Baingan Bharta (Eggplant curry)

After several trial & errors, I found this recipe to be the best. This recipe source is from a very close friend of mine who is an excellent cook. Although this is not the traditional Baingan Bharta recipe, my family & friends love the taste of how it's made. I try to roast baingan on our charcoal grill every time we use it-  which is quite frequent during summer's :-) The rest of the season, I roast it on my gas burner on medium high heat. Some roast in the oven too- but I had a very bad experience & never went back to oven!

Ingredients:

1 large round bottom eggplant
1 medium onion sliced + 1 small onion, chopped, fried and ground to a paste
1 small tomato, chopped
1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
4 green chillies, chopped fine
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp haldi powder (turmeric)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup frozen green peas
Oil
Salt
Coriander leaves

How it's made:

Wash baingan. Coat it with a thin layer of oil and roast. Once roasted on all sides (which takes about 15- 20 mins on gas burner/charcoal grill), set aside & let it rest covered for a few mins. Peel off charred skin & roughly chop into chunks. 
In a pan (I like to use kadai), heat 2 tsp oil. Add jeera. When color changes, add sliced onions & green chillies. Fry until onions are light brown. Add frozen green peas & let it cook for a few mins. Add tomato & salt to taste. Cook for a few mins until tomatoes are mushy. Add eggplant, chilli powder, garam masala & haldi. Cook covered for 8-10 mins. Lastly add ground onion paste and coriander leaves. Mix well. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot with roti.

Serves : 4