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Punjabi · Indian

Baingan bharta

Vegetarian

बैंगन भर्ता · baingan bharta

Aubergine charred over a flame until smoky, then mashed and cooked with onion, tomato, chilli and coriander. A rustic Punjabi side or main.

Baingan bharta is a Punjabi side dish from India, ready in about 40 minutes and made with eggplant and coriander leaves. It serves 3 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Baingan bharta
Photo: Dheerajk88 / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Total
40 min
Serves
3
Level
Easy
Calories
167

Ingredients

3 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rub the aubergine (opens in a new tab) with a few drops of oil, prick it and roast directly over a gas flame (or under a hot grill), turning, until the skin is blackened and the flesh collapses.

    • 15 min
    • high heat

    Charring directly over a flame gives the essential smoky flavour.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Let cool slightly, peel off the charred skin and mash the flesh roughly.

    • 5 min
    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oil, crackle the cumin (opens in a new tab), then fry the onion (opens in a new tab) until soft. Add garlic (opens in a new tab), ginger and chilli, then the tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and dry spices with the salt; cook until soft and jammy.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the mashed aubergine (opens in a new tab) and cook, mashing, for 5 minutes. Finish with garam masala (opens in a new tab) and plenty of coriander.

    • 5 min
    • medium heat

About this dish

Origin
Punjab, India · Commonly attributedMashed roasted aubergine is cooked across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in many regional styles.Also popular in Pakistan, BangladeshMore food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Side dishes · Main courses
Cooking method
Roasted, Sautéed
Taste
smoky, spicy (chilli heat), savoury, earthy
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-fibre
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-fibre · DASH-style · Carb-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly · One-pan
Cook more with
Eggplant · Coriander leaves · Cumin · Onion · Garlic · Fresh ginger
Techniques
Roasting · Broiling · Sautéing

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

167 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 293 g · recipe makes 3

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 8%
  • Carbohydrate 43%
  • Fat 50%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy167 kcal57 kcal
Protein3.4 g1.2 g
Carbohydrate19.3 g6.6 g
Net carbohydrate12.3 g4.2 g
Sugars9.3 g3.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre7 g2.4 g
Fat10 g3.4 g
Saturated fat0.8 g0.3 g
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium595 mg203 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
677 mg
Calcium
56 mg
Iron
1.6 mg
Magnesium
44 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
48 µg
Vitamin C
29 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
55 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Garam masala: Curry powder (FDC 170924) used as a stand-in; both are ground blends of similar dried spices used in teaspoon amounts.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Common mistakes

  • Roasting the aubergine in an oven only — it softens but never gets the smoky flavour that defines bharta.

Serve with

  • Serve with roti or paratha, dal and raita.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days refrigerated.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a pan.

Variations

  • Begun bhorta (Bangladesh): Bengali/Bangladeshi version mashed raw with mustard oil, onion and chilli.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Eggplant, large (about 450 g)1 piece · 450 g
  • Tomato, chopped2 piece · 240 g
Used in steps 1, 3, 4

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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