I want to call this dish an Indian style babaganoush, but I’m not because the only thing common to babaganoush and bhartha is in both cases the eggplant is charred, the flesh is scooped and seasoned.
Bhartha is smoky with lots of flavorful aromatics It starts by roasting and charring the eggplant. you could do this in two different ways.
- This is the easiest and cleanest way, stab or or make some gashes in the eggplant place it in a hot oven and roast till charred all over.
- You can directly place the eggplant on a gas flame, grill or bbq. rotating as it charred. This can be a bit messy but gives a lovely smoky flavor.
Once the eggplant is roasted, let it cool and scoop out the smoky flesh. We then sauté chopped onion, green chillies, tomatoes, ginger, cumin, lots of cilantro and a few aromatics. We love it with daal and chapati. Alternatively it can be a delicious dip for crackers, veggie crudités or topped on toasted breads.
Eggplant Bartha
You will need
- 2 large eggplants. Look for ones heavy for their size
- 1 medium- large onion chopped
- 1-2 hot green chillies like jalapeño or 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to your liking
- 3-4 fresh tomatoes chopped
- 2 inch piece ginger finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- Handful of cilantro leaves chopped
- Juice from half a lemon
- 1/2 cup peas optional
- 2 tablespoons avocado/ grapeseed oil or any neutral oil that you normally use
- Heat your oven to 375F. Then turn the oven to low broil.
- Carefully stab the eggplants a few places and place them on a baking tray. This prevents steam buildup and exploding in the oven, it actually happened to me.
- Grill the eggplant till it’s completely charred all over. Takes about 40 minutes to an hour. Turn them as they char. Cool the eggplants, remove the blackened skin and scoop the pulp. (alternately you could do it on a barbeque). Set aside.
- In a pan warm the oil. Sauté chopped onion and ginger. When the onion starts to pick color and softens, add the spices and green chillies. Stir for a minute. Followed by chopped tomatoes and salt. Stir on medium heat, cook for 5-6 minutes till the mixture cooks down and moisture has reduced. Now add the eggplant pulp. Mash and mix it with the back of your spoon till it’s well incorporated. ( Ive seen the eggplant pulp been pureed in a blender, I prefer a chunky texture) Add peas if you want for added nutrition and color. Cook for another minute. Garnish with cilantro and lime juice. Serve with any bread.
Leave a Reply