About Baingan Bharta
Baingan bharta is an Indian vegetarian side dish consisting of a spicy grilled eggplant mash that is sautéed with onions, tomatoes and spices. ‘Baingan’ is a Hindi word for ‘Eggplants or Brinjal’ and bharta is a word meaning ‘mashed’ So Baingan bharta typically translates to eggplant mash. This is not any ordinary mash but has a burst of flavors that comes from fire roasting the eggplants. Though it is said that baingan ka bharta originated in Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, it is also made across India with lots of variations. However the Punjabi baingan bharta is the most common one served in the North Indian restaurants. A lot of households also make this regularly for their meals. If you ever ask an Indian how a bharta is made, you will hear so many different versions that will surprise you. The simplest version is to simply mash the grilled eggplant and mix with raw onions, garlic, crushed green chilis, lemon juice and salt. This is the Hyderabadi style Bharta which my mom always made and it tastes amazing. There is also another version to which yogurt is added for a tang. So there is no one way to make baingan ka bharta. The only secret for a good bharta is to follow the traditional step of grilling eggplants on hot charcoal or direct fire which imparts its characteristic smoky flavor to the dish. But these days a lot of people grill these on the stovetop, oven and air fryer.
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe is roughly adapted from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor & over the years I have made it numerous times trying out different methods of grilling eggplants including on charcoal. So in this post I have shared making baingan bharta along with 3 methods of grilling.
After cooking this for so many years, I can say that a good baingan ka bharta made with charcoal grilled eggplants don’t need too many spices as we don’t want to lose the real smoky flavor & taste.
The bharta that is served in standard restaurants is so much flavorful for the same reason as it is made with charcoal grilled eggplants.
However most of us don’t have a charcoal grill provision at home, so we either prefer to do it on a stovetop or in oven. But these methods of grilling don’t give the same flavors but somewhat close by.
So I prefer to spice up our baingan bharta with some garam masala. It’s purely a personal preference and you may skip it.
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How to Make Baingan Bharta (Stepwise Photos)
Grilling
- I usually use eggplants/ baingan that weigh around 450 to 500 grams (1.1 lbs). A little large or small is just fine. Rinse the baingan well under running water. Wipe dry with a kitchen tissue. Make 6 slits on the baingan. I check inside the slits to ensure they don’t have any worms inside. Push medium 4 garlic cloves deep inside the slits. Also slit a chilli and push it inside. Then brush a generous amount of oil all over the baingan. Garlic and chilli have to go deep inside otherwise they will burn.
- With the help of a tong, place the baingan over direct flame or on a red hot coal. The flame has to be moderately high and not low. You can also do it in a Air fryer or oven. I have shared the pictures and instructions below for the same. For easy cleaning, line your stove with a foil. It will collect all the drippings from baingan & is easy to just discard it later.
- Keep turning the eggplant to all the other sides especially on the bottom and grill well until charred.
- When done, the skin of the eggplant is completely charred. The whole baingan becomes soft. Pierce a fork inside the baingan to check. The fork goes in smoothly if it’s cooked completely.
- Cool it slightly and peel the skin. Optional: – You can also put it immediately in a large bowl and cover for about 5 mins. Baingan will sweat and the skin will loosen easily.
- Fine chop or mash the roasted baingan with a fork or a masher. Chop the grilled garlic & green chilies as well. This time mine had a lot of seeds, I carefully removed them and discarded.
Make Baingan Ka Bharta
- Pour 1½ tablespoons oil to a hot pan. When the oil turns hot, add ½ to ¾ inch chopped ginger and 3 chopped garlic cloves. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds until a nice aroma comes out. I used mustard oil. You may use any other regular oil.
- Then add fine ½ cup chopped onions (1 medium onion) and saute until light golden.
- Add ¾ cup deseeded chopped tomatoes & ¾ teaspoon salt. Cook until the tomatoes break down & become soft. I used grilled tomatoes here.
- Then add ½ teaspoon red chilli powder & cook until the raw smell of tomatoes goes away. This takes about 2 to 3 mins.
- Add mashed grilled garlic, green chilli & baingan. You can use only half of the green chilies at this point. Taste test and add later.
- Mix and mash a bit with spatula to blend everything well. We prefer ½ teaspoon garam masala as the eggplants are not charcoal grilled. You may skip it but read my tips & notes below.
- Mix well and cook for 3 to 4 mins on a medium heat. Taste test and add more salt if needed.
- Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve baingan bharta with roti, paratha, butter naan or plain rice. It also goes well with some toasted bread.
Roasting Eggplants in Air Fryer
The flavor of eggplants grilled in air fryer comes close to the charcoal grilled ones. You can grill the eggplants whole or cut to 2 parts. Brush some oil over it & keep it in the air fryer basket along with tomatoes, green chilies and garlic. Place the basket in the air fryer and air fry at 200 C or 400 F for 22 mins or until done. If you cut it to 2 parts, then cut down the time to 15 mins or so. Sometimes I also use the smaller purple eggplants and they take just about 13 mins. Cool them and remove the skin. Follow the recipe as mentioned for the next steps.
Roasting Eggplants in Oven
Place an aluminium foil over a metal baking tray. Cut each eggplant to 2 parts and make 2 slits on each part. Insert the garlic cloves and green chilies deep inside the slits. Place the eggplants & tomatoes in the tray. Broil/Grill them at 240 C or 460 F in oven for 16 to 18 mins. When done, a fork inserted into the eggplant goes smoothly. Eggplants grilled in oven do not get any smoky flavor so you may smoke the bharta using a red hot coal once done.
Pro Tips & Notes
Choosing eggplants: Bharta is best made with large purple baingan that are firm and have a glossy skin. Avoid over-matured eggplants or those having brown streaks as they have more seeds. Eggplants with lesser seeds have better flavor, are pulpy and will have a smoother texture once cooked. But after grilling them if you find seeds, then simply scoop them out and discard. You will be left with lesser servings of bharta. Grilling: Eggplants grilled over hot coal get the best smoky flavor. Air frying them is the next best I have felt. You may do it on the gas stovetop or in oven as well. But the flavors are not the same in oven. Grilling on gas: We don’t prefer grilling on gas for personal reasons. However if you want to do it as shown in the pictures above, place a gas stove burner cover to collect the drippings. Also ensure your eggplant is at room temperature before grilling. Spices: Eggplants grilled on hot coal have so much intense smoky flavor so the dish does not need any spice powders/ masala other than a bit of red chilli powder. But grilling them on gas stovetop or oven does not impart the same flavors. So garam masala brings a lot of flavor here. If you are grilling the eggplants on charcoal, then you may skip garam masala as the original smoky flavor itself is so good.
Substitutes
Tomatoes: A lot of times I make baingan bharta without tomatoes. It does taste very good even without them. Add a generous amount of lemon juice to it before serving. Avoid squeezing the lemon on hot bharta. Related Recipes
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