Baingan ka bharta-another recipe of the eggplant king!

As Ceedy said eggplant indeed seems the king of all vegetables. Everyone seems in love with it and oh, calling it a versatile vegetable won't be an underrating as not only it has so many names but gives us such varied recipes.

Today, we embark on to make 'baingan ka bharta' which is an Indian name for a recipe of eggplant. Trust me, it tastes yum and takes a short time to get ready. So, here we go-

Making time: 40-60 minutes
Makes: 3 servings
Shelf life: Best served hot and fresh. Can be refrigerated for 12 to 24 hours.

Ingredients-
~2 large brinjals or a big one(supposing you are a bachelor, or maybe living alone). Note here that for this recipe you should get seedless oval brinjal(s). While buying take care to opt for the ones with shiny,unblemished skin.
~1 large onion-finely chopped
~2 ripe tomatoes
~1/2 tsp ginger-finely chopped
~ 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
~2 green chillies-finely chopped
~1 tsp coriander leaves-finely chopped
~ Red chilli powder (to taste)
~1/4-1/2 tsp. Turmeric
~salt to taste
~1/2 tsp mustard seeds
~3 tsp. refined/mustard oil (as per preference)
~1 and a half tsp curry powder/garam masala
~chopped coriander for garnishing.
~Peas are an optional ingredient. You can use them to enhance the taste or you may not use them.

Method

Roasting the brinjals-First of all, do make sure to check to see that the brinjal has no germ holes, etc. Wash them and wipe dry. Roast them directly on an open flame. This would take some 7-10 minutes as you have to rotate them over the flame every thirty seconds, making sure that they are roasted even. Cook till they are soft all over and gain a blackish brown texture. Keep them aside and let them cool for a few minutes.

The Masala preparation-While the brinjals are cooling, you can heat refined/mustard oil in a pan/kadhai. Add cumin and mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Add finely chopped ginger, onion, green chillies, coriander leaves, red chilli powder, salt, tumeric, curry powder, peas and mashed tomatoes and fry them over low heat stirring frequently until they gain a light golden brown tint and the mixture leaves oil. Make sure to continuously stir the mixture.

The final take-The brinjals must have reached room temperature during this time and now, you can either put them under running water or scrape out them. Both of the methods will cause their burnt skin to peel off. Transfer the contents to a plate and do remember to check the contents for any sort of worms or signs of such infestation. If infested, wait until you get brinjals next time :). If not, mash the contents which would result in pulp and add the pulp to the above prepared masala. Stirfry for 2 to 3 minutes, add one tea cup of water, cover the vessel and let the mixture cook over low heat for another 25-40 minutes (this also depends on the quantity you are preparing, less quantity would require less time) or till the mixture leaves sides of pan. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with fluffy chapatis, paranthas or warm bread rolls.

Tips

~To check for any infestations at the very starting, you can draw two vertical and two horizontal cuts on the brinjal. Make sure you don't dig too deep or the brinjal would slice into four halves. Check for the worms and if the color in even.

~Also, while mashing the brinjals one can think of using mixers but that leaves the pulp very smooth which isn't a preferred option for this recipe.

Happy Cooking! Till next time, splurge on!

-D Sinner!