Ended Summer With A BANG-AN!

I can’t believe summer has come to end. One of my favorite memories was going fruit picking at a local farm.  Even my grandmother had fun; she especially enjoyed the hayride around the orchard.  We were so famished from picking “all day” that we stayed at the farm for some grub. The staff served up free samples of dishes cooked with the fresh produce. It was such a delight! My favorite was the Charred eggplant, zucchini and red bell peppers. It closely resembled a dish we prepare called Baigan Bharta. By the way, baigan means eggplant in Hindi. We don't grill that often so it was nice trying the dishes at the farm. However, over  Labor Day weekend, we finally set up the grill and had ourselves a mini barbecue with corn on the cob and Baigan bharta sandwiches. I brushed the corn on the cob with a little bit of lemon juice, chili powder and salt and it delicious. The sandwiches came out so well, I thought I would share the wealth. Below is the recipe for the filling and it is good enough for 6-7 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

Main Ingredients

- 1 medium sized Eggplant, peeled and chopped into small cubes

- ½ cup of Crushed Tomato (use equivalent amount blending fresh tomatoes)

- 1 medium sized Onion (red or regular), chopped finely

-  ½ cup of Coriander, chopped

- 1 tsp of Chili powder                                                    

- 1 tsp of Salt (Adjust to taste)

-  ¼ tsp of Turmeric powder                                            

- 2 tbsp of Vegetable oil                                                    

- 2 to 3 tbsp of BBQ sauce (preferably Smoky flavored)*   

Procedure:           

1)  In a skillet heat oil and season with mustard and cumin seeds, when they start to splatter, add a pinch of hing (optional), turmeric and chili powder. Then mix well.

2) Add onions and stir until transparent, add tomato and cook well. Add chopped eggplant and salt, cook well under covered lid mixing intermittently.

3) When the eggplant is cooked well and blended into tomato, remove the lid and add chopped coriander and mix.

Baigan bharta can be served as a side dish for any meal. It can be also be served with roti, naan or rice. For our sandwiches, we toasted whole wheat bread and topped the bharta with Swiss and Cheddar cheese. It was like eating sandwiches hot off the grill; especially with the addition of the smoky barbecue sauce in the recipe and the hot gooey cheese. 

***Quick Tip: We used the smoky flavored BBQ sauce to add the charred flavor to the dish; similar to making it with roasted or grilled eggplant.