Baingan Bharta aka Mashed Eggplant

Baingan Da Bharta or Indian Mashed Eggplant Recipe, this is one of my favorite dishes. Mom always made sure that she cooks this whenever I went back home for Holidays. She still does when I go home from Bangkok.

One main problem faced cooking this in an apartment is that I cannot grill it on fire. So I use normal pan here. It takes some time to cook. You can do it. Here we go.

Ingredients
- 1 Big Baingan( Brinjal/Egg Plant)
- 2 Onions
- 2 Tomatoes or 1 Cup of Tomato Puree
- 1″ Ginger Paste
- 4 Cloves Garlic Paste
- 4 Green Chili Pepper minced ( Use it as you like it)
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/3 Cup of Coriander
Spices
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Jeera powder (Cumin Powder)
- 1 tsp Dhania Powder (Coriander Powder )
- 1/3 tsp Haldi Powder (Turmeric Powder )
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- Salt to taste

Preparation
- Take 1 Brinjal, Make small Cuts around it. ( You can add Garlic Cloves in the cuts if you want.)
- Lubricate the Brinjal with Oil and Place it in Pan.
- You can also keep Tomatoes along with Brinjal in Pan.
- Close the Lid and Cook the Brinjal until it becomes soft. ( Try using a knife to check this)
- It will look something like as shown in the picture
- Peel off the skin of the Brinjal and Mash it to a pulp.
Cooking
- Heat Oil in Pan.
- Add 2 Onion, and 2 Chilies – Cook it until Onion turns brown.
- Add Mashed Tomato, Finely cut Garlic and Ginger ( Or Add Tomato Puree + Ginger Garlic Paste)
- Cook it until water evaporates and the mix becomes a thick paste
- Add all the spices cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add Mashed Brijal to the mix.
- Mix all the content in Pan well.
- Slow Cook the mix for 10 minutes.
- Here is an optional step but I always do this, Add Cream/ Malai. This makes the dish rich and yummy.
- Once cooked Garnish the Curry with Coriander.