My love for Indian food has grown over the last 2 years and as I’ve gotten better at making it, it’s become even tastier. You have no idea how excited I was to pick up garam masala from the store a while back since that would help me make Indian dishes even more delicious.
When I found this recipe from a new blog which I had discovered, I couldn’t wait to try this out. It’s a very simple, but an extremely flavorful dish. I was able to make this in between finishing up some cleaning around the house. Low-stress recipes are always the best, especially during really busy weeks. In addition, this is a vegan recipe that will not require any meat additions- it’s just perfect on its own. It’ll taste great over rice or with a piece of naan bread.
Baingan Bharta
Adapted from: Eat, Live, Run
1 eggplant
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped
(we also added a habañero- so that’s an option)
1 green pepper, chopped
small (1 inch) piece of ginger, chopped
3 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp curry powder
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
Preheat over to 400°F. Slice the eggplant lengthwise, and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of salt on the fleshy side. Also, rub the whole eggplant (fleshy and skin sides) with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Then, place the eggplant on a cookie sheet, flesh side down. Bake the eggplant for 30 minutes. Switch the oven to a broil, and broil it for another 5 minutes. Then take it out of the oven, and let it cool off.
In a large skillet, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil. Once it’s heated, add the onion and garlic. Sauté until the onion is translucent, then add: jalapeño, green pepper and ginger. Sauté all of the vegetables until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Next, add the garam marsala, cumin seeds, turmeric, chili powder and curry powder. Add the tomatoes, and stir well.
Next, once the eggplant has cooled off a bit, scoop out the seeds. With what is left over, try to cut it up into a couple large chunks (skin included). Add the eggplant to the skillet and cook for another 5 minutes.
Lastly, ladle all of the vegetables into a food processor. Process the mixture until it is smooth. Serve over rice, and with a piece of naan bread.
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