Eggplant yogurt dip / Baingan ka Raita

Eggplant Raita is a delicious and mildly spiced side-dish of a main-course dishes of traditional meal. This raita is made with yogurt, Roasted and mashed Eggplant / Brinjals and spices and goes well with Roti / Paratha / Rice. It is simple, easy to make and very tasty raita and i like the combination of  Biryani and this raita.
Eggplant combined with yogurt makes a healthy combination as eggplant is a low calorie vegetable rich in soluble fiber content and yogurt is an excellent source of probiotic.

Ingredients:

• 1 big eggplant (used for bharta)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped spring onion with greens
• 1 teaspoon crushed green chili
• 1/2 teaspoon Jeera/ cumin seed powder (lightly roasted cumin and then ground to a coarse powder)
• 1 tablespoon cilantro (hara dhania)
• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoon oil
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 1 pinch Asafetida
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seed

Method:

1. Roast on a gas cook top by just placing the Eggplant / Baingan straight on the burner and keeping the flame on low setting.
2. Keep turning and cooking till all the skin on the Eggplant looks like black spotted and charred. Peel off and discard the charred skin.
3. Mash the eggplant roughly, in a mixing bowl. Let it cool down completely.
4. Now mix well mashed eggplant, yogurt, spring onions with greens, green chili, Jeera Powder and salt.
5. For the tempering, heat the oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafetida. When mustard seeds crackle, add the curry leaves and sauté it for few seconds.
6. Then, pour this tempering over the yogurt mixture and mix well.
7. your raita is ready to serve.

Note: You can grill eggplant in your oven grill or barbeque grill and also you can roast it in oven too.