Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Baingan Bharta (Mashed Eggplant)


           When I get these big eggplants or brinjals, I mostly do this or a raitha with it. The dish gets its flavor from roasting the eggplant directly on stove top or by grilling it. I made it a little more nutritious by adding some green chana (chickpeas) to it and also a little richer by adding some cashew paste. Once you are done with roasting the eggplant and removing the charred skin, the next steps are very pretty simple, it tastes great with that smoked flavor..

Need To Have
  • Eggplant - 1 huge one
  • Cooked Green Chana - 1 cup
  • Onion - 1 big chopped
  • Garlic - 4 cloves grated
  • Ginger - 1 tablespoon grated
  • Tomato Puree - 1/2 cup
  • Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon
  • Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
  • Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
  • Cashews - 1 tablespoon
  • Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Coriander Leaves - to garnish


Method
          Roast the eggplant directly on stove top, turning it from side to side, or cut it into half, apply some oil and bake it in the oven. Once the outer skin becomes charred and the eggplant feels soft, remove and let it cool. Now comes the messy part, remove the charred skin and mash the eggplant either with the hand or in a blender, but do not make it into a paste. Make a paste with the cashews. Heat oil, add the cumin seeds, once the spluttering stops, add the onion, garlic and ginger, saute till the raw smell disappears, add the tomato puree (not a paste), followed by salt, turmeric, chilli and coriander powders, saute for about 5 mins. Then, add the cashew paste, saute for few more mins and add the eggplant, green chana, cook for couple of mins more, then add the cumin and garam masala powders, mix everything together. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis, this goes well with akki rotis too.

Sending this to Vegetarian Food And Me for I'm The Star event,
                   to Sumee's Culinary Bites for the Bon Vivant event,
                   to Shama's Easy2cook Recipes for Sara's Cooking With Love - Granddad Series event,
                   to Spicy Treats for the Show Me The Hits - Fiber Rich Foods event,
                   to Zesty Palette for Vidhya's Love Lock Series - Legumes event,
                   to Zesty South Indian Kitchen for the Hearth And Soul Blog Hop event,
                   to Food Corner for the Midweek Fiesta event,
                   to Srav's Cooking Concepts for Vegan Diets - Only Plant Based event and
                   to Sara's Corner for the Women's Day Celebration event.

Note
You can also cook the eggplant in the microwave oven, putting some slits and wrapping in a wet tissue, but it will not have the smoked flavor.
Can also use Italian eggplants for this and also fresh green chana.








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36 comments:

  1. super flavourful dish,love the addition of chickpeas will give more taste...

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  2. adding channa sounds interesting. nice presentation

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  3. Never added channa to this. Nice one

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  4. Healthy one. I love the combo of veggies and legumes.

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  5. loved the addition of adding green channa , looks yummy

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  6. This chana is too new to me in the bharta. It's giving such a different feel and look...gosh amazing!! :)

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  7. Lovely twist...looks beautiful and appetizing.

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  8. Adding chana sounds interesting,beautiful dish,yum

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  9. These look so good! I can smell the wonderful burnt smell!

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  10. yummy dish dear....awesome recipe....

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  11. This is very innovative and healthy recipe.

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  12. Looks aromatic and delicious! Nice recipe dear..

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  13. Addition of chickpea very innovative and healthy

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  14. BB is my fav thing to order at the restaurant. I make them once in a while and love it.

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  15. Delicious Baingan ka Bharta addition of channa is new sure it tasty. Thanks for sharing with tasty recipe with Hearth and soul blog hop.

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  16. Nice addition of channa to baingan bhartha. Healthy. Thx for linking to the event.

    Vardhini
    Event: Legumes
    Event: Fenugreek/Kasuri Methi

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  17. very creative. I never added chana in bharta. Looks fantastic. like it

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  18. i love the addition of channa in this.. looks superb!

    Ongoing Event : I'm The Star

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  19. looks yum n spicy loved d idea of addng chana.perfectly done..
    Maha

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  20. Adding Channa is a nice twist..curry looks yum!

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  21. Great idea Hema, addition of chickpeas to baigan masala sounds more healthy n tasty curry...looking too good n inviting!!
    Thanks again for this wonderful entry!
    Spicy Treats
    OnGoing Event:kitchen Chronicles - Summer Splash
    Ongoing Event : HITS~Fiber Rich Foods

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  22. I love the smoky baigan bharta... Yours looks yummo!

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  23. Good idea of adding chickpeas with it.. Nice. Thx for linking up

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  24. nice recipe...its a must for the winters

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  25. wonderful dish n love the green channa addition

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  26. This sounds great!! I loved the recipe. Your blog is full of yummy delicacies...drooling!http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.com

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  27. An old favourite...love your decoration :-)

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  28. hi, an award waiting for you at my space.. share and enjoy Noel collections

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  29. I have never tried eggplant this way before, this sounds wonderful!

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  30. I have never had roasted eggplant, so this does intrigue. It does look deliciously hearty and full of flavor. Awesome dish!

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  31. Adding chickpeas to bhartha sounds interesting...Looks yummy

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  32. Looks awesome and different too.

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  33. oh!!you are making me mouthwater!!So so delicious...
    Thanks for linking with Midweek Fiesta, Hope to see you again

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  34. Adding cashew paste and chana to baigan bharta, and an eggplant raita - interesting; both are new to me :)

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  35. Yummy and spicy curry !! love to have with rotis!! Thanks for linking to the event !!

    Ongoing event
    CC:Vegan Diet - Plant Based Food

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