Baingan Bartha

Baingan Bartha is a dish that was introduced to me after marriage by my lovely sister, Sharon. Mother of two wonderful children, she is a super cook and a super mom! I remember when we were both growing up, both of us always were so uninterested in cooking. Ma used to constantly call us both to the kitchen to watch her cook, but we never wanted to learn then! She was always so worried what we would do after marriage! :)

Anyway, getting back to the recipe, this is a super easy recipe and quite different from the original Bartha recipe.

With the weather so gloomy and dull yesterday, I had no heart too cook anything too elaborate. And, so I put together Baingan Bartha. The delicious colour and taste makes the effort worthwhile. This is one of our favourites. Hope you enjoy it too.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Eggplant (baingan) - 1 (big)

Big Onion - 2 to 3

Tomato - 2

Green chillies - 2 to 3 (as per spice tolerance)

Garlic - 5 to 6 cloves

Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Pickle powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Peanuts (powdered) - 3 to 4 tbsp

Cumin seeds/Jeera - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves

Ghee

Method

Wash and pat dry the eggplant and rub oil on it. Wrap with foil paper and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour in a 200°celsius or a 400°F oven. Once the eggplant is cooked through and is fork tender, take out the baking dish and immerse the roasted eggplant in cold water. (this helps the skin to come off easily) When it has cooled, peel off the skin and mash the eggplant well. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add garlic, green chillies and onions and sauté till golden brown. Once onions have browned well, add all the powders and sauté till raw smell goes away. Add tomatoes and sauté till oil floats. Then, add the eggplant/baingan into it and mix well. Add peanut powder into it and combine well till the eggplant/baingan is coated with the whole mixture. Finally, add ghee and coriander leaves and mix well. Switch off the flame.

Source: My loving sister, Sharon