How to make the perfect baingan bharta – recipe

Bharta (additionally written as bhurta, vorta, bhorta and bartha, amongst different variations) is a cheerful household of spiced, crushed vegetable dishes significantly common in northern India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Cooked with charcoal: Meera Sodha’s baingan bharta. Thumbnails by Felicity.

Aloo ka bharta makes use of potato, shalgam ka bharta turnip, whereas as we speak’s topic, baingan ka bharta, is an aubergine mash rendered smoky by flames. Mallika Basu calls it “the mom of all bhartas”, whereas Romy Gill says in her guide Zaika that baingan ka bharta with dal and roti “can be my final desert island dish”. Silky, tangy with tomato and onion, and with a deliciously burnt edge, it's, as Maunika Gowardhan notes, a deceptively easy recipe, and “dwelling cooking at its finest”.

The aubergines

Gowardhan reckons the key of baingan ka bharta’s magic is “the way in which the aubergines are cooked. Charring them over an open flame implies that a smoky, earthy flavour develops and lingers”. In her guide Indian Kitchen: Secrets and techniques of Indian House Cooking, she recommends blackening them over an open flame for finest outcomes, as do most individuals, with Saira Hamilton suggesting a barbecue as a substitute in My Bangladesh Kitchen, andRick Stein a highly regarded overhead grill in his India guide. Basu bakes her aubergines in a scorching oven earlier than charring them on a fuel flame, which is much less fiddly, however extra energy-intensive, whereas Meera Sodha fries them after which smokes the completed end result by popping in a scorching charcoal with somewhat oil poured on high and leaving it to infuse for a few minutes.

Each single certainly one of them is pleasing, however essentially the most emphatically smoky outcomes are from these executed on a barbecue or over a fuel flame. In case you don’t have both of these issues (or don’t fancy cleansing them afterwards), I’d advocate an overhead grill as the subsequent neatest thing. In case you don’t have a type of, then do as Meera does in Contemporary India, although you'll need to beg, borrow or steal a chunk of charcoal first (please don’t steal it).

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor advises that “it's simpler to take away the charred pores and skin of a roasted eggplant whether it is dipped in water simply after roasting”, although Roopa Gulati recommends leaving on just a few flecks of pores and skin “for further flavour”, a tip echoed byHarneet Baweja within the Gunpowder cookbook, and which, as a naturally slapdash prepare dinner, fits me superb. (Baweja additionally cautions towards throwing the seedy core of the aubergine away. If that is one thing you do, it's possible you'll want to contemplate not doing it, although I’ve by no means heard of such a factor.)

Quite simple: Sanjeev Kapoor’s bharta.

Whichever means you go about it, the aubergines have to be tender sufficient to mash with a fork or spoon, and, ideally, completely blackened and blistered on the surface, so they appear extra like charred stays than one thing you’d prefer to eat. Smaller examples will prepare dinner via quicker, so go for these if there’s a alternative.

The supporting solid

Although aubergines get the massive billing, chef Kapoor explains in his guide Learn how to Prepare dinner Indian: “this north Indian dish is as a lot concerning the sweetness of onions and the tanginess of tomatoes as it's concerning the smoky style of roasted eggplant”. His model makes use of way more onion than the others I attempt – for every aubergine he makes use of 5 pink onions (which approximate the sweetness of the Indian pink onion higher than the harsher yellow selection)Removed from overpowering the aubergine, they make a fantastic distinction to its mellow bitterness, in addition to to the extra acidic style of the tomatoes. (Sodha requires white onions, which, once more, are milder than the yellow selection, presumably for a similar cause.)

Use contemporary tomatoes reasonably than tinned, should you can, as a result of their sharpness is vital – if yours are a bit disappointing, it's possible you'll want, like Gowardhan, so as to add a teaspoon of tomato puree: simply sufficient to emphasize the contemporary fruit, reasonably than turning it right into a tomato sauce.

Kapoor’s bharta may be very easy – simply aubergines, onions, tomatoes, chilli powder and coriander leaves – exhibiting you don’t want numerous substances to realize greatness right here. That stated, the broadly used pairing of garlic and ginger provides to the depth of flavour, and I benefit from the extra herbaceous heat of the broadly used inexperienced chillies to the dry hearth of chilli powder.

Herbs and spices

Garam masala will get a thumbs-up in Roopa Gulati’s baingan bharta.

Cumin, floor coriander and turmeric are widespread additions within the recipes I attempt, however I’m bought on the garam masala utilized by Gulati in her guide India: The World Vegetarian, a mixture that tends to comprise the primary two together with the likes of cinnamon and cardamom to deliver out the sweetness of the onions.

A remaining handful of chopped coriander, and a squeeze of Gulati and Hamilton’s lime juice for freshness, finishes issues off properly.

Every other enterprise

Cooked in mustard oil: Ambica Aggarwal’s baingan bharta.

Ambica Aggarwal, whose recipe Stein consists of in his guide, cooks her bainghan ka bharta in mustard oil, which supplies it an actual kick, whereas Gulati and Baweja use ghee, whose richness I discover irresistible. In case you occur to have some, and eat dairy, the latter can be my choice, however impartial oil appears to be the extra widespread and cheaper alternative.

Serve, as Gill suggests, with roti and dal, or with Sodha’s rice or buttery naan and yoghurt, or with Gowardhan’s rice and dal, or as a part of a thali. Or with baked potatoes, or baguette, or certainly something you fancy, as a result of it is a dish that may by no means be any lower than scrumptious.

Excellent baingan bharta

Prep 10 min
Prepare dinner 40 min
Serves 4-6

2 medium aubergines (about 650g)
3 tbsp ghee, or impartial oil
3 pink onions, peeled and sliced
Salt, to style
20g root ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 small inexperienced chillies, slit lengthways
½ tsp garam masala, plus further to serve
4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 handful contemporary coriander, to serve
1 lime, to serve

Lay the aubergines on the fuel flame of the hob, or on a barbecue, and go away till very tender and black, turning often with heatproof tongs to make sure they prepare dinner evenly.

Alternatively, blacken underneath a scorching grill. Both means, as soon as blackened throughout and tender inside, go away till cool sufficient to deal with.

In the meantime, put the fats in a frying pan over a medium warmth and saute the onions, stirring, with a pinch of salt till tender and limp.

Stir within the ginger, garlic and chillies, prepare dinner, stirring, for one more minute or so, then add the garam masala and tomatoes, and prepare dinner till the tomatoes begin to soften.

Scoop the aubergine flesh out of the skins (don’t fear should you get a little bit of pores and skin in there, too; it can solely add to the flavour).

Add the aubergines to the pan. Mash with a wood spoon or comparable till pretty clean, then go away to simmer till many of the liquid has evaporated.

In the meantime, roughly chop the coriander.

Stir via the chopped coriander and somewhat extra garam masala to style, squeeze within the lime juice, additionally to style, then test the seasoning and modify if needed. Serve with rice or flatbreads.

Baingan ka bharta; the king of all bharta, or do you could have one other model you’d prefer to advocate, significantly with aubergine season nearing its finish in additional northern climes? How do you make yours – all recipe suggestions appreciated! – and what do you pair it with?