Smokey roasted eggplant mash with Indian spices, is a very popular dish in North India and one of my personal favourites. Eggplant, aubergine, brinjal are some of the names of this humble vegetable. The word bharta (pronounced Bhuurrrtaah) means that the ingredients are mashed in the dish.
Baigan bharta is silky in consistency, smoky on the nose and roaring with the full stash of basic spices from the spice box. Aubergine is one of those vegetables that people either love, hate or don’t know what to do with it.
Aubergine requires no justification these days as it has slowly begun to take its well-deserved spot in the culinary world due to its taste and versatility but also due to its nutritional significance.
Aubergine is rich in antioxidants, fibre, potassium, and Vitamin C. It is also low in calories and has rich fibre content which helps in controlling blood cholesterol levels. It is also believed that the Brinjal has long-term anti-carcinogenic properties.
I had almost forgotten about this humble dish while trying to cook new innovative dishes. Few years ago, while visiting India I ordered Baigan Bharta at a restaurant for dinner. Oh! I could have eaten the whole plate of it. Smoky, oozing with flavours it was just riot in the mouth! I was initiated once again! Since then, it is a dish I prepare often at home.
