Baingan Bharta

Name: Baingan Bharta
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 lb large globe eggplant; 2 tbsp mustard oil; 1 unit yellow onion (finely chopped); 2 unit ripe tomatoes (chopped); 4 clove garlic (minced); 1 tbsp fresh ginger (grated); 1 unit green chile (finely chopped); 1 tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp Kashmiri chile powder; ½ cup fresh cilantro (chopped); 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp salt

Sides & Vegetables · South Asian

12 ingredients · 55 minutes · 4 servings

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71kcal2.8g protein0.6g fat16.2g carbs*

sometimes contains gluten, dairy, egg, peanut, tree nut, sesame, soy, shellfish, fish — check the label

Restrictions

Sometimes contains — check the labelgluten (chili green, chili (powder), garam masala, oil mustard) · dairy (chili green, oil mustard) · egg (chili green, oil mustard) · peanut (chili green, oil mustard) · tree nut (chili green, oil mustard) · sesame (chili green, oil mustard) · soy (chili green, oil mustard) · shellfish (chili green, oil mustard) · fish (chili green, oil mustard)Some brands have it, some do not. The recipe cannot tell, so this is the one you check yourself.

Diets

Vegetarian · checkVegan · checkPescatarian · checkNo pork · checkNo alcohol · check

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

1 lb	large globe eggplant
2 tbsp	mustard oil
1 unit	yellow onion (finely chopped)
2 unit	ripe tomatoes (chopped)
4 clove	garlic (minced)
1 tbsp	fresh ginger (grated)
1 unit	green chile (finely chopped)
1 tsp	ground cumin
½ tsp	Kashmiri chile powder
½ cup	fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 tbsp	lemon juice
1 tsp	salt

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

¼ tsp

garam masala

Steps

roast18 min
skin blackened broadly; eggplant collapsed and completely soft to the center
Char the whole eggplant directly over a gas flame or under a very hot broiler, turning until the skin is blackened and the flesh has fully collapsed. Browning only the skin while leaving a firm center produces bitterness without the smoky, silky pulp the dish needs.
rest8 min
cool enough to handle; steam subsided
Let the eggplant cool briefly, then peel away the charred skin. If the pulp releases a pool of watery liquid, drain it; carrying that water into the masala forces a long cook that dulls the fresh smoke.
saute8 min
onion golden at edges; ginger, garlic and chile fragrant
Heat the mustard oil and cook the onion until soft with golden edges, then add ginger, garlic, green chile and cumin. Bloom the aromatics without burning them; scorched garlic competes directly with the eggplant's cleaner smoke.
reduce8 min
tomatoes broken down; masala thick with no watery edge
Add the tomatoes, Kashmiri chile and salt and cook uncovered until the tomatoes collapse into a thick masala. Reduce this base before the eggplant enters so the finished bharta does not become a loose vegetable stew.
mix8 min
eggplant mashed into masala; mixture thick enough to hold a spoon trail
Mash the roasted eggplant into the pan and cook uncovered until the mixture is cohesive and concentrated. Stir enough to combine while leaving some soft texture; the goal is a smoky mash, not a perfectly smooth purée.
fold3 min
cilantro wilted slightly; lemon brightens without making mixture wet
Fold in cilantro, lemon juice and optional garam masala off or just above the heat. Late seasoning preserves the fresh herbal and citrus notes that would disappear during the longer reduction.