Green baingan bharta is a herbaceous eggplant dish made with roasted eggplant garlic and fresh herbs. Vegan & Gluten free.
This herby and smoky roasted baingan bharta will convert non-eggplant lovers! It comes together in a few easy steps and has a pronounced flavor of mustard oil and green herbs along with a robust flavor of garlic & ginger. Sharing this loved family recipe in this post that we serve on makar sankranti with urad dal khichdi.
Though my grandmother made it mostly on Sankranti, I make it all year round whenever I find good quality eggplants. Tastes amazing with a doughy flatbreads like naan or pita.
About My Recipe
This green bainga bharta recipe is a little different from the traditional punjabi baingan bharta in terms of ingredients and taste. There is not a lot of cooking involved and the fresher the eggplant, the better the taste!
I have changed the recipe a bit from how it used to be to fit our tastes and convenience. When my grandmother used to make it, she would grind the green herb mixture on sil batta (stone grinder). But I use food processor. Secondly, in original recipe, finely chopped raw ginger and garlic were used, but I first fry them slightly in hot mustard oil before mixing in.
The taste of mustard oil could get pretty strong especially if you are not used to it. Warming it up helps in talking away the pungent taste of the mustard oil.
This is a very easy recipe and you can chop the onions and grind herbs while the eggplant is roasting. There is a ton of texture and heat from ginger, garlic and fresh green chilies. Its super fresh and very light, like I mentioned.
Mustard oil is a very prominent flavor here, however if you don't want to consume it, use olive oil. The taste will be different if you use other oils.
More Baingan Recipes
How To Make
- Wash the eggplant very well and dry with a paper towl. Slit the eggplant in a few places without cutting into pieces.
- Place the eggplant on direct flame and roast until its skin is charred and the inside is soft and fleshy. You can grill on outdoor grill. Oven roasting has a muted smoky flavor but you can certainly use it for cooking eggplant.
- Using tongs place the baingan on a plate and let cool down.
- Cut off the stem part and peel off the charred skin. Little bits of chareed skin is okay. Add the peeled eggplant to a bowl and mash it using a fork or your hands.
- While the eggplant is roasting, add all the fresh herbs and 2 garlic cloves to a food processor and pulse 6-7 times to make a coarse herb mixture.
- Add the herb mixture to the mashed eggplant along with salt, lime juice and 1 teaspoon raw mustard oil.
- In a small pan, warm up mustard oil for about one minute. Remove from heat and immediately add chopped ginger & garlic, green chilies and cumin seeds. Let sizzle for 6-8 seconds taking care not to burn or brown too much.We don't want to cook ginger garlic and green chillies.
- Immediately add on top of eggplant and mix well until everything is combined. Taste and adjust the salt.
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Adjust the amount of green chillies in this recipe as per your taste.
- If you like a mild garlic or ginger taste, reduce the quantity.
- If you dont want to use mustard oil, use olive oil.
- This bharta is best eaten fresh with 4-5 hours. We finish it one go. After storing, the taste is not that fresh.
Hara Baigan Bharta/Herby roasted eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant I use italian eggplant
- 1 small bunch fresh cilantro with stems roughly chopped
- 5 scallion stalks green & white parts roughly chopped
- 10-12 fresh mint leaves
- 1 indian green chilli (hot) adjust to taste (use jalapeno pepper for a milder taste)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice or to taste
- 1 teaspoon mustard oil to be added raw
For tempering
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1.5 tablespoon mustard oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
- 1.5 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- 2 indian green chillies (hot) adjust to taste (use jalapeno pepper for a milder taste)
Instructions
- Wash the eggplant very well and dry with a paper towl. Slit the eggplant in a few places without cutting into pieces.
- Place the eggplant on direct flame and roast until its skin is charred and the inside is soft and fleshy. You can grill on outdoor grill. Oven roasting has a muted smoky flavor but you can certainly use it for cooking eggplant.
- Using tongs place the baingan on a plate and let cool down.
- Cut off the stem part and peel off the charred skin. Little bits of charred skin is okay. Add the peeled eggplant to a bowl and mash it using a fork or your hands..
- While the eggplant is roasting, add all the fresh herbs and 2 garlic cloves to a food processor and pulse 6-7 times to make a coarse herb mixture.
- Add the herb mixture to the mashed eggplant along with salt, lime juice and 1 teaspoon raw mustard oil.
- In a small pan, warm up mustard oil for about one minute. Remove from heat and immediately add chopped ginger & garlic, green chilies and cumin seeds. Let sizzle for 6-8 seconds taking care not to burn or brown too much. We don't want to cook ginger garlic and green chillies.
- Immediately add on top of eggplant and mix well until everything is combined. Taste and adjust the salt.
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Adjust the amount of green chillies in this recipe as per your taste.
- If you like a mild garlic or ginger taste, reduce the quantity.
- If you dont want to use mustard oil, use olive oil.
- This bharta is best eaten fresh with 4-5 hours. We finish it one go. After storing, the taste is not that fresh.
Dan
I've never seen an Indian eggplant dish like this. It looks so good!
I'll need to make it very soon, however, I think I'll end up skipping the mustard oil just because I probably couldn't find it. Is there another oil that would work as a substitute, or possibly mustard paste or powder with oil?
Sushma Mallya
Very beautiful presentation tanvi,lovely recipe too, heard a lot abt this dish but never got a chance to try it out...looks delicious,will try tis soon
Swathi
Hara baingan bharta looks beautiful and delicious.
satya
baingan bharta is my favorite too ...but never made this way ...ur version looks awesome Tanvi ...yummy ..thanks for sharing
Satyahttp://www.superyummyrecipes.com
Dan
Hi Tanvi - Thanks for suggesting sesame or olive oil. I think there is a small Indian grocer in my area but Ie didn't see mustard oil whn I was last there (where I learned that . I might check again or just use the sesame oil (I have lots of that!).
Namitha
This version of baingan bharta is new to me...looks fabulous
Reeni
What a bright and beautifully vibrant dish! It must be extra special to be made only once a year. I loved hearing about your memory of eating in the garden - how lovely!
Kamalika
I am never an eggplant lover mainly when it comes to the charring process...But if my hubby sees this dish he will surely jump in the screen and goble it up.......
Tanvi
Kamalika,
My husband is your brother and I m your husband's sister going by what you say...I hope that makes some sense 🙂
Deesha
this dish is very new to me .. I love baingan ka bharta .. I might try this green version soon .. thanks
Priya
Greeny baingan bharta sounds delicious and looks gorgeous..
Ananda Rajashekar
Tanvi, am super interested in kaali urad dal khichdi, sorry but do you plan to cook? looking fwd :P..loved 1st and 3rd pic! oh yes i know grinding in sil -batta bring amazing texture and best is the taste, as these modern mixer change the real taste from the heat produced by motor.....but can't we import them to our NRI's home? 😉
Tanvi
You know what Ananda, I had no plans of making khichdi but your question has put me to second thoughts 🙂
Reshmi Ahmed
Tanvi, I could actually smell the Baingans roasting in ur kitchen 🙂 they are my favourites !!!
nisha
i wonder when i will successfully make anything with egg plants..sigh!
Nishi
Hey Tanvi,
I nev er knew that baingan ka bharta can be made this way as well. A very innovative and tempting recipe 🙂
Melynda
What a beautiful looking dish, thanks for the great information.
Alex@amoderatelife
Tanvi, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful memory of your grandmother's home and winter meals as a child. I will be sharing it on my hearth and soul hop highlights on my thoughts on friday at a moderate life because I find it such a joy to hear how other's grew up and grew to love food! Thanks for linking to the hearth and soul hop again this week! alex@amoderatelife
delicieux
This looks fantastic, it's just a pity my boyfriend won't go near eggplant so it's sort of pointless making this just for me. 🙂
Umm Mymoonah
Looks very delicious, nice preparation. Roasting the eggplant will definitely add up some taste to it. Thank you for sending it to the event.
shaz
What a vibrant, colourful spicy dish. Sounds delicious! My grandmother used a sil-bata (in Malaysia). I used to love watching her, this tiny woman, grabbing the large stone and rolling it back and forth to make spicy pastes for the curries. I don't know what's happened to that stone, I wish I had it. Thanks for bringing back memories.
girlichef
Grrr...you kids and your modern appliances 😉 LOL! This sounds fabulous...I love the color of it, too. I am so in love with Indian food right now. Thank you for sharing this with the hearth and soul hop this week 🙂
Simply Life
Oh this looks great!
Panchpakwan
Looks so coloful and spicy too:) loved it.
Butterpoweredbike
Now that the weather has cooled just a touch, my cilantro is making a comeback, and I'd really love to give this recipe a go. Thanks for sharing with with the Hearth and Soul hop. Your posts are always so wonderful and a perfect fit for the spirit of the hop.
Deepa
I never knew that we can roast baingan in oven also thanks dear ....this green dish is attracting me a lot....I bet this would have tasted well also....very nice shots dear
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
Lisa
This dish looks so healthy and fresh. Great job Tanvi! And as always thanks for the support!
Couscous & Consciousness
This looks amazing - I am just about licking my computer screen. I love eggplant and I SOOOO want to try this.
Sue
Fathima
Love this color of baingan bharta.... makes it look really delicious... that plate with the roti is def drool worthy!!!
Treat and Trick
Such a lovely color dish! Sounds interesting and yum, love the methods you have posted for roasting the eggplant..
Christy
I felt like I was in your granny's garden and I know I would love this dish! Thank you for sharing it with us at the hearth and soul hop!
asiya omar
really lovely recipe.
meeso
Goodness, here is the third recipe I've had to bookmark for today! Looks excellent! Yummy!
mustardseed
I love bharta and make it quite often but never tried to grind the cilantro and add it in. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Love your recipes and l might have mentioned earlier but I do love cooking in mustard oil and the unique flavor that it imparts.
Sylvie Dhanilal
My late mum-in-law used 2 make this an we used 2 have it with brown roti....This is Devine thank u 4 the sharing this recipie..
Tanvi
Thanks for visiting. I m so happy to know that you liked it!
Sylvie Dhanilal
Looking 4word 2 new recipies