We have a chaat restaurant in our neighborhood that serves an amazing baingan bharta and it has always been a regular part of our order. It tastes good with everything.
I had been trying to recreate this baingan bharta at home without any luck. I was so glad to stumble upon this amazing recipe by eatrealfood on Food.com for shahi baingan bharta. It is almost an exact match to the restaurant favorite and the best part is that the recipe comes out perfect every time I make it. Up until then, I didn’t even know that a shahi version of the baingan bharta even existed.
Bharta is a dish made by roasting and mashing vegetables. For this recipe, the vegetable of choice- eggplant, can be roasted over an open flame or in the oven or even on a cast iron pan. Cooking it over open flame will impart the classic smoky flavor to the dish. I prefer to cook it in the oven just because I can put it in the oven and forget about it till the timer goes off.
To make it shahi, we add cream to the curry. It does enhance the curry and take it to the next level. It is a extremely delicious dish. So please do try the shahi baingan bharta.
Shahi Baingan Bharta
Serves – 4-6
INGREDIENTS
Large eggplants ( Italian variety)- 2
Onion- 2 , finely diced
Garlic- 2 pods, finely diced
Green chillies- 2, finely diced
Tomatoes- 2 large ones, finely diced
Coriander powder- 3 teaspoons
Chilli Powder- ¾ teaspoon
Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder- ½ teaspoon
Jeera Powder- 2 teaspoons
Garam masala- 1 ½ teaspoon
Heavy whipping cream- 4-5 tablespoons
Cilantro- a few sprigs
METHOD
Roasting the eggplants 
1. Clean and pat dry the eggplants.
2. Place them on a baking sheet, poke holes all over the surface of the eggplants with a knife and rub any mild oil all over their surfaces.
3. Roast in the oven at 400℉ for 35 minutes.
4. When they are tender to touch, they are done. Check doneness by pressing down with a wooden spatula. If they are still hard when you press down, then cook for a few more minutes. I had to cook one of the eggplants for 5 more minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let them cool down.
6. Peel and discard the skin.
7. Pulse the pulp into a coarse mixture in a food processor. Remember to keep it coarse as it adds texture to your bharta. Keep aside.
Making the bharta
1. Heat oil in a large pan, add finely diced onion and saute till it changes color to a golden brown.
2. Add the finely diced green chillies and garlic and saute for a minute.
3. Lower the flame and add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and jeera powder. Roast till the raw smell is gone.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes turn soft. Add salt for faster cooking.
5. Add the roasted and mashed pulp of eggplants into the pan and add salt. Remember the eggplants were not salted before roasting.
6. Saute often and cook for 15-20 minutes.
7. Sprinkle the garam masala and mix well.Cook for another couple of minutes.
8. Check and adjust the salt.
9. Finish with 4-5 tablespoons of cream and garnish with cilantro.
Serve the shahi baingan bharta with roti or steaming rice and you have a meal worth the effort.