Recipe

Smoky Indian Eggplant Baingan Bartha Recipe


Smoky Indian Eggplant Baingan Bartha Recipe
Add Step-by-Step Photos

Baingan Bartha, a smooth, savory Indian eggplant dish, is an addiction in our household. My boyfriend and I could both eat a mountain of it! We found this recipe online at www.theveggietable.com (adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian") and... More

Scrumptious


The finished dish, w

Add Photos

 Does this look good? Yeah! / Nope
Fans
Ingredients
  • 5 medium-sized Japanese eggplants (see note in "Alterations" section for using Italian eggplant)
  • A few tablespoons olive oil and chopped garlic for eggplant marinade
  • 4 T. peanut or canola oil
  • 1 C. minced onion (yellow or red)
  • 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
  • 1 C. ripe tomato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 1/2 t. ground cumin
  • 1/8 t. cayenne
  • 1/2 t. salt

Directions
  1. Slice eggplants in half, lengthwise, and score shallow cuts across the face of each eggplant with a knife. Brush on marinade. Grill over medium heat until soft, turning once. Eggplant skins will get slightly burnt, and that's fine. (see note in "Alterations" section for an alternative to grilling the eggplant.)
  2. Scoop out the flesh of the eggplant, using a spoon to pull all the flesh away from the skin. If a few little bits of skin get into the pile, that is fine. Coarsely chop the eggplant.
  3. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add onions, and saute, stirring frequently, until onions begin to brown.
  4. Add ginger, stir for one minute, then add tomatoes.
  5. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes, until slightly reduced.
  6. Stir in cumin, cayenne, and salt, then add eggplant.
  7. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes.
  8. Serve hot.

Recent Gawkers
Not quite what you're looking for? See more Vegetarian / Vegan
Comments


Hey, the one thing that surprises me is that the spices are added into the sauce; one thing that's typical in Indian cuisine is toasting the spices in oil or ghee before adding the other ingredients. If I were making this, I think I'd try it that way instead. It looks totally delicious, though, and I'm eager to try. xo


All the recipes in my "5 spices, 50 dishes" cookbook have this same order for making the tadka (the Indian spice/oil prep) - first the onions brown in the oil, then the garlic and ginger, if there are any, and then the spices go into the oil. Lastly, the main ingredients are added to keep the spices from burning. I did notice the tomatoes were unusually placed in the sequence of timing for this recipe - let me know if you change up the order, and how it turns out!


Your finished dish looks amazing! Wish I had a fork right now.... :) Thank you for the post, and your hard work perfecting this!


Yeah -- sorry, I should have clarified that. But it was the tomatoes that were the odd guy out here. I have got to try this. Hopefully I'll find some beautiful eggplant at the farmer's market tomorrow!!
xo


Sounds and looks scrumptious :)


Very similar to my Imam Bayildi. looks great!


This totally grabs my attention!! Indian flavored eggplant. yes yes yes!! thank you for posting. 5555555555555


Add a Comment
You must be logged in to comment on a recipe. Login
Alterations


If using Italian eggplant: Use one large Italian eggplant, about 1 1/2 lbs. Cut into smaller pieces to grill, but don't cut into thin slices - you want soft, smooth grilled eggplant, not crispy sliced grilled eggplant.


To make without a grill: Preheat oven to 450.

Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise, score the face of each half with the knife, and brush or drizzle with a bit of oil.

Place eggplant face up on cookie sheet and put in oven.

Cook for 40-50 minutes, until eggplant is black and soft. (Smaller eggplants will take less time.)


Suggest an Alteration
You must be logged in to suggest a recipe alteration. Login
Viewing Smoky Indian Eggplant Baingan Bartha Recipe

Tool Box

url
Print Recipe
Email it
Send Recipe to Cell Phone
Login to Add a Note [?]
Login to Save this [?]
Subscribe to scrumptious [?]
Flag as Interesting/Unique [?]
Add to Comparison Queue [?]

Flavors

Login to Add Flavor Tags [?]

Ratings & Honors

5

You need to be logged in to rate a recipe.

Groups

You need to be logged in to add a recipe to a group

Related Menus

Related Tags