This dish is sort of like a lighter version of Baingan Bharta. In Bengali it’s called Begun Pora which translates to Burned Eggplant.Traditionally it’s made by roasting an eggplant on an open flame but my mom taught me a much easier way.

Cut a medium sized eggplant in half, and place it on a microwavable plate, cover it with a paper towel, and put it in the microwave for 12 minutes.

During these 12 minutes, finely chop up a small onion, small tomato, a couple of green chilliest, and cilantro.

When the 12 minutes are up transfer the eggplant into a shallow bowl of cold water and discard of the skin and stem. If you don’t put it in the cold water, it will be too hot to touch. Once the skin is off, take the eggplant out of the water, mash it, add the chopped onions, tomatoes green chilies, cilantro, and add salt to taste. And if you want to be very authentic, add a teaspoon of mustard oil. Yum!