Baigana Bhaja

Baigana Bhaja as per the Odiyas or Begun bhoja as per the Bengalis - no matter how you call it, it is warm and soothing like the pic below. Hats off to Instagram app for letting me click the spirit of this food.

My paternal family is from Mayurbhanj, Odisha. So we are commonly referred to as Baripadia (Baripada is a big town of Mayurbhanj, my dad and all his siblings went to school and college here) or Mayurbhanjia. And the Mayurbhanjias are known for their love for "Mudi" aka puffed rice\Murmura\Bhel. Breakfast in our village would include Mudi with fresh yogurt and cream and a hot and fresh "Bhaja" aka shallow-fried food item. The Bhaja can be Fish, Potatoes or Eggplants (and a few other veggies). Here is a simple Eggplant shallow-fry for you to try when you are really short on time and need to make something quick.

View Larger Map of Baripada, Mayurbhanj, Odisha, India

Ingredients 

Eggplant (Odiya word Baigana) - 1 large, chopped into thin slices as shown below.
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste (1/2 tsp in my case)
Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder - as per taste (1/4 tsp in my case)

Canola oil for shallow frying
Mustard oil - 1 tsp (optional)

Method

Chop the Eggplants as shown in the pic.
Mix with the rest of the ingredients except Canola oil. 

Heat the Canola oil in Medium heat .
As it warms up, lay out the Eggplant slices as shown in the pic.

Add a dash of Mustard oil sometime in between the cooking process.
Cook one side properly before turning to cook the other side in Medium heat. Takes about 3-4 mins per side.

The rice flour adds the desired crunchiness. I usually enjoy this with Rice and Lentils with some hot Raita as a side.

Another Eggplant dish that is one of my favorite and is one of the indigenous Odiya recipe is the Roasted Eggplant aka Baigana Poda. Follow on here for the recipe. The one in the pic below is the same dish with the slight variation of adding a few sprigs of fresh Coriander leaves.