Brinjal/Baingan Bharta

Overview

Brinjal, also known as eggplant, and is widely used to make many dishes. It is a spongy edible fruit and is available in different sizes and colors. The various names of Brinjal are begun in Bengali, ringna in Gujarathi, peethabhala in Sanskrit, vange in Marathi, baigan in Oriya, baingan in Hindi.

Nutritional Profile

If we talk about Brinjal's nutritional profile, it comprises carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, and antioxidants. It has 92% of water, which keeps us hydrated and has almost no fat. There can be little changes in the nutritional value due to the changes in the weather.

Health Benefits

•  Brinjal helps in fighting cancer and in controlling the blood sugar level.
•  Consuming brinjal daily helps in reducing body weight.
•  It has been found that including brinjal in our diet aids in reducing the risk of heart disease. 
•  Moreover, eggplant has low calorie, which aids in weight loss and is high in fiber, which helps in boosting our digestive system.

Uses

•  Brinjal has vitamin C in it, which makes it very useful and beneficial for our skin. It helps in preventing signs of wrinkles, aging, or dark spots.

Recipes

1. Baingan/Bharta

Ingredients: 1-large Brinjal, 3 tbsp oil, 5 chopped onions, 3 chopped tomatoes, red chili powder, salt (according to the taste), coriander leaves

Cooking Steps:: The first stage of preparation involves roasting the brinjal, so that its skin gets charred. Now let it cool and then mash. On the other hand, put some oil in the pan and let it get hot and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes. After that, add chopped tomatoes, salt, chili powder according to your taste.

In the end, add those mashed brinjals to the onion-tomato mixture and mix it well. For five minutes, cook it on a medium flame and add chopped coriander while serving.

Here your baingan bharta is ready in just a few simple steps.

2. Brinjal Fry

Ingredients: 250g baingan, 1tsp Kashmiri Mirch, ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder, 1 pinch hing, salt according to the taste.

Cooking Steps: First, cut the brinjal into thick slices and soak the brinjal slices in water (add salt) for about 10 minutes. Drain them on a plate. Place the slices of brinjal on the pan and fry on a medium flame, let them get brown from one side.

Next, place fried brinjal pieces on a paper towel. The dish is ready to serve with khichdi or dal-rice, garnish some coriander leaves to make it look even yummier.