Badi is not bought in Bihar, it is made — in winter, when the air is dry and cold enough to do the work. Urad or chana dal is soaked, ground thick, seasoned with asafoetida and pepper, and dropped in rough nuggets onto cloth spread across a roof, where it sits for days until it rattles. A household makes a year’s worth at once, and the badi then turns up all winter in whatever the fields are giving. Here it meets aubergine, and the pairing is the point: the badi has been dried to concentrate it, so it drinks the mustard oil and the gravy and turns chewy and dense, while the aubergine goes soft and takes the smoke. Spinach and a handful of dill go in with it, dill being a Bhojpuri habit that surprises people who expect it further west. Nothing here is delicate. It is a dish built out of a pantry rather than a market.
INGREDIENTS
- 100 g urad dal badi (sun-dried lentil dumplings)
- 4 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 large onion (sliced)
- 6 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 2 cm ginger (grated)
- 2 medium aubergines (cut into thick wedges)
- 2 medium tomatoes (chopped)
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 150 g spinach (roughly chopped)
- a small bunch of dill (chopped)
- 400 ml water
METHOD
- Break any large badi into rough pieces about 2cm across.
- Heat 2 tbsp of the mustard oil until it smokes, take it off the heat briefly, then return it to medium heat and fry the badi until deep golden brown all over. Lift them out and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil, then the cumin, fenugreek and dried chillies. Let the fenugreek darken but not blacken, which takes only seconds.
- Add the onion and fry until browned at the edges, then the garlic and ginger for a minute more.
- Add the aubergine wedges and fry for 5 minutes so the cut faces colour.
- Stir in the tomatoes, turmeric, coriander, chilli powder and salt, and cook until the oil separates.
- Return the badi, pour in the water, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until the badi have swelled and softened and the aubergine is collapsing.
- Fold through the spinach and dill and cook uncovered for 3 minutes more, until the greens wilt and the gravy clings.
- Serve with rice or roti.
