Egg plant dishes
Baingan bhartha
Ready to serve Baingan bhartha
Time taken : 45 minutes
Serves : 4-5
Baingan is nothing but egg plant and also Brinjal in english needs no introduction at all. My family loves Brinjal and especially the smoked Baingan bharith as it is out of the world with its pleasant aroma though it is a little laborious and messy to clean up the place and the veggie too!!! I have already put up Yengai-stuffed egg plant /Brinjal in north karnataka style and is a very popular recipe on this blog. Here is my version of this recipe….
What you need to have:
1. Brinjal/Egg plant – 2 cups of mashed egg plant
Egg plant being roasted
Ingredients of seasoning & garnishing:
1. Chopped Tomatoes – 3/4 Cup
2. Chopped onions – 1 and 1/2 Cup
3. Roasted Cumin powder – 3/4 Teaspoon
4. Coriander powder – 1 and 1/2 Teaspoons
5. Garam masala powder – 1/2 Teaspoon(home made)
6. Ginger-garlic paste – 1 Teaspoon
7. Red chili powder – 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon
8. Turmeric powder – 1/4 Teaspoon
9. Sugar – 1/4 Teaspoon(optional)
10. Salt – As needed
11. Cooking oil – 2 Teaspoons
12. Chopped cilantro – A handful(for garnishing)
Ingredients of Seasoning & Garnishing
What you do with what you have:
1. Wash and chop tomatoes. Also wash, peal and chop onions too and chop cilantro too. Prepare the ginger garlic paste too and keep it aside.
2. Wash and pat dry the veggie and prick it all over with a fork. Apply a little oil all over it and roast it on the fire directly on your gas stove burner adjusting it every now and then till it is completely done.
Egg plant being roasted
Roasted Egg plant
3. Allow it to cool completely so that one is able to peal it easily. Pealed egg plant is as shown in the image below.
Roasted and pealed Egg plant
4. Place a skillet with 2-3 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on medium flame. When heated, add cumin seeds to it and let it splutter.
Cumin seeds being added to coking oil to be spluttered
5. Once done, add chopped onions to it along with a little salt and and fry till transparent. When done, add chopped tomatoes to it and fry till mushy. 
Tomatoes being added to the fried onions
6. When tomatoes turn mushy, add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a while. 
Ginger-garlic paste being added
7. Add all powders in a row and give a strong stir.
7. Finally add roasted, pealed and mashed egg plant from step-3 to it and give a stir adding a little water as well to it to get the right consistency, checking for salt too and not to forget to add a pinch of sugar. 
Mashed and roasted egg plant being added 
Dish being adjusted adding water and salt too
8. Add chopped cilantro and transfer it to a serving bowl for a better view of the dish. Relish with chapati or roti. Ready to serve Baingan bhartha
Time taken:45 minutes
Serves:4-5
Good to remember: 1. Use tender and fresh Egg plant for a better flavour.
2. Adding sugar gives a wonderful taste.
3. Roast it either on gas or on a thick skillet as well. One can even roast on fire wood too if available.
Brinjal Masala (Vayngana Nonche)
Brinjal ( or egg plant or Badnekai ) is one of those vegetable that people either love or hate. This dish I am putting up today is the delicacy of North Kanara. Though the dish does not contain any masala item or even garam masala, it is fabulous as a combination with either Akki rotti or even Chapathi. It can be made mild and not very spicy so even kids can have it.
What you need to have:
1. Chopped brinjal – 3 cups
2. Onions chopped – 2 cups
3. Mustard seeds – 1 Teaspoon
4. Green chilly – 1
Ingredients of Egg plant Masala
Ingredients of Wet Masala:
1. Fresh grated coconut-3/4 cup
2. Green chillies-2-3
3. Bilimbi-2-3 or Tamarind pulp-1/2 Teaspoon
What you do with what you have:
1. Chop both egg plant and onion lengthwise as shown in the image above.
2. Place a wide bottomed bowl on the flame with 4-5 teaspoons of cooking oil in it. When heated add mustard seeds to it. When it sputters add chopped onions and required quantity of salt to the dish and let it fry on medium flame till it turns transparent. At this stage add green chilly to it and you get the flavour to the dish something like that shown below in the image.
Chopped onions being fried
Bimbli tree in my backyard
3. Grind the above masala ingredients in the mixer to a smooth paste and is as shown in the image below. I have use Bimbli instead of the tamarind. The reason being that it is tangy fruit readily available in all houses in down south except for 4 months in the rainy season). [ Btw, Bilimbi makes a superb pickle as well. ]
Ground wet Masala
4. Add the wet masala to the fried onions and cook it for a while and is as shown in the image below.
Wet masala being cooked with fried onions
5. On masala being cooked for a while, add chopped Brinjal/egg plant from step 1 and cook it till it is softened for about 10-15 minutes on medium flame. The dish is as shown in the image below.
Ready to serve Vayngana nonche
6. Enjoy it with either chapathi or Akki roti.
Vayngana Nonche with Chapathi
Vayngana Nonche with Akki roti
How long it takes: 45 Minutes
Number of servings: 4-5 people
The Indian Food Court 