Sasmita
roasted eggplant / brinjal / baingan mashed with some minimal ingredients from Odia cuisine
The hot season, Summer is already started in my part of the world. And being an odia, we most of the time prefer to have rice water meal. Rice water in odia we call as Pakhala. That can be fermented or the fresh kind. For that meal, there are a lot of side dishes which one can thoroughly enjoy ! Starting from aloo chakata, badi chura, saga bhaja, mixtures etc to non-vegetarian dishes like macha bhaja, sukhua (dried fish) poda etc. with pakhala is a pure bliss. As the heat is too high these days so we are having pakhala on each day either as breakfast or in lunch time. Today we had the saja pakhala (you may check lembu pudina pakhala) where there is no need of fermentation. Are you confused about fermentation ? Do go through my Dahi Pakhala post to get all those varieties of pakhala in details.
Well today the accompaniments for the saja pakhala we had mixture, baigana poda (Mashed Roasted Eggplant), kakudi (sliced cucumber), piaja (sliced onion), lembu (lemon) and lanka (green chili) :). Actually the amaranth leaves were not available at my local market today, so only prepared these things. Else in my pakhala spread, the saga bhaja is a must. Apart from this, baigana poda (Mashed Roasted Eggplant in Odia Style) is one of my fav dish, I can have this with some roti / phulka too.
Is Baigana Poda (mashed roasted eggplant in Odia style) same as the North Indian Baingan Bharta ?
No, not at all. Do not misunderstand this baigana poda / mashed roasted eggplant Odia style to be same as the North Indian Baingan Bharta. These two are completely different dishes.
- Both are roasted over direct flame first. After that no cooking is required for Odia style baigana poda where as in the later, there is some cooking procedure after mashing the roasted eggplant.
- Mustard oil is mandatory for baigana poda, but in the later any cooking oil can be used.
- Some spice powders are added while again cooking the mashed eggplant where as in baigana poda there is no need.
- As compared to north Indian baingan bharta, this baigana poda from Odia cuisine takes less time and uses less ingredients.
Ingredients and making procedure :
The main ingredients is the eggplant / brinjal / baigana / baingan.
- One has to pick worm free eggplant (means there should not be any black spots, holes on outer surface of the vegetable)
- Select the eggplant those are light in weight, so that the seeds are less inside and the eggplant is not bitter (slightly) in taste.
- Prefer to choose the large size eggplant to make this dish (if you choose small sizes, then a no of eggplants have to be roasted one by one to get the desired amount of roasted flesh of the baigana. So if the size is big, then for 2 person one eggplant is enough to make baigana poda)
Apart from baingan, the other ingredients are mustard oil (mandatory to get the authentic flavor), finely chopped onions, roughly crushed green chilies and garlic cloves, salt. Some also adds boiled potatoes to this, that also tastes great. Well, first the baigana is roasted directly on the gas flame over medium heat by turning in between so that the it will well cook from all the sides. Then the roasted eggplant is transferred to a bowl, covered and kept aside till cools down fully. After that the outer surface (dark color roasted skins) of the eggplant is taken out gently and discarded. Using finger tips (traditional way) or using a masher or spoon, it is mashed well. Then mustard oil, chopped onion, salt, roughly crushed green chilies and garlic cloves are added and mixed till everything is incorporated well. Some finely chopped coriander leaves one can added here as well, I have not added that.
Serving option :
This baigana poda is super simple one. Only the patience here one has to keep is to roast the eggplant / baigana well from all the sides by rotating in between. Else rest process is quick and easy. This is a perfect side dish with pakhala (rice water) or even rice-dal combo, I can also enjoy this simply with hot phulka. For kids, green chilies can be omitted. It really gives a smoky flavor by roasting in direct flame. Completely Vegan & Gluten free dish it is. Do try this Odia style mashed roasted eggplant aka Baigana Poda.
: Recipe Card :
Baigana Poda | Mashed Roasted Eggplant in Odia Style
Prep time: 10 MCook time: 10 MTotal time: 20 M
roasted eggplant / brinjal / baingan mashed with some minimal ingredients from Odia cuisine
Ingredients:
- Baigana (brinjal / eggplant) (large) 1 no.
- Onion (finely chopped) (medium) 1 no.
- Garlic clove (roughly crushed) 2-3 no.
- Green chili 2 no.
- Mustard oil 1.5 tbsp
- Salt as needed
Instructions:
How to cook Baigana Poda | Mashed Roasted Eggplant in Odia Style
- First wash and wipe up the baigana / brinjal.
- Pierce a knife here and there in the brinjal.
- Then put on the gas flame to roast completely over medium heat by turning in between so that the brinjal will well cook from all the sides.
- Transfer the roasted brinjal to a bowl, cover and keep aside the bowl till it cools down fully.
- Now take out the outer surface (dark color roasted skins) of the brinjal and discard those.
- Then mash the roasted brinjal well using finger tips (traditional way) or using a masher or spoon.
- Next add mustard oil, chopped onion, salt, roughly crushed green chilies and garlic cloves.
- Mix everything till incorporated well.
- Serve as a side dish with pakhala (rice water) or even rice- dal combo !
Notes:
Mustard oil is the mandatory one. So dont use any other oil for this recipe.
Green chili is the spicy factor here. It can be adjusted as per taste.
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Initially I felt no difference between this recipe and baingan ka bharta but later realised that the difference is huge. Good to learn a new twist in regular baingan bharta recipe.
Sasmita, I've tasted this kind of baigan poda or bharta. My son in law's mother made it for us and ever since then, I make it whenever we want something light and not too spicy. A simple and yet a very flavorful dish.
i love roasted baingan and this poda sounds so yum! Would love to make it.
I liked reading about Odisha food traditions.
I love baingan in any form and this simple roasted poda sounds absolutely delicious. We make something similar in Andhra too, will have to try your version next time.
Baingan poda sounds almost like the baingan chokka from Bihar. Looks absolutely scrumptious to pair with roti.
Love this roasted brinjal though we make it a bit different. This looks tasty and makes a good accompaniment.
Huge fan of aubergine recipes and specially when it is charred. This recipe similar to Gujarati Oro recipe. tasty
Oh delicious, that baingan poda looks very tempting! i m a big fan of brinjals! a simple, yet flavorsome recipe!!!
This is almost similar to roasted brinjal chutney we make…We love brinjals and any recipes with it can't go wrong…yummy share 😋
First look at this and I thought it's chokha of litti chokha. I live baigan bharta and your baigan poda looks super delicious Sasmita.
A must try recipe.
This is absolutely the way I love my baigan. Especially in this heat I hate cooking for hours so I am very happy doing these recipes.
Baigana poda sounds interesting. never had mashed and roasted eggplant beofre. Looks yummy!