This is really simple but mouthwatering dish. Did you ever try baingan ka bharta or eggplant bharta? I think that you definitely tasted this and that is why you have landed on this page. Is this not true? It is a popular North Indian dish, particularly Punjabi style baingan bharta is super popular in Northern India. People enjoy this smoky flavored eggplant bharta during the winter season.
Not just winter season, you can try this baigan bharta anytime throughout the year because brinjal is always available in the market.
Being a Bengali I did no try this till last few years ago. Rather I used to enjoy begun pora (roasted brinjal curry in Bengali style). I like that begun pora too. But eggplant bharta is really very special. It is spicy and delicious. I ate this type of baingan ka bharta at a roadside dhaba in Delhi in 2007. But after that, I tried this dish several times.
I have also closely noticed the preparation at various dhaba in Delhi as well as I tried this at one of my colleagues’ residence.
As I said it is really easy to make. So I started making this at home too in Kolkata. Everybody from my family also liked this a lot. But most important thing is that here I used homegrown eggplant to make this baingan ka bharta. Not just brinjal but also I used homegrown tomatoes too.
Roasting brinjal in a tandoor or traditional chulha is more convenient that roasting it on a gas oven. I believe the taste of eggplant bharta will be different if we make it in a tandoor or on traditional chulha because then a strong smoky flavor will be added to this dish.
Baingan bharta recipe
- 1 eggplant/brinjal/baingan
- 3 medium-size tomatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 1.5 teaspoons ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste/chopped
- 2 green chillies
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1.5 teaspoons turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- A handful of fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tablespoons mustard oil
- Heat mustard oil in a kadai and add ginger & garlic paste, finely chopped green chillies and saute
- Now add finely chopped onion and fry till it turns to light brown
- Then add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt and tomatoes and cook till tomatoes become soft & mixed perfectly with all spices
- Now add roasted eggplant/brinjal/baingan and mix with all spices, cook for next 3-4 minutes till roasted brinjal perfectly mixed with masala
- Now spread finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and mix
- Serve this with roti/paratha/naan
Also read: Roasted tomato curry with green peas, everyday vegetable biryani, delicious dal makhani, green peas curry with ladi pav, beguni prepared with homegrown brinjal, Bengali style veg chop
How to make baingan bharta (eggplant bharta or baigan bharta)?
Fry ginger paste, chopped garlic and green chillies, use mustard oil to fry those
Add onion pieces and cook till it turns to light brown, add salt too
Now add spices (coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder & red chilli powder) & finely chopped tomatoes and cook over medium flame till those tomatoes become soft
Then add roasted eggplant/baingan/brinjal and stir to mix it with all spices
Cook for another few minutes till roasted brinjal properly mix with masala (mixed spices)
Now add finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and mix
………. Kitchen Garden ……….
This brinjal was harvested from my rooftop garden and prepared this mouthwatering baigan bharta. Right now, we have 6 brinjal plants, 7 tomato plants, 1 bottle gourd plant, 1 capsicum plants, 15 chilli plants and 15 lettuce in our rooftop kitchen garden. I have also sowed 8 ladies finger plants, 4 long bean plants, 3 bitter gourd plants for the summer season. A few seeds are also germinated and converted into seedlings.
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