Baingan Bhurta

Baingan Bhurta in Marathi

Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 Big Eggplant (around 1 pound)
2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 big tomato, finely chopped
For tempering:- 2 tbsp oil, 2 pinches mustard seeds, 1/8 tsp hing, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp red chili powder or 2 green chilies, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnishing.

Method:
1) Roast the eggplant.
2) Let the eggplant cool down a bit. Peel it and take out the flesh and chop it roughly.
3) Heat oil into a pan. Prepare tadka by adding mustard seeds, hing, turmeric powder, red chili powder. Add chopped garlic cloves. Saute for 10-15 seconds.
4) Add onion, saute over medium-high heat until translucent. Then add tomatoes and saute over high heat until mushy.
5) Add salt and chopped eggplant flesh. Stir well from the bottom to prevent burning. Mix well until you notice oil starts leaving from the side (for about 5 to 8 minutes)
Serve hot with Millet roti or wheat roti.

Baingan Bhurta in Yogurt

Dahyatil Vangyache bharit in Marathi

Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 cup Bhurta

Ingredients:
1 cup roasted Eggplant, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp oil, 2 pinches cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp hing
2 green chilies, slit lengthwise
2 to 3 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
3/4 cup plain yogurt or to taste
salt to taste

Method:
1) Heat oil into a tadka pan. Add cumin seeds and wait till they crackle. Add hing and green chili. Pour it in eggplant.
2) Add chopped onion and salt. Mix well. Add yogurt and cilantro. Mix nicely.
Serve as a side dish

Spicy Eggplant Curry

Eggplants in Spicy Curry in Marathi

Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients:
10 small eggplants (small)
Masala Paste
1 cup Onion, thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, roughly chopped
5 big garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch ginger piece, chopped
5 curry leaves
4 green chilies, chopped
1 tbsp roasted peanuts powder
2 tbsp grated coconut
1/2 tsp roasted poppy seeds, ground (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
3 tbsp Oil
other ingredients:
2 tsp oil
5-6 fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp hing
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp kashmiri mirch powder
2 tbsp tamarind pulp

Method:
1) Wash eggplants and cut the stems. Cut the eggplants and make 6 to 8 wedges of each one.
2) Masala Paste
i) Heat oil into a pan. Add curry leaves, onion, green chilies, garlic and ginger. Saute until onion becomes translucent.
ii) Add tomatoes, and cook until tomatoes are mushy.
iii) Add peanuts powder, coconut, cumin-coriander powder, poppy seeds, garam masala and salt.
iv) Let the mixture cool down. Then ground to a fine paste. Add little water if needed when grinding.

3) Heat oil in a pan. Add fenugreek seeds and wait till color changes to brown. Now add hing, turmeric, and eggplant slices. Also add little salt. Cover the pan and cook for few minutes or till slices become tender. Then add ground masala, tamarind pulp and red chili powder.
Add some water to get the desired consistency. Boil for few minutes.
Serve hot with white rice or chapati.

Tips:
1) Choose small purple eggplants with glossy skin without any brown rust spots.
2) Kashmiri Red chili powder does not have spiciness, but gives nice red color to the curry. Therefore, its upto you whether you want to add it or not.
3) Little sweetness plays well along-with sourness of tamarind. Hence, if you like sweet and sour combination, add little jaggery or sugar (1/2 or 1 tsp)

Aloo Baingan Stir Fry

Aloo Baingan Stir Fry in Marathi

Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 3 persons

Ingredients:
8 to 10 small eggplants (tip 1)
2 medium potatoes
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
For tempering: 2 tbsp oil, pinch of mustard seeds, 1/8 tsp hing, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chili powder
4 to 5 curry leaves
2 tbsp roasted peanuts powder (coarse)
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar or to taste

Method:
1) Wash the eggplants and cut off the stem. Cut each eggplant lengthwise in quarters. Then make thin slices. Immerse them in cold water.
2) Peel the potatoes. Cut lengthwise in quarters and make thin slices.
3) Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds, hing, turmeric, chili powder and curry leaves. Add onion and potatoes. Add some salt. Cover and cook until potatoes are 50 % done.
4) Drain water from eggplant slices. Add eggplant slices in kadai and mix well. Now, do not cover the pan as eggplants get cooked quickly. So keep stirring whenever needed.
5) When eggplants are almost done, check the salt and add if required. Add peanuts powder, sugar and coconut. Mix well and cook for couple of minutes.
Serve hot with chapati.

Tips:
1) Big eggplant can be used. In that case, for 1 cup eggplant slices use 3/4 cup potato slices.
2) Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to give tangy taste.

Baingan Bhurta

Baingan Bharta in Marathi

Time: for Roasting- varies according to roasting method | Cooking Time - 5 to 10 minutes
Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients:
1 big eggplant
1 big Onion, finely chopped (around 3/4 to 1 cup)
3 green chilies, slitted lengthwise
For tempering: 1 tbsp oil, 2 pinches mustard seeds, 1 pinch cumin seeds, 1/8 tsp hing, 1/8 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
Cilantro for garnishing

Method:
1) Roast the eggplant.
i) over stove top:- If you have gas burner, rub little oil to eggplant and roast it on the flame. Turn it occasionally. (Note- Eggplant releases water after roasting, so it may leave stains on the burner. But those stains can be removed by scrubbing)
ii) in Oven:- Preheat the oven at 400 F. Apply some oil all over the eggplant. Poke the eggplant a few times with a fork. Wrap it with aluminum foil. Put it in a baking tray and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. (It does cook the eggplant, but does not give smokey flavor)
iii) Use the barbecue grill to roast eggplant.
iv) in Fireplace (Tip) - Funny to hear but I actually roasted the eggplant in fireplace :). Apply some oil all over the eggplant. Poke the eggplant a few times with a fork. Wrap it with aluminum foil. Open the exhaust before starting fire. Now stack 2-3 twigs in fireplace. Put 1 or 2 coconut shells at the bottom. Sprinkle 2 spoons oil over twigs. Place the eggplant in between so that it gets roasted evenly. Light the fire with some newspapers. After fire kicks up perfectly, eggplant will get roasted within 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the eggplant very carefully by using tong. BE CAREFUL WHILE USING THIS METHOD and taking the roasted eggplant out.

2) Let the eggplant cool down. Peel it and cut off the stem. Chop the flesh roughly.
3) Mix eggplant and onion. Do not throw the juices oozed out of the eggplant.
4) Heat oil into a kadai. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, turmeric powder and chilies. Saute for few seconds and add onion-eggplant mixture. Cook for couple of minutes. Garnish with cilantro
Serve hot with Millet Roti.

Tip
1) I did not use 'starter fire logs' which are available in super markets, as I wasn't sure of what things and chemicals have been used to make them workable. It is better to use fallen twigs.

bhogichi bhaji

Bhogichi Bhaji in Marathi

Time: Preparation - 20 minutes | Cooking - 15 to 20 minutes
Servings : 3 to 4

Ingredients:
1 big potato, peeled and cubed (approx 1 to 1.5 cup)
1 medium Eggplant or 3 to 4 small eggplants (approx 1 to 1.25 cup medium cubes)
1 cup carrot, medium cubes
1/2 cup fresh green chana (I used frozen)
1/4 cup soaked Peanuts (soak for 2 hours)
1/4 cup Pavta beans (Indian style lima beans)
6 pieces of Drumsticks (3 inch) (tip 1)
For Tempering: 2 tbsp oil, 2 pinches mustard seeds, 2 pinches hing, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp red chili powder, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 curry leaves
2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds, coarsely crushed
2 tsp Goda Masala - click here for recipe
2 tbsp Tamarind juice
1 to 1.5 tbsp jaggery, grated
1/4 cup fresh coconut
salt to taste

Method:
1) Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing, turmeric, red chili powder, curry leaves. Then add potato cubes, fresh chana, pavta beans, drumsticks and peanuts. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. stir occasionally.
2) Then add eggplant and carrot. Mix well. Add 1/2 cup water, cover the pan and cook over medium heat.
3) Once vegetables are almost cooked, add tamarind juice and goda masala. Also add little water if required.
4) Add jaggery after vegetables are cooked nicely. Also add roasted sesame powder and fresh coconut. Sprinkle little salt if needed. Boil for 1 minute and serve immediately with Millet Roti.

Tips:
1) Use fresh drumsticks. Aged and stale drumsticks have hard beans which takes longer to cook. In that case, pressure cook drumstick with 2 whistles.
2) It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook the vegetables. For a quicker version, pressure cook chana, Pavta (lima beans), drumsticks, peanuts upto 2 whistles. However, the vegetables cooked in the pan taste more flavorful that quick version.