Bashed eggplant (Baingan bharta)

In Indian cuisine, baingan (eggplant/aubergine) has a dual reputation of love and hate. The people who love it generally like to eat it in the form of this dish, which is smoky, earthy and comforting, says Anurag Aggarwal. Bharta is a Hindi term, which means to bash something to a pulp.

Bashed eggplant (Baingan bharta). Credit: Quadrille / Rita Plats

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 600 g (1lb 5oz) eggplant (aubergine)
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) oil
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• 3 tsp finely chopped fresh peeled ginger
• 1 green chilli, finely sliced
• 200 g (7oz) red onions, finely chopped
• 1½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 200 g (7oz) tomatoes, sliced
• 3 tsp lime juice
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), to garnish

To serve

• Roti (see Anurag's recipe here) or paratha, if serving warm,
• or toasted bread or pita if serving cold
• Mixed salad
• Cucumber raita

Cooling time: 30-60 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C (220°C fan/475°F/Gas 9) or preheat a BBQ.
2. Pierce the eggplants with a sharp knife in a few places and cook in the oven for 20–25 minutes, or over a gas flame or BBQ (see Note), turning occasionally, until the skin is almost burnt/charred all over and the inside is fully cooked and soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
3. Once cool, carefully remove the burnt skin from the aubergines. You will be left with smoky, soft flesh. (Don’t worry if it is a bit too burnt – you might just need to peel off a thicker layer of skin.) Place the flesh in a bowl and use a fork to gently break it down into a very chunky mash. Set aside.
4. In a deep, non-stick pan, heat the oil over a medium heat, then add the cumin seeds. Once they start sputtering, tip in the garlic, ginger and green chilli. Once they start taking on some colour, increase the heat to high and add the red onion.
5. After a minute or so, once the onion is translucent, add the salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and ground coriander and cook for another minute. Very soon the mixture will start sticking to the pan: immediately add the tomatoes and aubergine pulp. Increase the heat to high, stir continuously for 6–8 minutes, until most of the moisture has evaporated and the oil starts to separate.
6. Now add the lime juice and garam masala, mix well, then remove from the heat. Garnish with the fresh coriander and serve hot with flatbread, salad and raita, or cold, with toasted bread or pita.

 

Note

If I have been barbecuing, I like to cook some aubergines over the residual heat ready for making this dish later – I just peel them and then freeze the cooled flesh and defrost before use.

This is an edited extract from Indian Made Easy by Anurag Aggarwal (Quadrille).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.