Saturday, December 19, 2009

Easy Roasted Eggplant - Baingan ka Bhurta (hara masala)

This is a simpler version of this dish. It is healthier and requires minimal oil and cooking. The recipe is as follows:



3 medium eggplants
4 scallions, finely chopped
5 sprigs cilantro, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 packet green peas, thawed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon
sea salt to taste

Serves 4

Recipe:                                              
-Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roast the eggplant till soft; about 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and singe the skin over an open flame (use a blowtorch if available). Once charred, allow to cool and peel off.
- Squeeze the flesh to drain the juices and slice into equal portions.
- Separately bring water to a boil and blanch the peas.
- Combine scallion, green chillies, lemon juice and eggplant in a blender or food processor till roughly blended. Slowly add the olive oil till the mixture has a smooth, thick consistency. 
- Remove to dish and add peas, chopped cilantro, salt.
- Mix well and serve.  

6 comments:

  1. minno adaab, glad you're enjoying the qawwalis.

    the above sounds very interesting and i shall try it with scallions rather than onions.

    my parents were from just down the same road, so the discovery of your recipes is also quite a delight.

    i too love all kinds of tarkaris and bhujiaas and one of my specialities is baigan ka bharta. my version has lots of ginger and tomatoes in it, which gives it a nice spicy and tangy touch. also lots and lots of hara dhaniya, similar to yours, but with the stalks thrown in (finely chopped).

    furthermore the eggplants can be put in the microwave and becomes soft in about 10 to 12 minutes. the skins peels off quite easily after that. asal original recipe mein to koaley ke angaaron pey jalaya jaata tha. uss mein aik achhi dhooney ki si khushboo aaya karti thi. mouth watering now. must run.

    warm regards

    ps. this is of course a hybrid of rampuri recipe combined with high pressure of life in montreal (waqt ka hai aur muqaabla sakht). ab aap kahein gi ke achhe pakvan mein jaldee nahin ki jaati haina!

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  2. Adaab Arif.
    I do add tomato to my bhurta but only in the cooked version (the recipe is one of the earlier ones if you scroll down). I don't usually add ginger but don't see why not. Will try it that way too.
    As for the smoked koela taste, an option could be to roast over a charcoal grill till the skin is singed. Roasting it in the oven and then (carefully!) burning the skin over an open stove flame works well for me too!
    These recipes are precious to me and I am happy to see the same appreciation from you. Please keep posting and sharing.
    I do very much agree with your last comment, achi pakvan mein jaldi ki hi nahin ja sakti!

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  3. minno,

    i made this on monday. guess what . my 16 year old son who refused to have baigan all his life had this bharta of yours. in fact he had a huge second helping. always a good sign that he loved it.

    then my daughter came along and joined us at teh table. asked me what it was first. when i told her all the background, she wrote down the recipe in her little diary.

    so what can i say...it was a huge success as far as i am concerned..will surely make it again.

    merci.

    ps. if you ever hear of a major qawwali event in NYC then please tell me about it. i came for the farid & abu event in 2006. it was memorable. our kcc najm saif event is on oct 23rd in montreal if all goes well.

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  4. Thank you. I am happy to know that my recipe allowed your children to see the more palatable side of eggplant! Have to confess that when I was young, this was one of my least favorite vegetables. Now I love it!
    Re: qawwali- I will definitely let you know if I hear of any events here. Abu Mohd. and Farid Ayaz have a close association with our family. On your behest, I checked with them. They have no plans of being in the US anytime soon. They are planning a trip to Canada sometime this summer I believe so you are in luck! Their website will be a good place to check as it is quite current.

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  5. Minno,

    When I was a kid I never liked any of the greens, especially palak, which I now enjoy with all the other tarkarees.

    Thank you for taking the trouble of calling KHI. Small world. I know Farid Ayaz and Abu quite well too.

    If their Canada tour matures I will likely be involved in it, as I was in the past two instances. We were fortunate enough to have them recite in our home in Montreal, with a small and intimate gathering of true qawwali lovers.

    Anyhow, if there is any other recital in NYC I'd really appreciate it, if you remember to send me a message.

    Warm regards.

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  6. What a small world! Yes, I will keep you updated if I hear of any events. Meanwhile, your blog is a source of inspiration for me everyday with the beautiful collections of kalaams and qawwalis. Much appreciated!

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