DBC or Dal Bhaat Chokha is the famous lunch combination in most of the Indian homes because it is quick, easy and delicious option for lunch when you are too lazy to make something fancy for lunch. Dal is a curry like dish made out of split pulses whereas bhat is the boiled rice. On the other hand, Bharta or Chokha is made up of boiled potatoes or roasted brinjal. In this blog I’ll share the recipe of famous brinjal/ eggplant bharta or baingan ka bharta. It is not only easy to make but is also flavorful and spicy.

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 04

Course: Side Dish/ Lunch

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients:

Brinjal/ Eggplant (purple)                                  500g

Mustard Oil                                                         3 tbsp

Asafetida                                                             1 tsp

Chopped Onion                                                  ¼ cup

Chopped Ginger                                        ½ tbsp

Garlic                                                                   5-6 cloves

Green Chilies                                                       1-2

Tomatoes                                                            2 medium

Cumin Seeds                                                       1 tsp

Coriander Powder                                              ½ tsp

Cumin Powder                                                    ½ tsp

Turmeric Powder                                                1 tsp

Garam Masala                                                    ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves                                                 ¼ cup

Directions:

1. Wash the brinjal/eggplant thoroughly and wipe off the water. Make three to four slits into the brinjal using a knife. Coat the brinjal/ eggplant with 1 tbsp of mustard oil and put ¼ tsp of asafetida into the slits.
2. Turn on the heat of the gas stove, place a wired rack over it and roast the brinjal/ eggplant placing over it on medium flames. On short intervals turn over the brinjal/ eggplant to cook it evenly on all the sides. Roast the brinjal/ eggplant till the outer skin gets loose or leaves the flesh.
3. Meanwhile, take the tomatoes, garlic cloves, green chilies in a grinder jar and grind to make a fine paste. Keep the paste aside.
4. When the brinjal/ eggplant is roasted well, remove it away from the flame and let it cool for some time. After it cools, remove the roasted skin from the flesh; chop off the top of the brinjal/ eggplant. Chop the roasted brinjal/ eggplant into small pieces and keep it aside.
5. Heat a pan on medium low heat and add the remaining 2 tbsp of mustard oil. When the oil gets heated, add the remaining ¾ tsp of asafetida and cumin seeds to the oil. Let the seeds crackle. Quickly add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and chopped ginger and cook for few seconds. Don’t burn the spices.
6. To the spices and oil, add the tomato paste also add salt to taste and cook the paste till the masala leaves oil. When the masala leaves oil it means the masala is cooked.
7. When the masala is done add the brinjal/ eggplant, give it a nice mix and cook for few minutes on low heat. Before removing it from the heat, sprinkle the garam masala and mix well.
8. After removing from the heat, add the chopped onions to the bharta/ chokha and give it a nice mix. Serve hot, garnished with fresh chopped coriander leaves.

Tips: Adding chopped onion is optional, one can skip adding onions.