I had
always thought that Baingan was a boring vegetable and it was not everyone's
favorite at home either. The day I reached Delhi after completing post-marriage
ceremonies in South India, myself and mother-in-law straight away hit the
vegetable market near our house to collect a few vegetables for dinner.
That's when
I got to know that such big brinjals exist in
the world and a simple yet exotic dish can be made out of that. Char-grilled
brinjals cooked with a simple combination of spices and herbs are sure to catch
a hot spot in everyone's favorite menu.
Ingredients:
Brinjal
(Eggplant or Baingan) - 1 large no.
Onion - 1
large size, finely chopped
Tomato - 1
large size, finely chopped
Green
Chillies - 2 nos.
Red Chilli
Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric
Powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander-cumin
powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam
Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/2
tsp
Fresh
Coriander leaves - few, finely chopped
Salt - to taste
Oil - 3 tsp
Method:
1.
Thoroughly wash the baingan under running water and pat dry. Drizzle a few
drops of oil and neatly coat the whole baingan.
Now roast this on open flame on a gas cook-top. Keep the flame to medium
and keep turning the baingan after 2-3 minutes so it will get cooked evenly on
all the sides.
2. When you
start noticing that the baingan has started shrinking in size and the skin
starts falling apart, switch off gas. When it becomes cool, peel the skin and
wash it under running water so the burnt pieces of the skin are removed if
there are any. Wipe and discard any excess water from the baingan. Mash the
baingan with the help of a potato masher or using the back of a ladle.
3. Heat oil
in a kadai and add Jeera. When they crackle, add finely chopped onions. Once it
becomes soft and translucent, add finely chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes
are cooked and becomes mushy, add the mashed chargrilled baingan to this. Now
add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder, garam masala
powder and salt to taste. Mix well and keep it on low flame till all the
masalas blend together with the baingan. To finish it off, sprinkle some slit
green chillies and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotis
or even plain rice with your favourite daal.
Tips:
1. Choose
big eggplants that have shiny surface and are light in weight. It is said that
if the eggplants are heavy, they will have more seeds which will spoil the
taste of the bharta.
2. You can
even roast the eggplant in an oven, however, the smokiness that you get by
char-grilling the eggplant will taste spectacular. The eggplant can even be
grilled in a tandoor or in an microwave oven.
