This famous Banarasi dish is an explosion of spicy and tangy flavours, made by stuffing baby eggplants (baingan/aubergine) with a medley of pickling spices and then frying in mustard oil tempered with Indian five spice (paanch phoron).
Baby aubergine/ egg plant/ baingan (washed)
Indian five spice/ panch phoron (mixture of equal amount of cumin seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and nigella seeds)
mustard oil/ vegetable oil
For the Stuffing
Dried red chilli
coriander seeds
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
nigella seeds/ kalonji
fennel seeds
fenugreek seeds/ methi seeds
carom seeds/ aijwain
tumeric powder
amchur powder (dried mango powder) or 1 tbsp of lemon juice
chilli powder
sugar
salt to taste
chopped coriander leaves