We
all know what bharta is. Most commonly, it's prepared with
roasted round brinjals — ideally chargrilled. In Eastern UP and
Bihar chokha (or bharta) is made with aloo and,
at times, tomatoes and tori are added as a variation. The
technique used is concasse. Salsa is more intriguing. Falling in the
twilight zone between salad and sauce, it belongs to the
Spanish-Mexican repertoire and we in India are beginning to love
recently. Who has said that East and West can never meet? When bharta
meets salsa a refreshing dish is created — healthy andflavourful. It
is easy to prepare, can be substituted for a subzi or used as a
filling for a wrap. We tried hard to name it better but finally
settled for salsanuma.
Method
Heat mustard oil in a non-stick pan, when it reaches smoking point lower the flame, add bay leaf and crushed garlic. Add the brinjal slices and cook till soft. Sprinkle powdered masala and salt. Stir lightly. Put in onions and tomatoes. Finally add the capsicum. Grease a glass baking tray with olive oil. Place the salsanuma bharta on it. Sprinkle lemon juice and dried herbs after crushing. Garnish with coriander leaves and chopped green chillies. Enjoy as firangi bharta or a side dish with a continental main course.
We
all know what bharta is. Most commonly, it's prepared with
roasted round brinjals — ideally chargrilled. In Eastern UP and
Bihar chokha (or bharta) is made with aloo and,
at times, tomatoes and tori are added as a variation. The
technique used is concasse. Salsa is more intriguing. Falling in the
twilight zone between salad and sauce, it belongs to the
Spanish-Mexican repertoire and we in India are beginning to love
recently. Who has said that East and West can never meet? When bharta
meets salsa a refreshing dish is created — healthy andflavourful. It
is easy to prepare, can be substituted for a subzi or used as a
filling for a wrap. We tried hard to name it better but finally
settled for salsanuma.
