‘Vangyache Kaap‘ is a favourite side dish from an Indian state – Maharashtra. It is prepared using whole large Aubergine which then sliced, coated with spices and shallow fried. This fried aubergine slices are crispy and slight spicy outside while soft inside. Generally; raw aubergines are bland and a bit of bitter in taste, but when it’s cooked it turns fleshy. The spice mixture used in this recipe will add flavours to the aubergine. Once covered in spices there will be second round of coating, which is made up of semolina & rice flour. The second coating will be applied just before frying it in hot oil. It gives nice crispy texture and taste to the dish.

Enjoy these aubergine slices while it’s hot; just out of the pan. They make a perfect side dish to serve along with dal-rice or your favourite meal. Recipe is simple and pretty straightforward; so let’s jump to the it !!

Ingredients:

1 Aubergine

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp garama masala

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder

5 tbsp semolina

2 tbsp rice flour

Salt as per taste

Oil for frying

Method:

Wash and pat dry the aubergine. Cut the aubergine into medium sized roundels. Soak these slices into water to avoid oxidisation.

Combine turmeric, coriander, garam masala, red chilli and kashmiri chilli powder together. Add few drops of water to prepare thick paste for coating.

Evenly apply paste to both sides of the slice. We are not adding salt at this point. Once salt is added, aubergine slices starts releasing water and coating won’t be hold together. To avoid this, apply salt just before frying.

Once all slices are coated with paste, keep it aside. Heat the frying pan or griddle on high heat. Meanwhile, mix semolina and rice flour together; add salt to this mixture as per taste (approximately 3-4 tsp). I prefer to use thick semolina instead of fine one. Thick one will give wonderful texture and crispness. In UK, I can find thick white semolina only in Indian grocery stores.

Coat aubergine slices with semolina & flour mixture. Coat with mixture on both sides.

Add oil onto the pan and once oil is hot, carefully add slices on the hot pan. Turn down heat to medium.

Ensure pan and oil are hot enough before transferring slices to it. This makes sure coating holds together and won’t fall apart after frying.

Drizzle some oil over the top and continue frying over medium heat.

Once cooked, aubergine turns soft and mushy while coating is golden brown on both sides. Insert toothpick into each slice and check whether it’s cooked perfectly or not.

Once ready, you may want to transfer onto paper towel to soak any extra oil.

To enjoy this fried aubergine, serve immediately while it’s hot and crispy.

I hope you relished this recipe and would love to try it out. As always thanks for reading my blog and am all ears in case of any suggestions or feedback!!