Baingan Bharta aka Mashed Eggplant
Baingan Da Bharta, or Indian Mashed Eggplant, is one of my favorite dishes. Mom always made sure she cooked this whenever I went back home for the holidays. She still does whenever I go home from Bangkok.
The main problem I face cooking this in an apartment is that I cannot grill it over an open flame, so I use a normal pan here. It takes some time to cook, but you can do it. Here we go.
- 1 Big Baingan (Brinjal/Egg Plant)
- 2 Onions
- 2 Tomatoes or 1 Cup of Tomato Puree
- 1" Ginger Paste
- 4 Cloves Garlic Paste
- 2 Green Chili Pepper minced (Use as you like)
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/3 Cup of Coriander
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Jeera powder (Cumin Powder)
- 1 tsp Dhania Powder (Coriander Powder)
- 1/3 tsp Haldi Powder (Turmeric Powder)
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- Salt to taste
Take 1 Brinjal and make small cuts around it. (You can add Garlic Cloves in the cuts if you want.)
Rub the Brinjal with Oil and place it in a Pan.
You can also keep Tomatoes along with Brinjal in Pan.
Close the lid and cook the Brinjal until it becomes soft. (Try using a knife to check this)
It will look something like the picture shown.
Peel off the skin of the Brinjal and Mash it to a pulp.
Heat Oil in Pan.
Add 2 Onions and 2 Chilies - Cook it until the Onion turns brown.
Add Mashed Tomato, Finely cut Garlic and Ginger (Or Add Tomato Puree + Ginger Garlic Paste)
Cook it until water evaporates and the mix becomes a thick paste
Add all the spices and cook for 5 more minutes.
Add the Mashed Brinjal to the mix.
Mix all the content in Pan well.
Slow Cook the mix for 10 minutes.
Here is an optional step, but I always do it: add Cream/Malai. This makes the dish rich and yummy.
Once cooked, garnish the Curry with Coriander.
Enjoy my Favourite Baingan Da Bharta.
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Jagdeep
