Article by EIH Subject Matter Expert
Dr Sonika Sandhu
The Brinjal, it seems, was India’s gift to the world, originally native to the drier regions of Bengal and south of India, this plant is indigenous to areas from northeast India, Thailand,nVietnam and Southwest China. It was domesticated from a type of prickly plant with round fruits and bitter seeds. Continuous farming has successfully altered the size, shape and removed or trimmed the original prickles and changed the flavour of the fruit altogether.Present day there are twenty odd varieties of this fruit, all seedless.
To ponder on its etymology, philological studies indicate that it was in use during pre-historic and pre Vedic times. One of its names “ Vartaku” is thought to be a pre Sanskrit word possibly derived from the language of Austric tribes such as the Mundas. This plant finds mention in Sanskrit texts as early as 300 BCE. Words like shakasreshta meaning an excellent vegetable, Rajakushmand meaning royal melon, Niphala meaning blue fruit, Kantavrintaki Kantalu and Kantapatrika referring to its prickliness and Nidralu refering to its hypnotic properties were some of the words used to describe this fruit. Around the world its etymology seems to have been inspired by India; In Persia, it is known as bedengiam, baadanjaan, melongena names which seem to be inspired from Hindustani words like baadgan and badejan. In Turkey it was known as patlidjan, Badnjan in Georgian, , tabendjalts in Berber, berenjena in Spanish, beringela in Portuguese, and aubergine in French.
This fruit has also been accorded its place in mythological epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. According to food historian KT Achaya, in the 16th century treatise Krishnamangala brinjal was one of the items cooked by the gopis of Vrindavan at Lord Krishna’s request. This fruit even today is offered to Lord Krishna at the temples in Udupi on certain festive days. Another text Vrikshyayurveda expands on the horticulture practices and
agricultural methods by which superior and more flavourful varieties of this plant can be grown. For instance, brinjal seeds fertilised and nourished with the bone marrow of female boar would yield a larger and seedless variety. While it may sound like old wives’ tales, the importance of bone marrow fluids is recognised by stem cell researchers today. In yet another section of the text it is stated rather curiously: “A small hole should be bored in a tender ash gourd and seed of a neem tree, profusely smeared with honey and melted butter, should be dropped in through the hole. After the gourd is fully ripe, the seed should be carefully extracted and sown. It then produces a plant which produces ample wealth in the form of brinjals of huge size.” Not all texts favoured this fruit, Markandeya purana includes this plant in list of undesirable things to be consumed. In the 16th century this fruit made its way down to Udupi in Karnataka by Vadiraja, author of the first known Indian travelogue in Sanskrit, Tirtha Prabandha.
Brinjal in Folktales:
The brinjal in India is also known as the King of Vegetables. Keeping in mind its long presence in our cuisine through antiquity and its indigenous presence in the subcontinent, numerous folk tales are also woven around brinjal and its various properties. In one famous story is from the Kingdome of Vijayanagar involving Tanali Raman and his son, wherein the hypnotic and psychotic property of this fruit has been mentioned. Another such
tale involves emperor Akbar and his minister Birbal who explained how is loyaltieslie with the emperor by using a brinjal. This particular tale also finds mention in the Panchatantra. There is another tale which talks about how the brinjal got its crown. In another tale from Turkey A very old legend about an Imam, a Moslem priest who marries a woman whose wealthy father earned his money as an olive oil merchant. As part of her dowry, she brought with her 12 jars of olive oil. For 12 nights the Imam’s wife presented him with a dish of delicious eggplant cooked in olive oil, but on the thirteenth night there was no eggplant on his plate. Curious, he asked why. When she told him she had run out of olive oil, the Imam fainted. From that time on the stuffed eggplant dish made with onions, tomatoes, and olive oil became known as Imam Fainted or Imam Baldi or Imam Bayildi that means The Fainting Priest. The plant is so integrated into the Middle Eastern cuisine that there is a saying: “To dream of three aubergines is a sign of happiness.”
Recipes of the Past:
The brinjal finds mention in the first cookbook from the Indian Subcontinent: the Pak shastra. In the 12th century Manasollassa a recipe of brinjal is given cooked with mutton or jackal meat. Besides this other medieval literature also mentions recipes of brinjal paired with wild duck,
Kavachandi a dish made with finely chopped mutton or keema, even the vataka dish , the forerunner of the modern-day koftas, were then put into a spicy curry along with diced brinjal, radish, onions and sprouted green gram paste. Brinjal was also made with ghee, it was roasted
as we do for the modern bharta. A type of Bharta made in the royal kitchen describe brinjal being ghee roasted, mashed with coconut, curry leaves and cardamom and then flavouredwith lime juice and camphor. One cuisine that heavily relied on brinjal is the Bengali cuisine. Bengali food is heavily influenced by Vaishnavism and brinjal is generously used in nearlyevery which way. It is used in curries, roasted as bharta and fried as pakoras too. There were certain dishes which complemented the various sizes, shapes , colours and textures of this fruit. The royal purple, pale green and pristine white, the first lending its name for the colour purple in Bengali and the last responsible for it also being known as eggplant
To eat or not to eat???
The fruit is categorized under the night shade family of plants. These plants produce alkaloids which can trigger toxic and psychotropic effects. If the toxicity level increases it may lead to allergy like symptoms like itching of the skin near the mouth and throat, hives, wheezing. It also contains small amounts of nicotine which may be mood altering for some.
