Baigan Ka Bartha/ Roasted and Mashed Eggplant...

I would love to know where baigan ka bhartha originated.. was it in India or in the Arab and Mediteranean lands? It has a very unappetizing name, meaning "mashed eggplant", but more colloquially the term "bartha" is used to connote "a mess" or a "mishmash".."or everything mixed in together".

It's the similarity in the eggplant preparation that made me curious. Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines have similar recipes of eggplant that is roasted and then mashed and seasoned. They have the baba ganoush, roasted eggplant salads, roasted eggplant dip, Greek Eggplant Dip, another dip from Romania and so on.
Our humble badly named bhartha is eaten with chapathi...is it used as a dip? Well, if you notice, we scoop up the bhartha with the chapathis similar to the pita with the dip.. So are they long lost cousins from a Persian invasion?
We like eggplants in any form...fried as a pakoda, baked in layers with other stuff, pureed, or sliced, marinated with red chili powder and turmeric and deep fried, and sometimes even as a side dish. In that case, this is my first go to recipe.

Season this any way you like, but this is the basic recipe that I follow. The eggplant is bland with just a smokey flavor so is open to any kind of interpretation. You can make it more tomotoey, more tangy with more spices if you want to. My Bombayite friend just roasts it and adds fresh raw chopped cilantro, green chilies and onions and gives it a seasoning of cumin in Ghee. That tastes good too. But then I like eggplant in any form.:)

You Will Need:
The Big 2 pound Sized Eggplant -1
Red Onion - 1 finely diced
Medium sized Tomato -1 finely diced
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp( use fresh paste or finely chopped)
Hot Green chilies - 4 chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chili Powder -1/4 tsp (adjust with the spice of the green chilies)
Coriander Powder -1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder -1/8 tsp
Jeera Seeds -1/2 tsp
Chopped Coriander/Cilantro leaves - 2-3 tbsp for garnish
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp approx.

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to the broiler setting. Wash the eggplant, wipe it dry and place it on a foil lined baking tray right under the broiler in your oven. Bake it for 10-12 minutes, turning it over once so that the outer skin gets burnt all around evenly. The roasting can be done over a gas flame too, turning continuously..but it gets quite messy. Or you could even cook it by microwaving for 5 mts but then you don't get the smokey flavor.
2. Wrap the eggplant in the foil and allow it to cool. Then remove the outer skin. Mash the eggplant well and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and toss in the cumin seeds. Add the onions,green chillies and saute well till the onions start tuning brown only at the edges. Add the ginger garlic paste. Mix and saute and then add the red chili powders, turmeric and coriander powder. Fry it well. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and the mashed eggplant. Cook on medium low heat for 5-10 minutes, taking care not to let it stick to the pan. Stir once in a while. The color slowly changes from the greyish brown to a deeper brown. If the onions were fried too much then the gravy would start turning a darker brown. Add the lemon juice in the end just to balance the flavors. If the tomatoes are sour, you may not need lemon juice at all. Add the garam masala and cilantro leaves and check for salt.

Stuffed Baby Eggplant

This is a easy yet luxurious dish my Egyptian friend introduced me to. She brings this or stuffed peppers for lunch and has got me hooked on it. The stuffed peppers has rice also in it, but this is traditionally made with only ground lamb. Unlike typical Arab recipes, the ones she brings is a little spicy (she can outeat any chili afficianado) and so my recipe also called for more spice.
I also found a similar recipe in the Tyler's Cookbook I was discussing earlier. Again, since I had already tasted the authentic version, I was able to compare the recipes. The only change I made is to add paprika and Allspice powder. His version was quite accurate. Allspice berries are small dark brown hard berries which taste like a mix of all the spices together.. it has a sweetness, a sharpness and a woodsy taste too. I think the flavors would be fine without it as there is garlic, tomatoes and onions all merging together, but it balances the taste of meat. Substitute with a pinch of garam masala to add an Indian flavor to this old Arab favorite. The filling can be made with meat or without meat. Further stuffing options are listed below.

Cooking time:20 mins, Baking time-25 minutes.
You will need:
Eggplant- 3
Ground Meat (lamb/beef/turkey/chicken)-1/4 lb
Onions -1 small one chopped
Shallots-3-4 chopped
Garlic -3 cloves minced
Ground Allspice- ½ tsp
Paprika-1/2 tsp
Pepper-1/4 tsp
Green chilies-2 chopped finely
Tomatoes -2 peeled, seeded, diced
Lemon juice -1 tsp
Fresh Parsley- 1 cup chopped
Fresh Mint-1 tbsp chopped
Lemon- 1 sliced paper thin.
Salt to taste
Olive oil-3 tbsp

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the eggplant into two vertical halves. Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and fry the eggplant on all sides for a minute or two and remove onto paper towels. The skin has to just get seared, and the insides do not have to get cooked. After it slightly cools, scoop out the inner flesh from eggplants with a spoon, talking care not to go too much close to the skin. An even layer of the eggplant should be retained inside each shell. Cut the scooped flesh into chunks and reserve. The eggplant is still uncooked so will not scoop out easily. Do it carefully.
2. Sprinkle inside of eggplant shells evenly with salt. Place upside down on paper towels; let stand 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the pan again with the remaining oil. Cook garlic and onion over medium-high heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the ground meat and stir till it gets broken up evenly, about 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, green chilies reserved eggplant flesh, paprika, pepper, and allspice. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until eggplant is just tender, about another 5-10 minutes. Season the filling mix with salt and stir in parsley and lemon juice. Remove from heat and let it cool down.
4. Pat eggplant shells dry with paper towels. Spoon about 1 tbsp of the eggplant mixture loosely into shells. Spray a large shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Place the eggplant, cut side up, into the baking dish in one layer. Top each eggplant with the thinly sliced lemon. Drizzle a tiny amount of olive oil on each eggplant. Bake for about 25-35 minutes until eggplant is fully tender. Remove from oven, cool to room temperature, sprinkle parsley and serve.

Other Possible Stuffings:
a. Above filling mixed with cooked rice and toasted pine nuts.
b. Cottage cheese(paneer)sauted as above instead of meat.
c. Just the eggplant-tomato mix itself, omitting the meat.
d. Mushrooms cooked with tomatoes and topped with grated cheese.
Stuffed Eggplant, Eggplant, Food Blog, Parsley, Arab