Being in Gujarat, one cannot avoid eating “Ringna no Auro” which is more commonly known as “Baingan ka Bharta” in Hindi. Baingan Bharta originated in the Indian subcontinent i.e. Punjab. Punjabis prefer to roast Baingan aka Eggplant on charcoal and eat it with Wheat chapati or Paratha. Gujaratis love eating Auro specially in winters. They roast it on open flame and eat it with Bajra No Rotlo aka Millet Chapati and Buttermilk.

Today, we are going to learn the Gujarati style of Baingan Bharta with full of tempting spices that can be served to 3 persons. Don't forget to note the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

400 gm Eggplant/Baingan 🍆

3 chopped Tomatoes/Tamatar (Medium sized) 🍅

3 chopped Onions/Kaanda (Medium Sized)

2 Tablespoon Oil/Tel

1/4th Teaspoon Mustard seeds /Rai

1/4th Teaspoon Cumin Seeds/Jeera

A pinch of Asafoetida/Heeng

½ Teaspoon Turmeric/Haldi

1 Teaspoon Red chilli powder/Laal Mirch (Medium Spicy) chilly

1 Teaspoon Coriander/Dhanya Powder

½ Teaspoon Of Mixed Spices/Garam Masala

1 Teaspoon Salt

1.5 Teaspoon Ginger+Garlic+Green chilli Paste/Adrak+Lasoon+Hari Mirch paste

Some Fresh Coriander leaves/Kothmir to Garnish

Beginning with the dish

Wash the eggplant properly.

Make tiny holes using a fork or toothpick. This helps the eggplant to get roasted even from inside.

Cover the Eggplant with a very thin layer of oil using your finger. Remember, you don't have to put too much oil so don't dip it in oil, just apply some.

Roasting Eggplant

Now, comes the main part. Roast the eggplant on an open flame. Make sure the flame is medium otherwise it won't cook from inside if you higher the flame. While roasting you have to keep turning the eggplant in every 2 minutes so as to get it cooked from all sides. It will take around 8 to 10 minutes for the eggplant to get fully roasted.

Once your eggplant is roasted completely, allow some time to let it cool for you to not get burnt.

Peeling the Roasted Eggplant

This is a very easy step. Since the eggplant is roasted, you can easily peel off the skin with your fingers. Make sure you don't leave even a small part of the skin.

Mash the eggplant with a masher. You can also use a knife for this but only if the eggplant is very soft, otherwise you will have pieces in the final dish which ruins the taste.

PREPARING DISH

Now, take oil in the pan and heat it on full flame.

Once the oil is hot enough, turn the flame to medium and add Mustard, Cumin Seeds and Asofoetida consecutively.

Saute it properly so that all of these get roasted properly.

Once this is done, add chopped onions and turn the flame to High.

Now, you have to constantly saute the onions so that they get cooked well and doesn't burn. You have to cook till they get golden brown.

Post this, add finely chopped tomatoes and again saute. You have to do this until they are soft enough.

Lower the flame and mash your cooked ingredients in the pan. Baingan Bharta is sort of a dish with gravy and no pieces. And so we mash every ingredient in order to avoid pieces in the dish.

After some time, you will see that oil gets separated in the pan. So turn the flame to High. This is the best time of adding Chilli and Turmeric Powder because adding these at this step gives the maximum colour to the dish.

Now, since you have got a really beautiful colour, add the Coriander Powder and the Mixed Spices.

When all of this gets roasted well, add the salt. Mix it properly and add the Mashed Eggplant. Make sure the flame is high. Mix it well.

SMOKY TOUCH

Some dishes turn magically tasty due to its smoky flavour. Baingan Bharta is one of them.

To give the smoky flavour, all you need is to cover the pan with the lid turning the gas to low flame.

Let it rest for 2 minutes and Garnish it with Coriander Leaves.

Tada! Your Dish is ready. You can feel the Aroma!

Serve it with some Raw Onion Rings and Fried Green Chillies.

TIPS

If you have Green Onions and Garlic, use 2 Green onions and 5 green garlic with leaves instead of white. This gives a green texture to the dish and a delicious flavour.

If you are a Jain or you don't like onion/garlic, you can prepare the entire dish with the same method avoiding onion/garlic, you will get a similar kind of taste.

Be patient at every step.

Don't forget to create holes before roasting the Eggplant.

Smoky effect gives you a Tempting Aroma.

Also read

Rajma

Masoor ki Daal

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