Baingan Bharta
This Indian vegetarian builds aubergine, tomatoes and green chilli into a fuss-free meal you can have ready in about 150 minutes. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 28 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and grill / broiler. At involved difficulty across 28 steps, it's worth setting aside proper time for. As written, every ingredient resolved to a plant source.
What you'll need
Shopping list (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: vegan — no meat, fish, dairy, egg or honey, based on every ingredient listed below.
Contains: none of the major allergens we track from the ingredients listed.
Allergen labels are informational and may not cover cross-contact; verify every package and consult a qualified professional for medical dietary needs. Diet labels are derived from the ingredient list on this page — how we verify diet and allergen labels.
Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
How to make it
- Rinse the baingan (eggplant or aubergine) in water. Pat dry with a kitchen napkin. Apply some oil all over and
- keep it for roasting on an open flame. You can also grill the baingan or roast in the oven. But then you won't get
- the smoky flavor of the baingan. Keep the eggplant turning after a 2 to 3 minutes on the flame, so that its evenly
- cooked. You could also embed some garlic cloves in the baingan and then roast it.
- Roast the aubergine till its completely cooked and tender. With a knife check the doneness. The knife should slid
- easily in aubergines without any resistance. Remove the baingan and immerse in a bowl of water till it cools
- down.
- You can also do the dhungar technique of infusing charcoal smoky flavor in the baingan. This is an optional step.
- Use natural charcoal for this method. Heat a small piece of charcoal on flame till it becomes smoking hot and red.
- Make small cuts on the baingan with a knife. Place the red hot charcoal in the same plate where the roasted
- aubergine is kept. Add a few drops of oil on the charcoal. The charcoal would begin to smoke.
- As soon as smoke begins to release from the charcoal, cover the entire plate tightly with a large bowl. Allow the
- charcoal smoke to get infused for 1 to 2 minutes. The more you do, the more smoky the baingan bharta will
- become. I just keep for a minute. Alternatively, you can also do this dhungar method once the baingan bharta is
- cooked, just like the way we do for Dal Tadka.
- Peel the skin from the roasted and smoked eggplant.
- Chop the cooked eggplant finely or you can even mash it.
- In a kadai or pan, heat oil. Then add finely chopped onions and garlic.
- Saute the onions till translucent. Don't brown them.
- Add chopped green chilies and saute for a minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and mix it well.
- Bhuno (saute) the tomatoes till the oil starts separating from the mixture.
- Now add the red chili powder. Stir and mix well.
- Add the chopped cooked baingan.
- Stir and mix the chopped baingan very well with the oniontomato masala mixture.
- Season with salt. Stir and saute for some more 4 to 5 minutes more.
- Finally stir in the coriander leaves with the baingan bharta or garnish it with them. Serve Baingan Bharta with
- phulkas, rotis or chapatis. It goes well even with bread, toasted or grilled bread and plain rice or jeera rice.
You'll use: Oven · Grill / broiler · Pan
Watch how it's made
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What to serve with Baingan Bharta
- Chicken Handi Chicken
- Lamb Biryani Lamb
- Tandoori chicken Chicken
- Lamb Rogan josh Lamb
Tips & common questions
How long does Baingan Bharta take to make?
About 150 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 28 steps and 9 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Baingan Bharta vegan?
Every ingredient listed on this page resolved to a plant or mineral source in our ingredient ontology — no meat, fish, shellfish, dairy, egg or honey. Labels can still differ by brand, so check packaged items.
Related recipes
Structured source recipe — not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Recipe data for Baingan Bharta via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.