Shahi Baingan Bharta Creamy Roasted Mashed Eggplant Food

EASY BAINGAN BHARTA (OVEN ROASTED/BROILED EGGPLANT CURRY)

Steps:

• Set your oven rack so that your eggplants will be as close as possible to the heat source. Use a fork or knife to poke holes throughout the eggplant to prevent it from bursting in the oven.
• Preheat your broiler on High (550 degrees F/287 C). Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. Roast the eggplants for about 30 minutes, turning midway. The skin will blacken and the eggplant may burst a little.
• Once the eggplant cools down (you can place it in a bowl of water to speed this up) peel the blackened skin, remove the stem and coarsely mash its flesh. I like to do this using the "pulse" function of my food processor. Set aside.
• Heat ghee and oil in a skillet a little over medium heat and add the cumin seeds. They will start to sputter. Immediately add the onion and sauté for 5-8 minutes, or until slightly golden. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to sauté until the raw smell disappears, or about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook until they're soft and the oil starts to leave the sides, about 5 minutes. Add a bit of water (if needed so the spices don't get burnt) and add the salt, paprika, red chili, and turmeric.
• Add the mashed eggplant and green chili peppers and cook, stirring often, until it is well cooked and becomes mushy like a purée, about 8-10 minutes. Taste and add oil, salt or paprika (for more color) as needed.
• Turn off the heat. Stir in the chopped cilantro leaves. Sprinkle lemon juice and garam masala over it. Serve with naan, roti or other bread. I like to eat it with some yogurt on the side to add some coolness to the dish.

SHAHI BAINGAN BHARTA (CREAMY ROASTED MASHED EGGPLANT)

Steps:

• Prick the eggplant with a fork a few times, lightly oil and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F Roast until they are tender, about 30-40min or until the flesh yields easily to pressure.
• Remove the pulp, peel and mash.
• Heat oil, add onion and cook until golden brown.
• Add garlic, chilis and all the dry spices listed.
• Add tomato and cook, stirring, till tomato gets pulpy, about 10mins.
• Stir in the roasted eggplant pulp, and cook on medium-low heat, about 15min.
• Stir in the cream and garnish with chopped cilantro.

BAINGAN BHARTA

Steps:

• Roast the eggplant on a medium flame gas burner for 15-20 minutes, moving it every 4-5 minutes. It should start becoming charred and mushy and look like the picture above. I dont roast the eggplant completely like my mom does, because then the gas burner becomes very messy. The eggplant starts to drip once the skin gets charred and open. I usually put a foil and some water in the burner base to help with the cleaning later. The burner top though, you cant save:). I just char the skin to get the roasted taste in the eggplant.
• Let the eggplant cool and then remove the as much skin as possible.
• Mash the eggplant.
• In a large pan, heat the oil.
• Add in the mustard seeds and wait till they sputter.
• Add in the turmeric, and coriander powder and mix well.
• Add in the chopped ginger, garlic and Serrano pepper and mix well. Let cook on medium flame for 5 minutes
• Add in the chopped onions and cook them till soft(5-7 minutes)
• Add in the chopped tomato and the mashed eggplant and mix well.
• Add in salt and cook covered on medium-low flame.
• Stir every 5 minutes.
• In about 10-15 minutes the mixture will start to dry up a bit.
• Some people like the bharta more wet than others.. I like mine quite dry so I cook it for 10-15 minutes on low heat till it is dry and a nice earthy brown color.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with chapatis, or Naan or any Indian Bread!

BAINGAN BHARTA (ROASTED EGGPLANT SALAD)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with foil. Make 3 slashes in each eggplant, from top to tail, equally distanced around the eggplant. Rub the eggplants with a little peanut oil. Sit them on the baking sheet and roast until soft all the way to the center and the skin is brown, about 45 minutes, rotating the pan and flipping the eggplants halfway through. Remove from the oven and cool.
• Once cool, skin the eggplant. Chop the flesh until it's relatively smooth but not mushy.
• In a large skillet, warm the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onion and saute until it turns golden brown. Add the eggplant flesh, garlic, chile and cilantro leaves. Cook 2 minutes. Add a splash of water if it begins to stick.
• Add the turmeric, cumin, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Stir and cook another 5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat. Add the yogurt and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning, and garnish with cilantro leaves and a sprinkle of ground cumin. Serve either warm or slightly chilled.

BAINGAN BHARTA (EGGPLANT CURRY)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Place eggplant on a medium baking sheet. Bake 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until tender. Remove from heat, cool, peel, and chop.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix in cumin seeds and onion. Cook and stir until onion is tender.
• Mix ginger garlic paste, curry powder, and tomato into the saucepan, and cook about 1 minute. Stir in yogurt. Mix in eggplant and jalapeno pepper, and season with salt. Cover, and cook 10 minutes over high heat. Remove cover, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking about 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

BAINGAN BHARTA

Steps:

• Prick the eggplant with a thin-blade knife. Grill over or next to very high heat, turning as necessary until the skin is blackened and the eggplant collapses. Or broil, or roast on a heated cast-iron pan in the hottest possible oven. It will take about 20 minutes.
• When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel (this will be easy) and trim away the hard stem. Chop or mash in a bowl, with lime juice.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and chiles and cook for another minute. Add the tomato, turmeric and salt. Cook until the tomato is soft, 5 minutes or so.
• Stir in the eggplant purée and cook, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and garam masala and turn off the heat. Serve hot with warm chapati bread or pita, or over rice.

BAINGAN BHARTA- INDIAN STYLE FIRE ROASTED EGGPLANTS

Steps:

• Prick eggplants and roast them over open flame or in a tandoor/preheated oven until the skin scorches and starts peeling off.
• The sure shot way to check if the eggplants are done is to pierce them with the back of a spoon, if it enters the brinjal like soft butter then they are done.
• When at room temperature remove the skin and mash the pulp.
• Chop the onions, tomatoes and green chilli.
• Heat oil(preferably mustard oil) in a kadahi(wok) and add chopped onions. Sauté until they are pink. Do not brown them.Then add chopped ginger, garlic, chopped green chilli and stir.
• After about 1/2 a minute add the tomatoes and the salt(adding salt with the tomatoes softens the tomatoes faster and thus makes cooking easier)When the tomatoes are done(oil seperates from them)add all the powders except for the garam masala powder and cook for another 1/2 a minute.
• Now add the mashed brinjals. After this point not much cooking is required. Cook for about 1/2 to 1 minute and finally add the garam masala and chopped corriander leaves.
• Serve immediately with roti, paraatha, naan, pitta bread, or even on a toast! We love it on a crunchy toast - irresistable, I tell you!