Spicy fire roasted eggplant mash, Baingan Bharta is best enjoyed with roti or parathas. This Punjabi Baingan Bharta recipe uses minimal spices for the best results! Vegan & gluten-free.
This easy baingan bharta recipe is going to be a sure shot hit at home! Baingan (eggplant/aubergine) is studded with garlic and roasted on an open flame, and then stir-fried with aromatics for the most delicious smoky flavor.
I love brinjal or aubergines or eggplant – whatever you call it in your part of the world, and this is definitely one of my favorite ways to eat it. Because there is something about roasting baingan on an open fire in its skin that just changes everything and gives it an incredible flavor. It’s top notch BBQ style.
Baigan Bhartha or Ringan No Oro is very popular in North India and even in Gujarat too. This is the easiest recipe I love to make and enjoy specially during winter times. This Bhartha can be serve with Roti but in Gujarat they served with Bajra Rotla.
Roasting baingan for bharta is pretty simple but just takes a little patience and time. I prefer doing this on an open flame to get the best char. Slow cooking on an open flame and turning the eggplant over and over again till its cooked from all sides is key to a fantastic bharta. My one secret trick is to make slits and stuff the baingan with garlic cloves. The garlic cooks with the baingan and infuses it with the best flavour.
You can also do this in the oven, but seriously an open flame is the best!
How to Make Bhartha?
The most important thing to get that real taste of punjabi banigan bharta is to roast your eggplant on direct gas/flame. I know people roast the eggplant using microwave and oven too but for me the smoky aroma and flavor is what MAKES this dish so you have to fire roast the eggplant.
Another way to make it extra flavorful is to roast some garlic cloves along with the eggplant. You make few slits in the eggplant with a knife and then tuck in the garlic cloves before roasting.
The roasted garlic adds a lot of flavor. I go heavy on the garlic in my baingan bharta, use it while roasting the eggplant and also in my masala.
Once the eggplant is roasted, you mash it up and then cook it with ginger, onion, tomatoes and some spices. The real flavor of the punjabi baingan bharta comes from roasting the eggplant well so I haven’t used many spices here. That’s how it’s traditionally made too.
I think the smokey flavor that comes from roasting the eggplant makes it so flavorful that it’s hard not to like it, until and unless of course you are like my brothers who have made up their minds that bahrta is not to be eaten no matter what!
Baingan bharta is best enjoyed this roti or plain paratha. It goes well with rice too but I personally just polish off the entire plate with hot rotis.
Method
1- Rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Brush it with little oil all over. Then make few slits all over the eggplant with a knife. In 3 of those slits, insert a large clove of garlic. Put the eggplant directly on heat and roast, turning often for around 10-12 minutes until completely roasted.
2- Once roasted (to check if its done, insert a knife inside the eggplant, it should go easily) use a pair of tongs to remove the eggplant from heat and wrap in an aluminium foil to cool.
3- Once cooled, remove the skin. Meanwhile also chop the roasted garlic.
4- Transfer the roasted eggplant to a bowl and mash using a fork or potato masher. Set it aside.
5- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add chopped garlic (different from the ones used while roasting the eggplant), ginger and green chili. Saute until they start changing color, around 2 minutes.
6- Then add in the chopped green onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Don’t brown them.
7- Add the chopped tomatoes and mix.
8- Cook the tomatoes for around 5 minutes until very soft and you notice oil oozing out of the masala.
9- Add the mashed roasted eggplant into the pan along with the chopped roasted garlic and mix well.
10- Add the red chili powder and mix.
11- Also add the coriander powder and salt and mix to combine. Cook the bharta for another 5 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often.
12- Stir in the chopped cilantro and mix. Remove pan from heat.
PREP TIME:10 mins
COOK TIME:20 mins
TOTAL TIME:30 mins
COURSE: Entree
CUISINE: Indian
SERVINGS: 2
CALORIES:114 kcal
Ingredients:
For roasting the eggplant
- ▢1 medium eggplant
- ▢3 large garlic cloves
For the baingan bharta
- ▢1.5 tablespoon oil I used vegetable oil
- ▢4 large garlic cloves chopped
- ▢1 inch ginger chopped
- ▢1 green chili or to taste, chopped
- ▢chopped green onion 120 grams, chopped
- ▢1 medium tomato chopped
- ▢1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste
- ▢1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ▢3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ▢2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ▢1/2 tsp of sugar
Direction:
- Rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Brush it with little oil all over. Then make few slits all over the eggplant with a knife. In 3 of those slits, insert a large clove of garlic. Put the eggplant directly on heat and roast, turning often for around 10-12 minutes until completely roasted.
- Once roasted (to check if its done, insert a knife inside the eggplant, it should go easily) use a pair of tongs to remove the eggplant from heat and wrap in an aluminium foil to cool.
- Once cooled, remove the skin. Meanwhile also chop the roasted garlic.
- Transfer the roasted eggplant to a bowl and mash using a fork or potato masher. Set it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add chopped garlic (different from the ones used while roasting the eggplant), ginger and green chili. Saute until they start changing color, around 2 minutes.
- Then add in the chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Don’t brown them.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and mix. Cook the tomatoes for around 5 minutes until very soft and you notice oil oozing out of the masala.
- Add the mashed roasted eggplant into the pan along with the chopped roasted garlic and mix well.
- Add the red chili powder and mix. Also add the coriander powder and salt and mix to combine. Cook the bharta for another 5 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often.
- Stir in the chopped cilantro and mix. Remove pan from heat.
- Serve baingan bharta hot with fresh rotis!
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