Baingan or eggplant or Aubergine is very loved vegetable. Commonly known as "King of vegetables" or "Sabjiyon ka Raja", this vegetable is eaten a lot in entire country. Perhaps it is because of the leaves crown on top of the vegetable that gives it this distinction of being special among all vegetables.
Known to have originated in India or Africa, where it is commonly called as brinjal, The vegetable is grown extensively in India. India and China account for combined production of more than 80% of the total production in the whole world.
The brinjal or eggplant has many varieties. From just a couple inches to a couple feet long, this vegetable is found to have grown in various shapes and sizes. Not only the shape and size, but the vegetable is known to have been found in various colours as well. Although the most common color known for this crop is light to deep purple or violet, it is also found in white and green color. It is this white color small eggplants which is believed to have given the name eggplants as they resembled the eggs in color and size. They are also called garden eggs or vegetable eggs.
The vegetable is in boiled, cooked, sauteed, fried, roasted and even pickled form all around the world in various cuisines. Different countries have their different dishes using different cooking methods.
In India, it is very popular for its roasted version of the dish called as "Bhartha" said to have originated in the Punjab region of Indian subcontinent. In the olden days, when people used wood as cooking fuel, after cooking the food, people used to keep the vegetables like eggplants for roasting in the leftover fire and heat of the "chulha" or "tandoor". The roasted vegetables were then used for making the main dish.
The bhartha is cooked by adding various spices and additional "tadka" to roasted eggplants. But in this recipe, we have combined it with another loved vegetable, corn. The "Makki ki roti" is made with flour of corn. Until few decades back, corn was not used much as a vegetable in Indian cuisine but with the popularity of American sweet corn, this vegetable gained popularity. Normally people do add peas also in the bhartha. But in this recipe we have added corn in the dish. The corn gives it a distinct flavor to the dish which does not interfere with the roasted flavor of the dish but enhances the flavor by giving its taste combined with the delicacy of the original dish.
for 2-3 persons
- Eggplant roasted, peeled and mashed 2
- Tomatoes 3 big size
- Onion chopped 2
- Corn boiled ½ cup
- Garam Masala 1 tsp
- Oil as required
- Green chilli chopped 1
- Coriander fresh chopped 1 tbsp
- Ginger garlic chopped 1½ tbsp
- Coriander powder 2 tsp
- Green cardamom 2
- Cloves 2-3
- Black cardamom 1
- Cumin seeds 1 tsp
- Black pepper corn 10-12
- Salt to taste
Method
- Dry roast black and green cardamom, black pepper and cloves.
- Crush them when cool.
- Heat oil in pan. Add cumin seeds.
- Add chopped onion and saute well.
- Add salt.
- Add chopped ginger garlic. Saute for few seconds.
- Onion starts to turn brown.
- Add chopped tomatoes, saute well till oil starts to separate.
- Keep stirring and mashing.
- Mix all powdered spice and mix well.
- Add green chilli.
- Add mashed roasted eggplant, keep mashing and mixing for about 10-15 minutes.
- Add corn and cook till oil separates.
- Baingan corn bharta is ready.
- Garnish with chopped coriander.
- Serve hot with roti, paratha or naan.
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