Punjabi Baingan Bharta

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Apr 19

Written By Anadi Misra

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Image 2021-04-19 at 9.53 AM.jpg — **Punjabi Baingan Bharta** is a super satisfying, lip-smacking smoky roasted eggplant curry! The wonderful char from the eggplant seeps its incredible flavour into an excellent mash with onions and tomatoes, spruced up with Indian spices! Serve with roti, paratha, or rice!

Baingan Bharta Recipe

How do you feel when eggplant is mentioned? To be honest with you, it doesn’t excite me that much! While I can appreciate a lovely ratatouille (hm, now I’m feeling like making one), serving chana dal with a brinjal chutney, or dipping pita bread in baba ganoush, I can’t really name a dish where eggplant shines to me. I’ll be totally honest with you and that I’ve never even made an eggplant Parmesan before! Give me the option between Classic Chicken Parmesan versus eggplant Parmesan, of course I’ll always want the chicken Parmesan! I love chicken, what can I say? I’ll have to try eggplant Parmesan someday but it really doesn’t excite me!

Baingan bharta was not a dish that got me jumping for joy as a kid. My mom would make it but I didn’t like the texture at all. I feel like I say this a lot on the blog, but my mom really is good at cooking! She’s a pro at Masoor Dal, Lobia, and of course the grilled cheese that’s named after her, Mom’s Grilled Cheese! But sometimes there were some dishes that were hits and misses, and this is one of them! I really resisted having Baingan Bharta at home!

But one time my aunt had a hand at making this dish. She didn’t make it at all like my mom, and I was head over heels for it! The smokiness of the eggplant truly shown for me! This version of Baingan Bharta is inspired by her style! So let’s ditch the misconception that eggplants are bland and boring and have some fun with this Punjabi dish!

What is Baingan Bharta?

All right, confession time! I didn’t know what baingan bharta translated to until today. I knew that “baingan” means eggplant, but I didn’t know what the “bharta” part of the dish’s name was. I recently posted my Mango Lassi recipe and I didn’t even know what a “lassi” really meant. I hope you all aren’t questioning that I’m actually Indian. Yes, I swear I am! I just got handed stuff and was like “okay, yum!”

For the big revelation, “bharta” means “mash.” So, baingan bharta translates to eggplant mash. We’ll first roast our eggplant, and then peel it and mash it up with our other veggies! You’ll see that this curry has a chunky gravy. It is quite comparable to baba ganoush, but with the Indian spices added, the taste is totally different!

For me the star here is that roasted eggplant. When you get a nice char on it, those incredible flavours will seep into the mash with your other veggies. Paired with the spices, you have wonderful flavours just dancing around in your mouth. The experience is just out of this world! I’ve had leftovers for breakfast, I just love it that much!

Why Make Baingan Bharta?

Now I can’t get enough of baingan bharta! I definitely recommend you give this recipe a try! I believe it makes the perfect weeknight dinner that’s super satisfying. Here’s why you should get in the kitchen and get started making it:

Healthy
Low calorie
Can be vegan if you substitute the ghee for another cooking oil
Doesn’t dirty too many dishes
DELICIOUS!

Ingredients for Punjabi Baingan Bharta

Let’s go over our ingredient list for baingan bharta. We’ll only be using a few spices for this recipe, as we want to focus on the eggplant and our veggies.

Cumin Seeds
Hing
Eggplant
Ghee
Ginger
Garlic
Green chiles
Onions
Tomatoes
Ground coriander
Turmeric
Deggi mirch
Garam masala
Cilantro

How to Make Punjabi Baingan Bharta

A point or two about the right stovetop

The ideal stovetop to get that beautiful char is the naked flame from a gas stovetop. However, in case you don’t have a gas line in your neighbourhood or have another type of stovetop, you can still roast the eggplant without much issues!

I have an electric, smooth cooktop. On such a stovetop, the heat does not rely on a pot/pan being detected for the heat to turn on. Therefore, I can use a wire rack, over the cooktop and char the eggplant.

While you may do the same on an electric coil cooktop, these types of stoves are notorious for being a pain in the neck to clean. An you may get some juices dripping from the eggplant and I would like you to avoid any extra cleanup.

For any other cooktops, follow the instructions below to see how to roast the eggplant in your oven.

Roasting the Eggplant

On an electric smooth cooktop, place a wire rack over the largest burner and turn heat to high. Add eggplant over the wire rack and turn every few minutes until the eggplant is soft and lightly charred all around

On gas cooktop, add the eggplant directly over the flame and turn every few minutes until the eggplant is soft and lightly charred all around.

For any other cooktop, use the broiler in your oven to roast the eggplant. Move the oven rack to the second highest position and place a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with foil. Cook the eggplant as directed above.

Let eggplant rest on a plate/cutting board once done cooking.

Making the Baingan Bharta

Place a wok/pan on medium heat and add the ghee once hot. Add cumin seeds and hing and cook until aromatic.
Add ginger, garlic and green chiles and cook until lightly roasted and aromatic.
Add onions, a pinch of salt and cook until onions become soft.
Add the tomatoes, mix well and add ground coriander, turmeric, deggi mirch and a pinch of salt.
While the tomatoes cook down, slice the eggplant in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh of the eggplant.
Once tomatoes are soft, add in the eggplant and mix well. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until eggplant comes well together with the tomato masala.
Finish with garam masala and cilantro, adjust for seasoning and serve right away!

Tips & Tricks for the Best Baingan bharta

The star of this dish should be the eggplant, so be conservative with the amount of spice used in this dish to really appreciate the flavour of the roasted eggplant.
Make sure to season the dish with salt at every stage to really unlock the flavours of each ingredient.
The roasted skin of the eggplant is packed full of flavour. For additional smokiness in the bharta, feel free to chop bits of the skin and add with the eggplant. It is delicious!

Serving Suggestions for Punjabi Baingan Bharta

Enjoy smoky baingan bharta with bread or rice! Here are some breads you can serve baingan bharta with.

I’ve always had my baingan bharta with roti or paratha, but if you’re feeling lavish, then by all means try tandoori naan or laccha paratha! In the video, I purchased some naan from the grocery store and it was truly satisfying!

You could also serve with some simply steamed Basmati Rice or some Jeera Rice. For a fully hearty meal, you could also cook up some Masaledar Chana Dal and some Crispy Aloo Bhujia for some extra body.

Watch How to Make Punjabi Baingan Bharta here:

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!

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Indian, vegetarian, dinner

Indian

Punjabi Baingan Bharta | Smoked Eggplant Curry | Roasted Eggplant Recipe | Aubergine Curry Recipehttps://youtu.be/K1Q5h_lWkgEPunjabi Baingan bharta is a smoked eggplant curry. This step by step baingan bharta recipe will show you the roasted eggplant recipe over the stove and then how to make your aubergine curry. Baingan bharta translates to "eggplant mash", because after we roast our eggplant, we'll be mashing it in with our other veggies and classic Indian spices. Baingan bharta is an easy eggplant curry that goes well with paratha, roti, or rice.2021-04-19

Yield: 4

Author: Anadi

Punjabi Baingan Bharta

Punjabi Baingan Bharta is a super satisfying, lip-smacking smoky roasted eggplant curry! The wonderful char from the eggplant seeps its incredible flavour into an excellent mash with onions and tomatoes, spruced up with Indian spices! Serve with roti, paratha, or rice!

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min

Ingredients

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of hing
1 Tbsp ghee
1 large eggplant
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1-2 green chiles, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp deggi mirch (or paprika)
1/4 tsp garam masala
salt to taste

Instructions

Roasting the eggplant

On an electric smooth cooktop, place a wire rack over the largest burner and turn heat to high. Add eggplant over the wire rack and turn every few minutes until the eggplant is soft and lightly charred all around
On gas cooktop, add the eggplant directly over the flame and turn every few minutes until the eggplant is soft and lightly charred all around
For any other cooktop, use the broiler in your oven to roast the eggplant. Move the oven rack to the second highest position and place a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with foil. Cook the eggplant as directed above.
Let eggplant rest on a plate/cutting board once done cooking.

To prepare the baigan bharta

Place a wok/pan on medium heat and add the ghee once hot. Add cumin seeds and hing and cook until aromatic.
Add ginger, garlic and green chiles and cook until lightly roasted and aromatic.
Add onions, a pinch of salt and cook until onions become soft.
Add the tomatoes, mix well and add ground coriander, turmeric, deggi mirch and a pinch of salt.
While the tomatoes cook down, slice the eggplant in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh of the eggplant.
Once tomatoes are soft, add in the eggplant and mix well. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until eggplant comes well together with the tomato masala.
Finish with garam masala and cilantro, adjust for seasoning and serve right away!