Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)
Ingredients
1.5 lb eggplant (1 large or several small)
1 large onion, chopped into large chunks
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 - 4 fresh, spicy, small green chiles, stems removed
1 cup crushed canned tomagoes
2T + 2T fresh cilantro leaves and small stems, chopped
4 tsp. amchoor (green mango powder)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 T canola oil
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 T toasted cumin-coriander powder (see note)
Directions
Wash and dry the eggplant(s), prick them in several places with a fork or knife, and place them on a baking sheet that is either lined with foil or oiled. Roast at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the eggplants skin has turned dark brown or black and the flesh has collapsed. During the roasting process, turn the eggplants once so that they cook more evenly. Alternatively, you can also use the broiler to cook the eggplants. When the eggplants are cooked, remove from the oven, let them cool, and then scrape the flesh off the skin and place it into a large bowl. Use your fingers or a potato masher to break up the eggplant pieces into a pulp.
Combine the onion, garlic, and chiles in a food processor or blender and mince into a rough paste. Add this paste to the bowl with the eggplant. Add the tomatos, 2 T of the cilantro, the amchoor powder, the salt, and the turmeric and mix well.
Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the eggplant mixture. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes, until the onion is thoroughly cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated from the mixture. Early on in the cooking process you can stir every minute or two, but as the mixture starts to dry out you will need to stir constantly to prevent it from burning onto the bottom of the pan.
When the mixture is cooked, add the peas and cook a couple of minutes, just until they are cooked through. Remove from heat, stir in the toasted cumin-coriander powder, and serve garnished with the remaining chopped cilantro.
Notes
To make the toasted cumin-coriander powder, mix 2 parts coriander seeds to 1 part cumin seeds and toast over medium heat in a dry pan until the seeds turn medium brown and smell toasted. Remove the seeds from the pan, let cool, and grind to a fine powder. If you don't want to make this toasted spice mix, do NOT add untoasted cumin powder and coriander powder at the end of the cooking. Instead, adding untoasted cumin powder and coriander powder at the same time you add the turmeric to the eggplant/onion mixture.
This recipe serves about 4. If you double the recipe, note that the cooking time will become considerably longer.
This recipe is a close adaptation from one in Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries (New York: Workman Publishing, 2008).
Last update: July 20, 2010