bangin’ baingan bharta
There is restaurant Indian food, and then there is homemade Indian food. The former typically features menus with deep fried things, tikka masala things, and a flavor that I can only describe as “Americanized sweetness” (you’ll find this at Thai and Chinese restaurants too). The latter is something I came to know a bit in the homes of childhood friends and more recently, their grown-up kitchens. As you might expect, the homemade stuff tastes like something you could eat everyday, not something heavy enough to mess up the rest of your night.
One of these aforementioned friends cooked up some baingan bharta (mashed eggplant with tomatoes and a whole lot of delicious seasonings) and I was a little jealous that this video of Rajen wasn’t taken in my kitchen. I had been saving a couple of eggplants to finally try it out, and this was more than enough inspiration to get me through being in a kitchen with all four burners (and the oven) blazing.
A brief overview of how I made it:
Roast, steam, microwave, or grill eggplant (the big purple globe kind) until soft. Set aside and let cool.
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, which will sputter and pop. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, minced hot pepper, minced garlic, and minced ginger. When everything has softened up, add chopped tomatoes, ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and salt. Cover and let it all simmer into a loose sauce (add a bit of water if things start to stick).
Remove skin from eggplant and roughly mash the flesh. Add to tomato sauce mixture and heat through. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
