Skip to main content

Baingan ka Bhartha

Punjab, I believe is the most liveliest of all the states in India. Their culture, people and the food make other people envy about them. The people of Punjab are so happy go lucky that their nature reflects in their celebrations, enthusiasm and also in their FOOD. The most lip-smacking dishes comes from Punjab, be it the Tandoori Chicken, Butter Chicken, Dal-Makhni or the simple Rajma chawal. Their generous hearts and hands let out the love, ghee, oil, dry fruits into their dishes that you just can have one meal a day to survive. :)

"Baingan ka Bhartha" is one such dish which is a popular Punjabi ghar ka khana (daily diet). "Baingan" means Eggplant/Brinjal and "Bhartha" means to mash up or squash up. Here, the eggplant is roasted on a direct fire to get that smoky flavour and then blended in with some of the Indian spices to get a smooth textured, tasty side dish which goes very well with phulkas. So mash up some eggplants and experience the taste of Punjab. :)

Ingredients:
  • 1 big eggplant/brinjal (I don't get the Indian Brinjal here, hence I use the Aubergine)
  • 1/2 cup peas (boiled)
  • 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
  • 2 big tomatoes (finely chopped)
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves, optional)
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • salt to taste
  • chopped coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
  1. The authentic way to cook the eggplant is to rub the eggplant with some oil and poke all over it with a fork. Then roast it on a gas by placing it directly on the flame (keep the flame low). With a pair of tongs, keep turning the eggplant till the skin is fully burnt and the inner flesh becomes soft. Try inserting a knife to check whether the flesh is fully cooked or not.
  2. I normally rub the eggplant with oil, prick all over with a fork and roast it in the oven for 20 minutes. This makes me ensure that the flesh is cooked properly and worms if any are dead.
  3. Allow the eggplant to cool and then peel the burnt skin off. With a spoon, hand or knife, mash the flesh nicely and keep aside.
  4. Heat oil in a kadai and put the cumin seeds. Wait till they splutter. Now add the onions and saute till they become translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir till the raw smell goes.
  5. Now add the tomatoes and put all the dried spices and the green chillies including salt. Stir well until the tomatoes become mushy. Sprinkle water if needed.
  6. Put in the mashed eggplant to the tomato gravy along with the boiled peas. Mix well so that the eggplant and the peas blend well with the gravy. Crush the kasuri methi (optional) & put it in the gravy. Cook till you think the dish is fully cooked. Go on taste it. :)
  7. Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve with phulkas or paranthas!!



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hundred Thousand Dollar worth Rava Upma (Indian Semolina Polenta)

Now you must be thinking, who doesn't know to make Rava Upma? What is so special about it? Every 5th person residing in India knows to make it and is a common breakfast item in almost all the Indian household. We Indians take this dish for granted. Well up until a week back, even I thought the same about this dish and looked down on Rava Upma. Not anymore. Last week I read a news about an Indian born, New York Chef Floyd Cardoz who won the top prize of £100,000 in an American show called "Top Chef Masters". No prize for guessing, he made RAVA UPMA!! After reading the article, I immediately decided that the recipe of a basic version of Upma must be on my blog. And here I am sharing the if not a "million dollar", then atleast a "hundred thousand dollar worth Upma Recipe". :) Upma is a popular South Indian Breakfast dish, mainly prepared by Semolina. It has a great resemblance with the Italian Polenta. It can be made with many variations by adding vegeta...
13 comments
Read more

Anniversary & Pouring Awards with Pista Kulfi

Took a break from blog & cooking for a couple of days as I was in a mood to celebrate!! That's right, Arun and I celebrated our 4 years of married life on 10th June. Phew, time truly flies in just a snap!! (Below is our wedding snap, a perfect South Indian Wedding shot...please don't laugh at it.;). So I was in no mood to cook that day & told Arun that the meals of the day will be either frozen, take away or a dine out. He preferred the third one. ;) So we went to one of our favourite food joints {Did I tell you, that we live in a place called Chesterfield, a Historic Market Town in UK & don't have much choices around here ;)}, "Frankie & Benny's."My god, we both die for those thin crust Italian Pizzas & the cheesy gar(lick)y bread which melts in your mouth like a candy floss...Aah! Now, I have to tell you what we ordered, because it was that good. ;) For starters, we ordered their famous garlic bread with crispy coated chicken ...
24 comments
Read more

Light Lunch - Vegetable Soup

My last few days at Chesterfield, home alone, cherishing all the happy memories of the last 4 years. Spent whole day flipping through the photographs with a hot mug of Coffee relaxing on my recliner. I was in no mood to cook but then getting hungry is human, so I had to visit my kitchen to see what could be made. I decided to go light today so made use of all the remaining veggies (to clear off the fridge) to make a healthy Vegetable Soup. I finished off making a warm, healthy, filling soup for my lunch just within half an hour & went back to my couch only to get more lazy. Sometimes its good when you do nothing at all!! ;) Ingredients: 1/2 of medium cauliflower (cut into florets) 2 medium carrots (peeled & finely diced) 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas 1 medium potato (finely diced) 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 2-3 cloves of garlic (crushed) 25 gm butter salt & pepper to season Method: Melt the butter in a pressure cooker. Now add the crushed garlic & the chopped ...
22 comments
Read more