Brinjal and Curd. For this reason, it is called “Dahi Baingan” where Dahi means “curd” and baingan means “Eggplant/Brinjal”. In Odia eggplants are called “Baigana”.This recipe is prepared with baigana and dahi so it is popularly known as “Dahi Baigana” in Odisha. 

Dahi baigana is a simple dish prepared with brinjal and curd as its base, also tempered with panch phoron, chilies, asafoetida, and curry leaves. It is so tempting and easy that a beginner or newbie can prepare this too.

For this Dahi baingan recipe, no stuffing and no extra spices are required. The main spice used here is panch phoron. The tempering of panch phoron elevates the flavors. If you don’t have it, mix an equal amount of cumin, mustard, fennel, and fenugreek and use instead of panch phoron. 

You can shallow fry or deep fry eggplant. While deep frying, it cooks quickly. And, in shallow frying, it takes a little more time. But either way, you can prepare brinjal for the Dahi baingan recipe.

Why do we love Dahi Baingan?

• Easy to prepare
• Less time consuming
• Prepared with fewer ingredients
• Great dish for potluck and parties

So are you ready to prepare this dish?

Let’s get started.

What are the ingredients required for Dahi Baingan?

The main ingredients are:

• Dahi(curd)
• Baingan(eggplant)
• Panch phoron
• Chilies
• Salt

Some prepare this with besan (gram flour) but it’s optional. If you like you can use it. But the authentic Odia Dahi Baigana recipe does not include besan. Always remember to whisk curd before adding fried brinjals. Whisked curd adds a good creamy texture to the Dahi baingan recipe. It also avoids curd to curdle.

What types of Eggplants are good for Dahi Baigana?

You can use any brinjal available in your locality, but use brinjals with fewer seeds. For this recipe, I have used the Purple big-size brinjals. These have fewer seeds and are soft and tasty.

My secret tip: When choosing Brinjal, hold it in hand and feel the weight. If it is lighter compared to the size then it is best as it will contain fewer seeds.

What are the health benefits of Dahi Baingan?

Curd(Dahi) has healthy gut bacteria which improve digestion and prevents basic stomach ailments such as constipation, and acidity. Though it is rich in calcium and phosphorus, so beneficial in improving bone strength. Eggplants also have a high number of antioxidants that protect cells from harmful free radicals.

How to prepare Dahi Baingan?

1. Preheat a thick bottom pan or kadai with oil. Here I have deep-fried brinjals. You can also shallow fry them.
2. While heating oil, cut brinjals lengthwise in halves. Again cut each half into small slices. Add salt to taste along with turmeric. Mix well and immediately fry in oil. If you leave brinjals as it is, they will leave the water, and the color of brinjals also turns brown with time.
   
   
3. Fry brinjal slices until the color turn golden brown on each side. Keep on a plate.
   
4. Add salt and a little black salt to whisked curd. Black salt is optional, but I highly recommend this. Mix properly. 
5. Now the tempering(tadka) part. Before tempering, I dry roast curry leaves in a pan without oil on a high flame for a minute. I crushed them in my hands and poured in curd. It smells aromatic in curd. This is my way of using curry leaves in curd. You can use curry leaves with panch phoron for tempering. Either way, you can use it is up to you!
   

   

6. In the same tadka pan, sauté ½ teaspoon of cumin and make a powder of this. We will use this later. 
   
   
7. Now add fried brinjals into the curd. But make sure the brinjal is not too hot. If you add hot brinjals into curd directly, then there will be a chance of curdling curd. So when brinjals are warm you can add.
   
   
8. Pour a tablespoon of oil into a tadka pan and let it heat. Add panch phoron, dried chilies, and a pinch of asafoetida. Pour the tadka in dahi baingan. Mix properly.
   
   
9. Super delicious and creamy Dahi baingan is ready. Garnish with crushed cumin powder. Enjoy with rice, roti, or paratha.