Easy 'Baingan Bharta' or Baingan Bartha or Bharta (Mashed Eggplant ) is today's recipe. Baingan is the Hindi name for Eggplants. Eggplants or aubergines are used to make a variety of dishes. One interesting fact and trivia is, botanically they belong to the berry family-like blueberries, watermelon, and tomatoes. 'Baingan Bartha' is an aromatic, spicy, and mouthwatering dish. This is a popular dish from north India. It is said to have originated in India where it grows in the wild. The egg-shaped look and the initial white varieties are from where it got its unique name. It is very popular among vegetarians as it can easily be a meat substitute, due to its bulk and texture.
Last summer, I was thrilled to get a good harvest of eggplants from my kitchen garden. They were all huge in size and ideal candidates to make 'Baingan Bartha'.Eggplants with few seeds are usually preferred to make this dish to get a smooth consistency. The ones I harvested, however, did have seeds but still tasted great.
How to roast the eggplant for the easy version of Baingan Bharta?
Traditionally, the eggplant is slit and greased on all sides with a little oil. This is then roasted on an open flame and cooled in running water so that the skin can be easily peeled. It gets a smoky flavor if roasted on an open flame. This gives a unique and extraordinary taste which most folks prefer.
However, if you want to avoid using an open flame, you can either bake it in the oven or cook it in the microwave. I used the microwave in my preparation. Once you get the contents out of the skin, it can be mashed well with a spoon or fork.
This can then be cooked with onions, tomato, and spices to make a delicious dish. It is best eaten with Rotis or rice. The recipe details are below. Hope you enjoyed reading about it and get a chance to try this dish.
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant large
- 2 tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ cup peas
- 1 bell pepper chopped (optional)
- 2 tsp ginger finely chopped
- 3 green chillies finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped (small)
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli powder
- 2 tsp Coriander power
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder)
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- Roast Eggplant by slitting the sides and spraying it with oil .You can either use a microwave, regular oven or open flame .If you use a microwave , heat for about 10 minutes. In an oven it will need to be baked for about 45 mins by turning it around half way through. A pair of tongs is helpful if used to roast on an open flame.
- Run it in cold water after cooling .The skin can be easily peeled using a fork.
- The meat of the eggplant can be easily mashed using a fork as it would have cooked and become soft.
- In a pan heat oil, add chopped onions and green chillies.
- Next add crushed ginger and sautee well.
- Add peas and chopped tomatoes and cook till it gets blended well and leaves oil from sides.
- Add all the spiced powders, salt and sautee.
- Add the mashed egg plant and and mix well.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves . Baingan bartha is ready to be served .
Oooo this looks interesting. What's 'amchur powder'? I always learn something new from your recipes! Ditto the fact about egg plant being in the berry family. No way, really?! I never would have thought that. x
Hi Caz, Amchur is dry mango powder I will update it in the recipe . It is easily available in the Indian groceries and can be substituted with lime juice if you prefer. It being part of the berry family was astonishing to me too ! Thank you so much for stopping by .
Eggplant is so versatile. Hope you are well Nisha 🙂
It indeed is a versatile dish Lorelle. Thank you for stopping by .I'm doing fine and hope the same with you as well.
I made eggplant once and din’t care for it but I would definitely try yours!
Great to hear that Diane, You might like this recipe it's really good! Thank you for stopping by.
Sounds Super delicious! Thanks for sharing Nisha
Thank you Smitha!
Nisha
Baigan ka Bharta is such a treat to make. Your recipe sounds so good and I have grown up devouring them in the winter season. Your recipe details and presentation are helpful. Thanks
Hello, Wonderful to hear that you love baingan barta as well .It sure is a delicious dish . Thank you so much ,so happy to hear that the details and presentation is helpful. Have a great day! Also just to let you know I tried to visit your website but unable to access it .Is it temporarily down ?
i love "Baingan Ka Bartha", Sorry but i took print 🙂
Glad to hear that , please free to take the printout and try. Thank you so much for stopping by!