Baigan choka, or roasted mashed eggplant is one of the tastiest eggplant dishes that I have ever tasted. This recipe comes from the sunny Trinidad and Tobago, which seems to be inherited from migrant Indian workers several decades ago. This spicy, tangy, and baba ghanoush style mashed eggplant choka is a must-try dish.
Indians love their baigan bharta and baigan chokha a lot. The main difference between both dishes is the way it is cooked. While bharta is cooked mashed smoky eggplant, chokha is more like a roasted eggplant salsa with roasted tomato, fresh onions and hot chilies. And lastly, the chokha dish is finished with a drizzle of smoky mustard oil.
The Trinidad style Choka is very much the same, except for a few replacements. In this recipe, mustard oil gets replaced with vegetable or olive oil or even butter and green chilies with piri piri pepper. Just like the Indian Chokha, this Trinidad baigan Choka is traditionally made by roasting eggplant over a grill until it's charred. This step is essential as it ensures the smoky flavor to get infused with the eggplant. Then, the roasted eggplant flesh is carefully collected and mashed with roasted peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and butter. This is a delicious mashed eggplant dish to enjoy with Trinidad roti or any flatbread.
If you are new to cooking eggplants, here are some helpful tips:
Selecting Eggplants:
- Always looks for eggplants with smooth, shiny skin.
- To test for ripeness, just press a finger against the eggplant skin lightly and it should leave an imprint. This means, the eggplant is ripe.
- Choose eggplants that are pointy at the end. These eggplants are tend to be sweeter, and have less seeds.
How to Roast Eggplants?
Roasting eggplant adds a nice smokiness to this baigan Choka dish and brings out a whole new dimension to this unique mashed eggplant dish. Roasting a whole eggplant can be achieved on a gas range, grill, or in the oven. Each of the techniques will result in smoky, tender eggplant pulp ideal for any mashed eggplant dish. Here is how to roast an eggplant.
- Wash and dry eggplant and pierce it a few times with a fork to vent. This step ensures that your eggplant doesn’t explode while roasting.
- Place the eggplant directly on a gas range or on a grill.
- Allow the eggplant to roast over the flame for 20-30 minutes until each side is charred. Don't forget to turn it every 5 minutes as it cooks for even cooking. The larger the eggplant, the roast time will be longer.
- When finished roasting (once the eggplant is tender and collapsing), remove it from the gas range and place it inside a bowl and cover it with a lid. This helps in peeling your eggplant easily.
- After opening the lid, you may see some residual smoky juice collected inside the bowl. You can either discard this or use it in your recipe.
- Peel the charred skin and proceed to the next step.
How to Make Baigan Choka?
Ingredients:
1 large, firm eggplant roasted, peeled and pulp collected, 2 medium ripe tomatoes roasted and peeled, 1 small onion, finely chopped, 2 cloves of garlic, freshly grated, 1 habanero pepper/piri piri pepper or 2 green chilies chopped, 1 tablespoon hot oil of choice or butter, Salt to taste, Lime juice and cilantro to garnish
Preparation Of Baigan Choka:
- Wash and dry the eggplant. Roast the eggplant according to the how-do guide mentioned above the recipe.
- Place the tomatoes on an outdoor grill or on the Mealthy CrispLid basket. Cook on high heat at 350F for 6-9 minutes until the tomatoes become soft and roasted.
- If using the habanero, you can either roast it or grill it. For green chilies, just use freshly chopped ones.
- Peel the eggplant and tomatoes and transfer the pulp to a molcajete or mortar and pestle.
- Add salt, freshly ground garlic and chili pepper.
- Mash all the ingredients really well until a creamy mass is formed.
- Now add hot oil and mix well. Add chopped onions and garnish the dish with cilantro and lime juice. Serve immediately.
- Enjoy Trinidad baigan Choka with roti, rice or Trinidad flatbreads.
Notes:
- For the traditional Trinidad style baigan choka, Roast eggplant with cloves shoved inside them. Traditional recipes don’t use butter but uses some form of hot oil. You can choose sesame or mustard oil for a smoky flavor.
- Try to pick eggplants that have less to no seeds. This is perfect for this mashed eggplant dish.
📖 Recipe
Baigan Choka {Trinidad Eggplant Choka}
Ingredients
- 1 large firm eggplant , roasted, peeled and pulp collected
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes , roasted and peeled
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, freshly grated
- 1 habanero pepper/piri piri pepper or 2 green chilies chopped
- 1 tablespoon hot oil of choice or butter
- Salt to taste
- Lime juice and cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Wash and dry the eggplant. Roast the eggplant according to the how-do guide mentioned above the recipe.
- Place the tomatoes on an outdoor grill or on the Mealthy CrispLid basket. Cook on high heat at 350F for 6-9 minutes until the tomatoes become soft and roasted.
- If using the habanero, you can either roast it or grill it. For green chilies, just use freshly chopped ones.
- Peel the eggplant and tomatoes and transfer the pulp to a molcajete or mortar and pestle.
- Add salt, freshly ground garlic, and chili pepper.
- Mash all the ingredients really well until a creamy mass is formed.
- Now add hot oil and mix well. Add chopped onions and garnish the dish with cilantro and lime juice. Serve immediately.
- Enjoy Trinidad baigan Choka with roti, rice, or Trinidad flatbreads.
Notes
- For the traditional Trinidad style baigan choka, Roast eggplant with cloves shoved inside them.
- Traditional recipes don’t use butter but uses some form of hot oil. You can choose sesame or mustard oil for a smoky flavor.
- Try to pick eggplants that have less to no seeds. This is perfect for this mashed eggplant dish.
Irina
As far as how much I love eggplant, but I would never think of making mashed eggplant! It is an excellent idea to give a try! Thanks.
Jennifer
What a sensory delight! The taste with the wonderful aromas was just perfect. Thank you.
Biana
Looks so simple, and so amazing at the same time! I love eggplant, so this is a must try.
Andrea Metlika
This sounds absolutely wonderful. I love eggplant and I'm making this right away.
Adrianne
Oh I love using eggplant in recipes but I have never seen a delicious recipe like this! It really looks like it takes the flavours to the next level. Can't wait to try this, thanks for something new!
Elena
This eggplant recipe has so many interesting flavors and something I have never tasted before. I am really excited to try it!