Monday, May 31, 2010

Microwaved baingan ka bharta

I hated baingan ka bharta (BKB) when I was a kid. I don't know why -- maybe it was the mushy texture, the ugly colour of the dish, the smell of roasted brinjal or the fact that it just didn't taste the same as, say, pani puri.

So imagine my joy when I found out I could microwave brinjal (thanks, mom-in-law, for the awesome tip!), thus doing away with the characteristic burnt BKB smell. I know some people like the dish for its smell, but unfortunately I don't.

So here it is, the recipe for BKB in a very highly edible form.

Ingredients:
Brinjal - 1, long (the round ones should work too, though I have never tried it)
Tomatoes - 3, medium, diced
Onion - 1, small, diced
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
Oil
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:
1. Wash the brinjal and cut it into three pieces, each roughly the length of your forefinger. Slightly oil the surface and poke holes with a fork.

2. Arrange them on a shallow glass dish and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Turn them and microwave again, until they turn a disgusting shade of pale purple and brown (see picture below).














3. Cut the microwaved brinjal (it should be very very soft and easily cut) into small pieces (see picture below). You don't need to peel the brinjal (good source of fibre). Besides, it's very difficult to peel microwaved brinjals compared to roasted ones. By the way, the peel doesn't interfere with the taste at all.














4. Heat oil and add the mustard seeds.

5. Once they finish sputtering, add the onions and fry till they become translucent.

6. Add the tomatoes, salt and chilli powder and cook until the tomatoes are half-done.

7. Add the brinjal, mix thoroughly and cook for a few more minutes.

8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.




20 comments:

Arun said...

As your picture at step 8 shows, it turns into a lovely gold :)

Arun said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
~ Lopa said...

hehehe...Silver ;)

As a kid i didn't like this dish either...but now i do.

But i bake them in oven... never tried microwave...shall do that next time... Oven thing i invented myself as in our new kitchen we have induction gas...means no burning allowed !

Nidhi said...

alrite..i claim gold, silver and bronze too! *jumping with glee*
btw..that shade of baingan (after microwaving) is really really disgusting...kinda evaporated my initial euphoria of trying out ur recipe! :D

Sayesha said...

#Arun,
Yeah the tomatoes hide the disgusting purple well. :D

#~Lopa,
Oooh I should try baking them too! :)

#Nidhi,
Hahahahaha! I know... purple is my favourite colour, and this shade just doesn't do it! But... get over the colour yaar, the dish is really tasty. :P

Arun said...

BTW, you might like
"Moghul Microwave: Cooking Indian Food the Modern Way" by Julie Sahni. Her proportions of spices are not to my taste, but the general fundas are there.

Unknown said...

nahiiiin!
the best part of baingan bhartha is the slightly burned/roasted taste to the baingan. this is sacrilege! i love baingan bhartha - the original. :)

mythalez said...

whoa .... this is also the precise reason i dont make baingan bharta ... but your microwaved version might be different! thanks ye! :D

Taurus Girl said...

I love the authentic baingan bharta... :)
The finished dish looks nice but u can try n peel of the skin off the brinjals after microwaving or even boiling them..

Sayesha said...

#Arun,
Ah, will look it up. Microwave cooking is very under-rated I feel.

#The Girl From Ipanema,
Hahahahaha! Oye chup, Hema Malini ki saasu ma!! I hate the burnt taste, hehehe! :P

#mythalez,
Yeah if you prefer a non-stinking sourish version, try this. :)

#Taurus Girl,
Oh I didn't peel the skin for two reasons:
1. Fibre
2. It's very difficult to peel the skin off microwaved brinjals, unlike the roasted ones. :)

Didn't want to boil them cos I was afraid of losing nutrients in the water. :P

Doli said...

You have an amazing blog! I'm so thrilled to have found it :) I really really admire your style of writing :)

Kanan said...

That looks awesome and I bet it tastes even better.... I love BKB! I liked the burned version too ;)

Taurus Girl said...

Hmm.. Makes sense.. One can live with the purplish tinge to hv more nutrition i guess.. :)

Bivas said...

have tried experimenting a lot on microwaved food including poha...this was quite interesting...though I did miss the burnt smell :-)

Sanchit said...

ah.. the last pic suddenly makes the dish look so yummy yummy

bluejay said...

OMG! ur kidding! I've been craving for baingan bharta in phareen land!.. I am gonna buy it today :)

Sudeep said...

kya ganda rang hai 1st pic ka.. eewww

Arre roasted wale ka chilka nikalne mein kitni skill lagti hai aur majaa bhi aata hai :D

bluejay said...

and I did make it yesday!..and it was soooo delicious!!(ahem..ahem...aren't I modest :P )..how can I ever thank u!!..mwah! :)

Neha said...

I totally love the burnt wala bharta...this one will taste like my mom in law ka boiled wala version...not a big fan of it though :(

Sadhana said...

Hey thanks... I have induction n was looking for something like this...