Thursday, December 10, 2009

Baingan Bartha, Smoky Spiced Eggplant


When it comes to preparing vegetarian food I don't think anyone can do it better than the Indians and as a meat eater I am very happy to have Indian vegetarian food any day. Since quite a few of my vegetarian friends have been asking for me to post more vegetarian food on the blog, I thought Indian food might be the answer.
A dish that I have been cooking for many years; this smoky, spicy and melt in your mouth eggplant dish will make you forget about meat for at least the duration of your meal. I charred the eggplants on the open flame of my stove but if you happened to have an electric stove, roast it in the oven but remember to prick the eggplants with a knife a few times first or you might have eggplant bombs exploding in your oven ;)
I served this as part of an Indian meal with rice and roti but it is just as wonderful as a dip for your next party.
P.S this is for my best friend A.

Serves 4 as part of an Indian meal;
you'll need;
2 eggplants (around 1kg) charred over open flame til soft, peeled and chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp of chili powder
1/2 tsp of garam masala
2 tsp of cumin powder
2 tsp of coriander powder
2 tsp of salt
2 tsp of black pepper, crushed
1/2 cup of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

for the spice paste;
1 large onion, chopped
2 green chilies, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 cm knob of ginger, chopped
chop everything roughly

Char the eggplants on an open flame til charred all over, the flesh of the eggplant will steam and soften. Peel the charred skin and chop eggplants into chunks. Set aside.

Fry cumin seeds with 3 tbs of oil when they start to pop, add spice paste and fry til lightly browned. Add dry spices, fry for 2 minutes then chuck in chopped tomatoes and fry til almost all liquid has evaporated.

Return the chopped eggplants and warm through. Add chopped coriander and serve hot.

One of the tummies can't wait any longer.

Wonderful dip for your next party.

29 comments:

  1. Wow, that's a great way to char the eggplant!

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  2. More Indian food! We are very impressed here, you'll need to cook for us when you come visit next

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  3. yum! am totally making this on the weekend. xxxxx

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  4. Thanx a bunch for stopping by kothiyavunu..
    Baingan looks refreshing and yummy..:)

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  5. so funny , I thought you are still at kheema matar post because it appeared on my blog list the same post these 3 days...... aiya late for eye feast lah !!! Anymore for me ???? :(

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  6. This is my favorite food...really..honestly..:)

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  7. oh my, this recipe is made just for me. I LOVe eggplant, its the best vegetable in the world....yep you heard right! I love the combination of smokiness and spice, chillies being another of my favs!

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  8. Kenny,
    Yeah and it is very fast too!

    Vijay,
    Thanks my friend! haha in the new year hopefully :)

    Darling Ady,
    You have to :)

    kothiyavunu ,
    Thanks!! :)

    Pearlyn,
    Haha I packed the rest as my lunch :) when is your holiday?

    Jhonny walker,
    Oh I'm so glad I've posted your favourite food :)

    Maria,
    Thanks! :) It is the best vegetable in the world, i'll be posting more eggplant dishes soon!

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  9. Harriet from CarltonDecember 10, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    Yummy! I am a big fan of eggplant, I can almost imagine the taste by looking at the photos. Love the idea of using it as a dip!

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  10. Delicious! Just wondering what to do with the eggplants we have, must try this over the weekend with the lamb dish! Cheers mate!

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  11. Yum! I can have this and forget about meat for a while too haha!

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  12. Baingan ka bhartha is my favorite.
    My mother prepare it in different ways.

    Thanks for making me remember those early days.

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  13. Looks absolutely delicious, good to see some vegetarian food turning up :) well done!

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  14. Eggplant is my favourite vegetable and this dish is certainly for me! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  15. Harriet,
    Well you'll have to try then. :) Yes it is great as a dip, in fact I'm having some now hehe.

    Wan,
    Thanks! only for a meal?

    Abhilash,
    You are welcome! Please share your mum's version!

    Anonymous,
    Thanks! More to come :)

    Mary,
    I'm so glad eggplant turns out to be so many people's favourite :) I hope you'll try it soon.

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  16. I never dare to roast eggplants or peppers this way though I know people do it. I'm afraid I will burn down my own kitchen :O

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  17. This will go very well with naan or puri, usually order eggplant when we dine at the Northern Indian restaurant. Thanks for sharing.

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  18. wow that looks really good! i can imagine why one of the tummies couldnt wait! hahaha!

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  19. My friend told me about your blog and I can't believe it is full of dishes I grew up with!! This looks very delicious!

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  20. tigerfish,
    It is absolutely safe as I have done it for years :)

    Cheah,
    I was going to make some puri but too lazy at the end :)

    MrsLavendula,
    Thanks! haha they always can't wait as I have to take the photos first :)

    Ming,
    Thanks and I'm glad you enjoy the blog, You must try to cook some of the dishes.

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  21. This will be a very popular party dip u r right!! The boys don't really like eggplants but I'll certainly cook this when I have my girlfriends over. We will arrange classes after the new year if you are keen to do it.

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  22. Hi friend this is vennilla here.. ur doing a really good job.. can we exchange links..

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  23. love to eat,
    Thanks! let me know how many of you and what do you want to learn :)
    I'm sure you boys with love eggplant b4 you know it!!

    Vennilla,
    Thanks! Of course we can do that!

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  24. Oh yum! I have been on such an eggplant kick lately. I will have to give this one a go.

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  25. I love eggplant...the only one in my family. Thankful in a way that there's no one to fight with me...haha. This dish looks so good....mmm. Lovely as a dip. Great for parties. Thanks for sharing.

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  26. Megan,
    Please do!!!!

    Mary,
    Thanks! it will be great for your next party wih your girlfriends :)

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  27. Wow, the smoky flavors of the eggplant sound fantastic here!

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  28. 5 Star Foodie ,
    Thanks! Give it a try!!

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  29. finally i found this great receipes in here..i had tried it many years ago in Romania which is really good..and i wanna get this receipes but always hard to find..thank you very much and i will try to make this for my gathering..

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