Baingan Bhartha

It has been a while that I posted any eggplant dishes on my blog, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking with it. It’s just that I haven’t made anything new. This baingan bharta is not a new dish either, but I wanted to post it for veganmofo.

Active time involved in this dish is very little, baking/ roasting the eggplant itself takes the bulk of the time. With the temperatures hovering in lower 50’s, I thought this is the right time to fire up that oven. It took me about 1 hour to put the whole dish together from start to finish which is not bad for a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:
Eggplant – 1 medium, cut into half vertically
Red onion – 1 medium, chopped fine
Green chilies – 2, chopped
Ginger+Garlic paste – 1tsp
Tomatoes – 2 medium ripe, chopped
Tomato paste – 1tbsp
Ground Cumin – ½ tsp
Ground Coriander – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – 1tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Preheat oven to 425ºF. Lightly spray the eggplant halves with cooking spray, bake for 40-45minutes or until the eggplants are baked thoroughly; check with a fork, should be able to pierce through the skin easily.
• Around the 25 minute mark start working on the masala part of the dish; heat 1tbsp oil in a large pan; add onions, sauté till reddish brown.
• Add g+g paste and sauté for another minute. Add chopped tomatoes & the paste; cover and cook till they turn mushy.
• Add the powders and cook for another minute.
• Eggplant should be done by now, remove from oven and carefully peel the skin and mash the pulp with the back of a spoon.
• Add the pulp to the tomato mixture along with ½ to 1 cup of water. Season with salt and simmer for 5 minutes, so that all the flavors get a chance to mingle. Serve with roti or rice.