Saturday, February 14, 2015

Baigan Bhartha : Smoked Brinjal/ Egg Plant

Cooking time: 15 mins
( including the cutting  of the vegetables and the smoking of the brinjal)

Ingredients:
1 medium size Brinjal ( Use only fresh)
3 medium size Tomatoes
1 big green chilly
1 big onion
10 cloves of Garlic peeled and slightly crushed
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds, and 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
2 or 3 tsps of Garam masala, and 1 tsp of Aam Chur (dry mango powder, optional)
Salt to taste
3 tsps of any vegetable oil.
1 tsp of red chilly powder, 2 tsp of coriander, and cumin powder( Dhanu jerra powder) optional
Fresh chopped coriander leaves

Directions:
Instead of chopping the onions just slice them length wise
Cut the tomatoes too in the same manner
peel the garlic and just crush them lightly
slit the green chilly or you can even chop them finely, depending on your taste
wash and dry the brinjal, and slit a little and keep a few cloves of garlic inside it.
Roast the brinjal directly on the gas stove.
Keep turning around till all sides are smoked and cooked properly and the skin is charred
 Keep  it aside to cool

Take a frying pan and heat the oil in it. Throw in the cumin and mustard seeds into the pan and let them splutter.
Now add the sliced onion  to it along with the garlic, keep the heat in low and let the  onions turn slightly  pink, do not brown it.
Next add the tomatoes
Just lightly toss them
after a few seconds add salt, red chilly powder, dry mango powder and the danu jerra powder. Mix everything and let the tomatoes become slightly soft, do not try to mash them.
Now peel the brinjal remove the garlic cloves, ( just add the garlic to the onion, tomato mixture) and just lightly cut the brinjal, at the same time pressing them slightly with the knife itself, do not mash the brinjal completely.
Add this to the onion and tomato mixture and mix everything together, if it looks too thick add a little bit of water to bring to the right consistency
 Next add the garam masala powder, and keep the dish covered for about 3 minutes on a low flame. This is done to retain the flavour of the garam masala.
Never add turmeric powder to this dish, for the red colour should come only through the tomatoes and the red chilly powder.
People add fresh cream, some even add milk, but then it would taste different, the mild flavour of brinjal will be lost, and it would not get that red colour.
Pour it into a serving dish and garnish it fresh chopped coriander.
It goes best with Paranthas and Phulkas (all Indian breads).
I am aware that there are many ways in which people make this dish, but after trying this method, I found it to be the best, for it brings out the real subtle flavour of brinjal.
I learnt this recipe from a Punjabi friend of mine, whose husband runs a very famous Punjabi Dhaba in Bangalore.




                                                      Sorry for the bad image







                 See the chunks of lightly mashed brinjal, tomatoes and the garlic are visible




The attractive red colour comes out, by not adding turmeric.(this tip was given by my punjabi friend)
Enjoy this super simple dish, and let me know how you found the taste of this Smoked Brinjal recipe made my way.

3 comments:

  1. Lovely to look at and of course, sure it is tasty! I didnt know about the last tip, I will try next time.

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  2. I love eggplants! Good to know there are other ways of cooking them. :)

    ReplyDelete