🍆 Baingan bharta
Baingan bharta is a North Indian dish of whole eggplants roasted over an open flame until the skin chars and the flesh turns soft and smoky, then mashed and cooked with onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, green chili and spices. It is finished with fresh coriander. The texture is soft and rustic, the taste smoky and warmly spiced, and it is served as a side or main dish with rice or Indian flatbreads.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants, about 1 kg
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves and 2 cm ginger, grated
- 1–2 green chilies, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, salt
- A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Method
- Roast the eggplants directly over a gas flame or under a hot grill, turning often, for 15–20 minutes until the skin is charred all over and the flesh is very soft.
- Cool slightly, peel off the skin, and mash the flesh roughly with a fork.
- Heat the oil, add the cumin seeds, then the onion and cook until golden. Add the garlic, ginger and chili and stir for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, turmeric, ground coriander and salt and cook until the tomatoes are soft and the oil separates, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the mashed eggplant and garam masala and cook for 5–8 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve.
How to make it lighter
- The eggplant soaks up fat easily: 1 tbsp of oil is enough for the whole pan — 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.
- Fill half the plate with bharta and keep rice to a small side.
- Add an extra tomato or a handful of peas for more volume with few extra calories.
History
Bharta means mashed, and dishes of fire-roasted, mashed vegetables are common across the Indian subcontinent. Baingan bharta is especially associated with Punjab. Today it is a staple of North Indian homes and restaurant menus.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →