Fall in love with eggplants with this quick and easy Baingan Bharta recipe

Baingan Bharta is a Punjabi dish which is super simple and easy to make, and it is the gateway dish to make anyone fall in love with aubergines and eggplants

Baingan bharta is the gateway dish to make anyone fall in love with aubergines and eggplants. This Punjabi dish is super simple and easy to make, and you can try all sorts of variations, even adding potatoes if you aren't too keen on the texture of egg plants on their own. Using simple ingredients like tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and a few basic spices one can ace this recipe in the first try. While one can always soften and cook the egg plants in the oven or microwave, it is always best to char the vegetable on an open flame as this gives it a delicious smokiness. Check out this simple recipe which won't take more than 30 minutes to make, read on:

Baingan Bharta (Veg Recipes of India)

Ingredients

1 large aubergine (eggplant or bhartha baingan or brinjal)

½ cup onion, finely chopped or 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1 cup tomatoes, finely chopped or 2 medium sized tomatoes, finely chopped

5 to 6 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped, about 1 heaped teaspoon of finely chopped garlic

1 green chili, chopped

¼ teaspoon red chili powder or add as required

1 to 1.5 tablespoon oil - can use peanut oil or sunflower oil

1 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped (cilantro leaves)

Salt as required

Method

Wash your aubergine and pat it dry, then place it on an open flame and make sure that every side and part of the skin is cooked and charred to perfection. To see if the aubergine is cooked slide a knife through the center and see if it is squishy through and through. You can also add extra flavour to your aubergine by making slits in it and placing cloves of garlic before roasting it.

After this is done, peel the skin off upon cooling and mash the aubergine, along with the garlic until it is practically a paste.

For making the bharta start by heating oil then add chopped onions and garlic. Saute the onions till translucent. Don't brown them.

Add chopped green chillies and mix. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix it well.

Saute the tomatoes stirring often, till the oil starts separating from the mixture. The tomatoes should become pulpy, soft and oil should release from the masala mixture. Now add the red chili powder. Stir and mix well.

Add the chopped cooked aubergine. Mix well, season with salt, stir for a few more minutes before adding coriander leaves or garnish it with them. This tastes best with phulkas, rotis or chapatis. However you can always eat it with whatever you like.

(Recipe courtesy Veg Recipes of India)