Recipe- Punjabi Style Baingan Ka Bharta

Smokey roasted eggplant mash with Indian spices, this punjabi baingan bharta is a very popular dish in North India and one of my personal favorites too.

It’s best enjoyed with hot rotis or paratha!Some veggies are liked universally while others have limited appeal, the eggplant (baingan in Hindi) belongs to the latter category. I don’t know how true it is but this is what I observed growing up, kids especially would never eat this vegetable.

My brothers are all grown now and they still don’t eat it! Anyway I have always been an eggplant fan, I like it in any form like in this bornai banjan or this eggplant mango kadhi but my most favorite way to eat it is baingan bharta!

Baingan Bharta is basically fire roasted eggplant mash cooked with spices. There are different ways of making this bharta [bharta=mash] but this is the most common way and the one you will find in Indian restaurants.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant around 550 grams
3 large garlic cloves
1.5 tablespoon oil I used vegetable oil
4 large garlic cloves chopped
1 inch ginger chopped
1 green chili or to taste, chopped
1 medium red onion 120 grams, chopped
2 medium tomatoes 280 grams, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste
1 teaspoon coriander powder
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Method

* Rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Brush it with little oil all over.

* Then make few slits all over the eggplant with a knife. In 3 of those slits, insert a large clove of garlic. Put the eggplant directly on heat and roast, turning often for around 10-12 minutes until completely roasted.

* Once roasted (to check if its done, insert a knife inside the eggplant, it should go easily) use a pair of tongs to remove the eggplant from heat and wrap in an aluminium foil to cool.

* Once cooled, remove the skin. Meanwhile also chop the roasted garlic.

* Transfer the roasted eggplant to a bowl and mash using a fork or potato masher. Set it aside.

* Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add chopped garlic (different from the ones used while roasting the eggplant), ginger and green chili. Saute until they start changing color, around 2 minutes.

* Then add in the chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Don't brown them.

* Add the chopped tomatoes and mix. Cook the tomatoes for around 5 minutes until very soft and you notice oil oozing out of the masala.

* Add the mashed roasted eggplant into the pan along with the chopped roasted garlic and mix well.

* Add the red chili powder and mix. Also add the coriander powder and salt and mix to combine. Cook the bharta for another 5 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often.

* Stir in the chopped cilantro and mix. Remove pan from heat.
Serve baingan bharta hot with fresh rotis.