BAINGAN KA BHARTA

Till I got married and went to Bhopal, (35 years ago), I had not heard of this badnekai bharta. This is a North Indian specialty and liked by all. If I am right, it is a special item of the menu when guest come home. I was keen to learn north Indian dishes, {not that I could prepare all south Indian dishes :)} and this is one of the first few things I learnt to make.

The selection of tender badnekai while buying is also very important here. It should be dark purple in colour, should be firm and soft to touch. If it is hard it means that it is ripe, and you find lots of seeds inside and the taste of bharta is spoilt. Moreover take care that there are no holes. Holes are an indication that there are worms inside. May be because unfortunately they spray pesticides nowadays or may be because my ophthalmologist has said I am developing cataract in my eyes, I don't remember to have found worms recently :-).

Badnekai should actually be roasted in kenDa, but nowadays since nobody uses charcoal, you can roast it on a gas flame. The burnt smell gives the bharta the beautiful flavour. You may feel that it is quite a bit of processing. But it is not really so. Once the pulp is ready, the rest is quickly done !

Ingredients:

1 big badnekai (about half a kg)
2 midium onions-finely cut
1 big ripe tomato
1" cube ginger-finely cut or grated
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 teaspoons oil.
salt to taste
procedure:
Smear a little oil on the surface of the badnekai and keep it on the flame. Holding the stalk, rotate it frequently so that it gets roasted all around uniformly. Roast till the badnekai becomes soft. The skin becomes dry and brittle and that is an indication that it is done. Take it off the flame and allow it to cool.

You can see in the picture on the left, how a fully roasted badnekai looks.

Peel off the the skin fully and mash the pulp well.

Now keep a kadai on the stove. Add oil and heat. Add ginger and the cut onions and fry for a minute. Add cut tomatoes and fry till tomato becomes soft.

Add the pulp, salt and mix well. Keep stirring for about two to three minutes and turn of the stove.
Yes, bharta is ready!




This is a side dish with chapathis and serves four, if you have other sabji and/or dal also in the menu.