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I am not a big eggplant fan. the only way i like my eggpant is well cooked. And thats why i like the Baingan Bharta so much coz the eggplant is roasted well and then cooked well.. no raw taste possible! Jump to Recipe
Charred eggplant .
The dish can be made by roasting the eggplant on a gas burner till the peel is all charred. Or it can also be made with eggplant baked in the microwave for 4-5 minutes till it is soft. The original Punjabi Bharta recipe though uses the charred eggplant.
Baingan Bharta
Roasted mashed spiced Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 Serrano pepper chopped
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- pinch of asofetida
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon dry coriander powder
- 1 cup cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Roast the eggplant on a medium flame gas burner for 15-20 minutes, moving it every 4-5 minutes. It should start becoming charred and mushy and look like the picture above. I dont roast the eggplant completely like my mom does, because then the gas burner becomes very messy. The eggplant starts to drip once the skin gets charred and open. I usually put a foil and some water in the burner base to help with the cleaning later. The burner top though, you cant save:). I just char the skin to get the roasted taste in the eggplant.
- Let the eggplant cool and then remove the as much skin as possible.
- Mash the eggplant.
- In a large pan, heat the oil.
- Add in the mustard seeds and wait till they sputter.
- Add in the turmeric, and coriander powder and mix well.
- Add in the chopped ginger, garlic and Serrano pepper and mix well. Let cook on medium flame for 5 minutes
- Add in the chopped onions and cook them till soft(5-7 minutes)
- Add in the chopped tomato and the mashed eggplant and mix well.
- Add in salt and cook covered on medium-low flame.
- Stir every 5 minutes.
- In about 10-15 minutes the mixture will start to dry up a bit.
- Some people like the bharta more wet than others.. I like mine quite dry so I cook it for 10-15 minutes on low heat till it is dry and a nice earthy brown color.
- Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with chapatis, or Naan or any Indian Bread!
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
Nutrition
Calories: 133kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Sodium: 595mg, Potassium: 770mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 1135IU, Vitamin C: 20.4mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
On another note.. Once every few days..
I enter the elevator with Chewie.. And someone is either already there or boards on the next stop. Conversations in the elvator..
Some person I dont know: Hi Chewie.. aww you are so cute.. Are you going for a walk?
Me: Yes, he is
Some person I dont know.. continues to pet chewie. Elevator dings and time to get off.
Some other person I dont know: Have a great walk Chewie
Or
Some other person I dont know: Have a good day chewie
Some other person I dont know , after realizing that there is someone else also present..(to me): you too ….
I dont know how everyone in the building knows Chewie.. Its like living with a a well known personality.. a Celebrity.. and we are just his random accompanying side actors.
Chewie..
This came out really well. I thought of ordering takeaway and realized I had two eggplants in the fridge so I looked whether you had a recipe 🙂
Delicious, such a good Bharta recipe
Loved this! Simple spices but still full of flavor. We got a new cast iron grill pan and used it for this—did really well.
awesome!
Easy and delicious!!!! It’s also fun roasting the eggplant on the grill!!
Delicious! I added a bit of Indian chili powder, only because I like some spicy in my food. Thank you for the recipe 🙂