Master the Art of Preparing Smoked Baingan Salad

This Smoked Baingan Salad is the perfect winger to serve with your meals – it’s a smoky yogurt with coconut-y flavours combined with fried spiced eggplant. A true flavour bomb!

Love Eggplant? Try my Air Fryer Stuffed Baingan | Baked Stuffed Brinjal, Stuffed Brinjal Curry | Gutti Vankaya | Yengai, Easy Baingan Bharta (Smoky eggplant stir-fry)

Some matches finger like they were made in heaven, and this spiced eggplant and smoked yogurt pairing is one of them. 

This is substantially a loaded raita dip recipe but I don’t want to put it in a box – this can go so well with so many meals and cuisines. I love this with some lavash crackers, some toasted sourdough, or plane just withal with roti and sabzi. You can serve this up as an Indian ‘salad’ titbit to have just as is, as well! This would moreover be fantastic withal with some biryani or pulao – the smokiness and creaminess will pair perfectly with the spiced fragrant rice. 

I really like to serve this when I’m hosting friends over considering it’s one of those dishes that comes together so beautifully, presentation wise! The spiced eggplant rounds and onion rings topped with a layer of smoked yogurt squint impressive (but all it takes is a few pantry ingredients and easy steps).

All you need is a piece of soot to smoke the curd so don’t worry well-nigh any complicated equipment or steps – when I say this is an easy recipe, I midpoint it!

• This recipe comes together with less than 10 (and all pantry) ingredients 
• You don’t need any fancy equipment for this 
• There’s whimsically any chopping or prep work required

Ingredients You'll Need to Make Smoked Baingan Salad

• Eggplant/Brinjal/Baingan – one large baingan sliced in a ¼ inch thickness
• Onions – two large onions, sliced into rounds
• Curd – one cup of homemade or storebought curd, alternatively you can use greek yogurt
• Coconut Milk – you can use any kind of coconut milk that you have on hand.
• Salt – just a pinch (for both the curd mixture and the marinade) 
• Sugar – then just a pinch to wastefulness the flavours
• Coconut Oil – this is for frying the brinjal, I wouldn’t sub for a neutral oil since this adds flipside layer of the coconut-y flavours 
• Kashmiri Chili Powder – 3 big tablespoons for a red & spicy marinade!
• Turmeric – just a pinch
• Jeera Powder – this will add on to the unvigilant flavours we’ve got going on in this recipe, don’t skip!
• Vinegar – just a few tablespoons to form a paste-like consistency for the marinade. Can sub with lemon juice

How to Make Smoked Baingan Salad

1. In a small bowl, prepare the marinade by mixing Kashmiri Chilli Powder, turmeric powder, salt, and jeera powder. Add vinegar gradually, stirring well, until you unzip a thick paste consistency.

2. Rub the marinade all over the baingan slices, ensuring they are evenly coated. Set whispered and let it marinate for well-nigh 15-20 minutes.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together curd, coconut milk, salt, and sugar until well combined.

4. To add a smoky flavour to the curd mixture, you can use a smoking technique. Place a piece of smouldering soot in a small heat-resistant trencher or foil. Drizzle a few drops of oil on the soot and quickly imbricate the trencher with the curd mixture. Indulge it to smoke for a few minutes to infuse the flavour. Then remove the charcoal.

4. Heat coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the marinated baingan slices in batches until they soften slightly and the marinade cooks a bit. Do this in batches to stave crowding the pan. Add increasingly coconut oil to the pan, if needed. Remove the baingan from the pan and set aside.

5. Refrigerate the smoked curd mixture for well-nigh 30 minutes to nippy and let the flavours meld together.

6. To hoke the salad, unify the fried baingan slices on a serving platter. Top them with the sliced onion rings. Pour the chilled smoked curd mixture over the baingan and onions, evenly tent the layers. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.

Richa’s Top Tricks to make the weightier Smoked Baingan Salad

To smoke the curd, place a piece of smouldering soot in a small heat-resistant trencher or foil. Drizzle a few drops of oil on the soot and then place the small trencher inside the larger trencher with the curd. Imbricate with a lid immediately and indulge it to smoke for a few minutes to infuse the flavour. Then remove the soot and discard it. 

I order my soot cubes on Amazon. 

If you’re looking to try or serve up a unique looking and tasting side unendingly soon, you’ve just got to try this smoked brinjal raita. It’s rare for a side dish to be so packed with flavour – truly infused throughout levels in this recipe, and without making this I’m questioning why that is! I want ALL the flavour, ALL the drama, ALL the presentation plane if what I’m serving isn’t the star dish of the night. If you think well-nigh it, what makes a main so good is often what it’s served with. 

Serve this with my chicken biryani or kabuli chana pulao for the most yum combo! I moreover have a lot of other traditional raita recipes up for you to try out as well! 

I can’t wait to see how you plate this one! Be sure to send me pictures and happy cooking!

Smoked Baingan Salad

The smoky yogurt infused with delightful coconut-y flavors, paired with fried spiced eggplant, creates a true explosion of taste.

• Course Side Dishes
• Cuisine Indian
• Diet Gluten Free
• Prep Time 5 minutes
• Cook Time 20 minutes
• Chilling Time 30 minutes
• Total Time 55 minutes
• Servings 4 people
• Calories 182kcal
• Author Richa

Ingredients

• 1 large Baingan eggplant, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
• 2 Onions sliced into rounds
• 1 cup Curd or Yogurt
• ½ cup Coconut milk
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoon Sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons Coconut oil

Marinade:

• 3 tablespoons Kashmiri Chilli Powder
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoon Jeera or Cumin powder
• 3-4 Tablespoons Vinegar as needed to make a thick paste

Instructions

• In a small bowl, prepare the marinade by mixing Kashmiri Chilli Powder, turmeric powder, salt, and jeera powder. Add vinegar gradually, stirring well, until you unzip a thick paste consistency.

• Rub the marinade all over the baingan slices, ensuring they are evenly coated. Set whispered and let it marinate for well-nigh 15-20 minutes.

• Heat coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the marinated baingan slices in batches until they soften slightly and the marinade cooks a bit. Do this in batches to stave crowding the pan. Add increasingly coconut oil to the pan, if needed. Remove the baingan from the pan and set aside.

• In a separate bowl, whisk together curd, coconut milk, salt, and sugar until well combined.

• To add a smoky savor to the curd mixture, you can use a smoking technique. Place a piece of smoldering soot in a small heat-resistant trencher or foil. Drizzle a few drops of oil on the soot and quickly imbricate the trencher with the curd mixture. Indulge it to smoke for a few minutes to infuse the flavor. Then remove the charcoal.

• Refrigerate the smoked curd mixture for well-nigh 30 minutes to nippy and let the flavors meld together.

• To hoke the salad, unify the fried baingan slices on a serving platter. Top them with the sliced onion rings. Pour the chilled smoked curd mixture over the baingan and onions, evenly tent the layers. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.