Baingan Ka Bartha

Baingan(brinjal/eggplant/aubergine) is a vegetable despised by most people. Infact I too hated it as a kid. Later on, when I tasted dishes like enna kathrika and brinjal chutney, I thought its not bad after all ; well, going a step further I concluded it's also another yummy veg. For that matter, any food can taste yummy if you only cook it right. One might do wonders with brinjal or even end up making a disastarous potato meal (potatoes are supposed to taste yummy in any form). Cooking is all about what you add when. If you add the right ingredient at the right time, you can make delicious meal with just anything. You know I am a foodie and don't get surprised when I occasionally throw such words of wisdom :)

Coming to the brinjal story, I got hooked to it when I first tasted brinjal chutney. It is usually made with smoked brinjal and smoking adds a great flavour to the otherwise boring brinjal. The north Indian version of it is today's hero - Baingan Ka Bartha. It is a punjabi dish made with smoked brinjals cooked in Indian spices. It is traditionally made in a charcoal stove and since I couldn't get hold of one, I managed with my electric stove. The idea is to char the brinjal and add a smoky flavour. You can even make use of your conventional oven. This is the first ever time I am trying this and I should say I'm impressed with the results. I haven't even tasted this in hotels for the mere fact that I didn't wanna order brinjal when there are umpteen yummy dishes. This time when I saw those big eggplants in the produce section, I wanted to make the best out of it.

I have added peanuts to the recipe since peanuts and brinjal make a lovely pair. I don't think it is added in the authentic recipe. This goes well with both rice and rotis. One warning here is, the chance that you might like this dish is remote due to the smoky flavour. Try at your own risk!

Ingredients:

Big eggplant - 1
Onion finely chopped - 1
Tomatoes finely chopped - 2
Jeera - 2 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste(or crushed ginger and garlic) - 1 tsp
Small green chillies - 3 finely chopped
Peanuts- a few
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Finely chopped coriander, onion and tomato to garnish
salt to taste
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Lemon juice - 1 tsp(optional)

Method:

1. Smoke the eggplant thoroughly over the stove or by using oven.
2. Remove the skin and mash it.
3. Heat oil, season with jeera and fry onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic.
4. Add tomatoes and peanuts; when cooked, add the dry powders.
5. Add the mashed eggplant and cook till dry.
6. Mix the lime juice and garnish with the ingredients mentioned.