Peeling an eggplant was like unveiling an ivory-skinned woman dressed all in black.
- Mohja Kahf
I had promised to bring guest authors to my blog.
So, here is yet another guest post.
Some friendships are meant to be. I am talking about that friend whom you have met only in the virtual world, but feel like you have known them for years. Do you have any such friends?
After I started blogging, I have met many new amazingly talented people and have made tons of new friends. I feel blessed to have them in my life. Many of whom I have met online (and not in personal life) but are so generous about their friendship.
Meet one such dear friend, Chahat Kaur. We are members of a food group on Facebook. Chahat's post are always peppy, friendly and always always brings a smile to your face.
Her food posts look extremely delicious and her "shaayrana andaaz" (the poetic way) with which she presents her food, that is simply out of this world. And that's how I noticed her. We became friends on Facebook.
Now, one fine day - oh well, the day was fine, there was nothing wrong with it - I was a little bit sad. You know, there are those days when nothing seems to be going your way. I am talking about such a (emotionally) dreary day, I get a ping from Chahat which read "I dreamt of you".
Whaaat?
Hooo?
I checked my message again.
The message did read "I dreamt of you".
Hmmm..
Did she send it to me by mistake? I checked again.
You see, there are only two people who are "supposed" to dream about me - my husband and Sonshine. One was working upstairs in his office room and there was no way he would dream about me when he is at work (well, I don't think he dreams about me at all 😉 ). The other little person (aka Sonshine) who might dream about me was at school and I really hoped that he was not asleep in class dreaming about me.
So, I checked my message again (yes, a third time) and it is from Chahat and it is meant for me. Curious, eh?
We got to talking. Her dream was about me making a chilli pickle and how she visits me at home and steals it from my kitchen. That dream made me happy and and I felt better. If somebody dreams about the pickle you make and it is so tasty that she has to steal it from my kitchen, the world cannot be all bad, right? 🙂 .
So, anyways, we bonded that day and we really hit it off. We have stayed in contact ever since and Chahat was kind enough to agree to do a guest post for me.
I do not have many North Indian dishes on my blog and she agreed to share her favorite Baigan Matar Bhartha recipe with me. This is so perfect, (it is like she read my mind), because the only way to feed my family Baingan (eggplant) is in the form of Bharta. I make a simple Baingan bharta at home, but never thought of adding matar(green peas) into it.
Handing over to Chahat to talk more about her and her dish. Drumrolls please....
I would like to thank Sreelatha for inviting me for a guest post on her beautiful blog Sreelatha is a very soft spoken ,calm & a nice person to talk to ,she is my friend from FB group Euphoric Delight. She is extremely passionate about cooking & I am really very happy to be a part of her blog today! Thank you my dear friend Sreelatha.
Bonjour people, I am Chahat Kaur ,an obsessed cook & food blogger. Cooking is my passion & my blog goes by the name of Gorgeandserve. When I am cooking I enjoy it to the core. Well, probably more than just a passion, its like meditation for me. It helps me relax, rejuvenate and oh well “remain calm”. The sweet colorful sight of fresh vegetables, playing with all kinds of heavenly spices, smelling the luxurious aroma of fresh bakery, there is not a single thing about food that makes me unhappy. I feel I can cook anything in this world ( of course by learning ) . Being a Punjabi I am a foodie too and love to eat different cuisine around the world.
For more mouthwatering dishes, do not forget to follow Chahat in any of these ways that best suits you.
Website: http://gorgeandserve.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gorgeandserve
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gorgeandserve/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GorgeAndServe
Baigan Matar Bharta By Chahat Kaur
Ingredients
- 1 big size Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine
- ½ cup peas
- 3 big Tomatoes chopped
- 1 big size Onion fine chopped
- 2 Green chili chopped
- 4-5 cloves Garlic fine chopped
- 2 '' Ginger fine chopped
- ½ tsp. Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. Coriander powder
- 1 tsp. Kashmiri red chilly powder
- ¼ tsp. garam masala Powder
- Coriander leaves chopped for garnishing
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil or Mustard oil I used Mustard for this recipe
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Clean the eggplant & slit the eggplant once & grease with oil
- Keep the iron net on gas/electric stove. ( Or however you wanna roast it ,all your way ? )
- Place the eggplant on the net, let it grill all side at low to medium heat till it gets soft.
- Once it is cooked, it would become very soft. Turn off the heat. Let it cool down.
- Peel the eggplant mash and keep it aside.
- Heat oil in /Kadai/yok/pan.
- Add ginger & garlic, saute till slightly golden color. Add onion and green chilly, saute till onion gets translucent.
- Now add chopped tomatoes & mix well .
- Add salt to taste , turmeric powder & coriander powder,.
- Mix well & saute in medium heat covering the lid till you see that oil start oozing out & tomatoes are mushy.
- Add peas ,mix well & fry for another 3-4 min.
- Now add mashed eggplant and mix it very well. Fry the mixture for another 5-7 min till the egg plant is properly cooked along with the other spices. Sprinkle garam masala powder & mix well.
- Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
Suchithra says
Has been looking for a good bhaingan bhartha recipe to make..this one looks easy..adding peas to the gravy is a new thing..
Sushma Iyer says
aahaaa.. The way you narrate; it seems like we are having a chat over coffee.. So friendly and at ease; I enjoy your writing, your recipes and of course the photography..
I am a big fan of Eggplant but HE is allergic to it.. So I have stopped cooking it but this recipe has touched that cod in me and suddenly I am craving for it.. 😉
Framed Recipes says
Thanks Sushma. Go ahead, and make some. 🙂