Baingan Bharta – Scrambled Stir-Fry Eggplant
Baingan Bharta – Scrambled Stir-Fry Eggplant is a great Indian eggplant recipe to always keep on hand. Perfectly roasted eggplant is cooked in onions, tomatoes and a few spices and served as a side with chapati (tortillas) or rice.
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 large globe eggplant, about 1.5 pounds (1 cup when mashed)
- 2 tbsp oil of choice
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 onion, medium (1 cup chopped)
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 serrano peppers, small hari mirch (3/4 tsp chopped)
- 2 tomatoes, medium ( 1 and 1/4 cup chopped)
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ground coriander (dhaniya powder)
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric (haldi)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder (cayenne pepper)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
Prep
- Grease your Air Fryer basket with 1 tbsp oil. Preheat at 350°F for 5 minutes. Rinse the globe eggplant well and pat it dry with a towel. Rub oil on each side, front and back. Then use a fork or knife to stab holes or slits into the peel. I typically make 4-inch-long multiple slits on each side. Once the air fryer is heated, place the eggplant in the air fryer, set it for 400 degrees F, and 20 minutes. Once the time is up, remove the eggplant. It needs to be to the point that the flesh can be scooped out of its skin and is wrinkly. The eggplant will shrink during air frying as moisture evaporates. Let the eggplant cool. Once it’s cool enough to handle, peel the skin off. Scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. If the seeds are soft and barely visible there’s no need to remove them. However, if the seeds are brown, scoop them out with a spoon. Then using a potato masher mash the eggplant really well. It needs to be mushy. (Look at notes for other methods to roast the eggplant)
- Rinse and chop the onion, serrano peppers, and cilantro finely. Core and dice the tomatoes finely.
Cook
- Heat oil in a wide pan on medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot add cumin seeds.
- When the cumin seeds splutter, add onions. Sauté until golden. Stir occasionally. Next add in ginger garlic paste and serrano peppers and let it sauté for a minute.
- Then add tomatoes, ground coriander, ground turmeric, garam masala powder, red chili powder, and salt.
- Stir to combine and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until the tomatoes become soft and mushy.
- Stir in the air fried eggplant. Turn the heat to low and simmer the Baingan Bharta for about 10 minutes until well cooked and well combined.
- Once done, turn off heat and add lemon juice and cilantro.
Notes
- You can also roast the air fryer in an oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Keep checking. The eggplant will be ready once the skin is wrinkly and the eggplant has shrunk.
- If you are cooking it on the flame place the egg plant on the flame on the stove top, monitor continuously and carefully turn the eggplant around with tongs in order to prevent it from burning. It will be ready when the skin in slightly charred and wrinkly. It should be easy to peel off.