Baigan ka Bharta / Roasted Eggplant in Onion Tomato Sauce

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Baigan ka bharta is a famous Punjabi dish but has been adapted all over India or by Indians all over the world these days with twists and tweaks to suit their own palate. I hate eggplants to the core and avoid buying it except for the ones to be added in sambar. Even when used in Sambar, I used to hand pick the cooked brinjals from the curry… That’s how I hate eggplant.

My mom after her many unsuccessful attempts in trying to give me this, then sought out the method of frying the brinjals with spices. Initially when I was a kid, I used to eat this but then after growing up started to become diet conscious and again stopped eating it. The fried brinjals will suck up oil as like a piece of cotton in water. So tired of her attempts, she stopped trying to give me brinjals in any form.

After marriage, the story continued. Now me being the master of my kitchen, I ignored eggplants. One day I asked hubby to get veggies to make sambar. Asked him to get 2 or 3 brinjals and got frustrated when he returned with half a kg of brinjals. I didn’t want to waste them and hence googled for some spicy and masala-y brinjal recipe. Something which masks the flavor of the eggplants. I had lots of hits with this Baigan ka Bharta, blogs and articles telling how delicious and spicy this dish is. So made this side dish for lemon rice and I totally loved the combination of flavors, the tanginess of the lemon rice playing together with the spiciness of the roasted brinjals is definitely a hit.

~*What U Need*~
Brinjal / Eggplants – 4 to 5
Onions(Large) – 1
Tomatoes(Medium) – 1
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Cumin Powder – ½ tsp Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Oil Salt
Coriander leaves – few sprigs
Hing – a pinch

How I made it:

Clean the eggplants well and pat it dry. Brush oil all over the skin and bake in oven or over a grill pan till the eggplant is mushy and done.
When the eggplant is baked well, you will see the skin peeling off. Take it out, cool it down and then peel off the skins and stem.
Mash the eggplant flesh to a pulp. Donot blend this, we need an uneven pulp.

Chop the onions into large chunks and blend this into a smooth paste. Similarly blend the tomatoes too. This step is optional. You can also chop the onions and tomatoes well.
I usually go for the blending option when I am running out of time.

In a hot pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow to splutter. When done, add the curry leaves, hing and fry well.
Add onions / onion paste and fry till brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off.
Then add the tomatoes / tomato paste and sauté till the mixture is cooked well and oil oozes out.
If you feel that the mixture is too dry, you can add oil / water. Add all the powders (Coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala and chilli powder), salt and fry well.
Then add the mashed eggplant pulp and combine well. Cook in medium flame for 3-4 mins and garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Serve hot with chapathis / any tangy rice like lemon rice / mango rice.

Note: You can add cooked fresh peas to this also.

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