They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. In our household, this certainly holds true. Luckily, my husband is non fussy and pretty easy to please when it comes to food. There are some dishes though, that win me more affection and quite a lot of appreciation! Baingan bharta, or vangyache bharit as we call it in Marathi, is of those dishes. The key to a good bharta is the smoky flavor that comes from roasting the eggplant directly on the flame or even better, on coal. For people who are not blessed with a gas stove, you may use the electric stove, oven, or steam the eggplant. Unfortunately, the flavor will suffer a little. If you are cooking for someone special, you may also be able to get their help with cleaning the stove, for these eggplants sure are messy!
Making a bharta starts with choosing the right kind of eggplant. The bigger the better? Absolutely not. The larger ones tend to have more seeds and are harder to cook. You want to go with the ones that are medium sized and a little soft to touch. These are the ones that will have the most juices and impart a beautiful flavor to the dish. These are, unfortunately, also the ones who will make you use your elbow grease for cleaning after cooking on the flame, as a lot of juice will also run out as you cook!
I add my mom-in-law's touch to this dish and use Spring Onions in the recipe. I think it works really well.
This recipe serves 4.
Ingredients
Eggplants (Medium sized) - 2
Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon and 3 tablespoons (divided)
Spring Onions - 4 bulbs with leaves
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1/2 teaspoon
Tomato Puree - 3 tablespoons
Salt - 1.5 teaspoon or to taste
Green Chillies - 4 (or to taste)
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Ginger - 1 small bulb (about a tablespoon when minced)
Dhania Jeera Powder - 1 teaspoon
Red Chilli powder - 2 teaspoons (or to taste)
Haldi powder (Turmeric) - 1 teaspooon
Procedure
1) Wash the eggplant and wipe them dry. Apply about half a tablespoon olive oil (or any oil that you use) evenly on the eggplants.
2) Place the eggplants directly on the flame (one of each stove) and let it roast evenly on all sides. You may want to roast about 5-7 minutes on each side until it is cooked through and the skin looks charred. Be very careful when dealing with the eggplants directly on the flame!
3) When the eggplants are roasted, place them on to a large plate and set them aside to let them cool down.
4) While the eggplants are cooling, chop the green onion.
5) Prepare a paste of ginger, garlic and chillies. Ever since I've discovered how easy it is to make this paste at home and how much of an difference it makes to the overall flavor of the dish, I have stopped using readymade pastes. I use a small Oster mixer attachment that my parents brought me from India that does an amazing job grinding and making pastes!
Throw the chillies, ginger, and garlic into the grinder..
and two seconds later..voila! It probably costs much lesser too.
6) Place the paste aside and peel the eggplants.
7) Mash 'em up with a potato masher or back of a spoon. Try not to lose any of the precious juice!
8) Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pan and add jeera and mustard seeds. Let them crackle and then add a pinch of hing.
9) Add chopped spring onions and a pinch of salt. Let them cook till they are slightly wilted.
10) Add the chilly-ginger-garlic paste and cook until the raw smell disappears, a minute or two.
11) Add tomato puree and let it cook for another minute or two, until bubbles appear around the edges.
12) Add the spices - haldi (turmeric), red chilly powder, dhania jeera powder and give it a good mix.
13) Add the mashed eggplant mixture and salt and mix to combine.
14) Cook on a low flame for 10 minutes. If your eggplants were juicy enough you won't need any water. If they were dry then you can add a tablespoon or two.
I served my bharta with jowar bhakri, thecha (red chilly paste, not for the meek!), and sliced onions sprinkled with lemon juice. I also had salted buttermilk on the side to bring down the spiciness a little :)
Hope you enjoy the dish!
Making a bharta starts with choosing the right kind of eggplant. The bigger the better? Absolutely not. The larger ones tend to have more seeds and are harder to cook. You want to go with the ones that are medium sized and a little soft to touch. These are the ones that will have the most juices and impart a beautiful flavor to the dish. These are, unfortunately, also the ones who will make you use your elbow grease for cleaning after cooking on the flame, as a lot of juice will also run out as you cook!
I add my mom-in-law's touch to this dish and use Spring Onions in the recipe. I think it works really well.
This recipe serves 4.
Ingredients
Eggplants (Medium sized) - 2
Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon and 3 tablespoons (divided)
Spring Onions - 4 bulbs with leaves
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1/2 teaspoon
Tomato Puree - 3 tablespoons
Salt - 1.5 teaspoon or to taste
Green Chillies - 4 (or to taste)
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Ginger - 1 small bulb (about a tablespoon when minced)
Dhania Jeera Powder - 1 teaspoon
Red Chilli powder - 2 teaspoons (or to taste)
Haldi powder (Turmeric) - 1 teaspooon
Procedure
1) Wash the eggplant and wipe them dry. Apply about half a tablespoon olive oil (or any oil that you use) evenly on the eggplants.
2) Place the eggplants directly on the flame (one of each stove) and let it roast evenly on all sides. You may want to roast about 5-7 minutes on each side until it is cooked through and the skin looks charred. Be very careful when dealing with the eggplants directly on the flame!
3) When the eggplants are roasted, place them on to a large plate and set them aside to let them cool down.
4) While the eggplants are cooling, chop the green onion.
5) Prepare a paste of ginger, garlic and chillies. Ever since I've discovered how easy it is to make this paste at home and how much of an difference it makes to the overall flavor of the dish, I have stopped using readymade pastes. I use a small Oster mixer attachment that my parents brought me from India that does an amazing job grinding and making pastes!
Throw the chillies, ginger, and garlic into the grinder..
9) Add chopped spring onions and a pinch of salt. Let them cook till they are slightly wilted.
11) Add tomato puree and let it cook for another minute or two, until bubbles appear around the edges.
12) Add the spices - haldi (turmeric), red chilly powder, dhania jeera powder and give it a good mix.
14) Cook on a low flame for 10 minutes. If your eggplants were juicy enough you won't need any water. If they were dry then you can add a tablespoon or two.
I served my bharta with jowar bhakri, thecha (red chilly paste, not for the meek!), and sliced onions sprinkled with lemon juice. I also had salted buttermilk on the side to bring down the spiciness a little :)
Hope you enjoy the dish!
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