Loaded baingan bharta - Oven roasted eggplant bharta with roasted red bell pepper, potato and spring onions

I call this the "loaded" baingan bharta because it is loaded with tasty ingredients in addition to the traditional eggplant. My husband will never touch anything that has eggplants in it but he eats this bharta without any complaints. Generally people who do not like eggplants hate the seeds so I remove the seed clusters after the eggplant is roasted. It is pretty easy to do it. The seeds are generally attached to the stem end in clusters. I just remove those first after breaking the eggplant open.

Loaded Baingan Bharta

This bharta is loaded with roasted red peppers and tomato with mashed potato adding bulk and spring onions add the fresh herby taste. I infuse the garlic flavor in the eggplant by stuffing sliced garlic cloves into the eggplant.

Ingredients:

2	medium eggplants
1	red bell pepper
1	tomato
4	small boiled potatoes
1 tbsp	tomato paste
1	medium onion
5	spring onions
3 cloves	garlic
1/4 tsp	turmeric powder
1/4 tsp	chilli powder
1 tsp	coriander powder
1 tsp	garam masala
1 tsp	salt
1 tsp	lemon juice

• Preheat the broiler on the oven and line a baking tray with foil. Cut the bell pepper into half and place cut side down on the baking tray. Make slits through out the surface of the eggplant and stuff sliced garlic into some of the slits. Place the eggplant on the baking tray. Spray some oil on the vegetables.
  
• Broil for about an hour turning the eggplant once or twice. The eggplant should be completely soft all over specially the stem part and the skin will turn black. The bell pepper might be done sooner. Add a tomato to the baking tray in the last 15 minutes.
  
• Cover the tray and let the vegetables cool down.Peel the skin off and mash the flesh. Also mash the boiled potatoes.
  
• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and the white part of the spring onions. Cook till the onions get a little translucent.
• Add the turmeric, chilli and coriander powders along with the tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes.
• Add the mashed vegetables and cover and cook on low flame for about 10 minutes to let the flavours blend together.
• Add the salt, garam masala and spring onion greens. Cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the lemon juice and mix well.
• The bharta is ready to serve with some rotis and dahi.

Notes:

• The eggplants are cooked on an open flame traditionally. But I have an electric coil on my stovetop and cooking on the stove top is very messy too. Cleaning up is very easy when broiling in the oven due to the foil-lined baking tray. It just takes longer but since it is hands-off time, I don't mind it.