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    BLANK » Recipe Index » Caribbean Dishes

    Baigan Choka (Roasted Eggplant Dip)

    Last Updated May 6, 2023. Published May 29, 2020 By Charla 14 Comments

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    long baigan choka pin
    short pin if choka

    Love Caribbean food? Try this Trinidadian, east Indian derived dish called baigan choka. Roasted eggplant (aubergine) infused with garlic pieces then mashed in a smooth puree with black pepper, salt, onions and drizzled with oil. Made on the stove top or using an oven.

    egg plant dip in bowl with roti

    I have another amazing Caribbean recipe to share with you called Baigan choka. This one is from the wonderful shores of Trinidad and Tobago known as sweet T&T.

    This dish can be served for breakfast and can also double up as a great appetiser for a main meal or simply serve as a side dish - it's flavoursome and easy to prepare.

    Close up of the dip

    In the Caribbean you will find some islands have a monopoly on certain cuisines. For example Jamaican are famous of all things jerk based, it's the home of jerk anything.

    Other the other hand, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana are more Indian influenced islands so they hold their own when it comes to roti, chana, aloo and choka is another dish.

    There are some recipes that are the same with each island referring to it by a different name .i.e Jamaican Asham aka Chili Bibi

    Baigan Choka although East Indian in origin has evolved and adapted to suit both the black and Asian population of Trinidad and Tobago/Guyana.

    It is like the baba ganoush of the Caribbean excluding the use of tahini.

    I'm a huge fan of choka, which means roasting a vegetable to yield a smoky flavour. You can do this to almost any vegetable.  My favourite is the sister recipe which is the infamous Tomato Choka

    Just like you would prepare Roasted Breadfruit  on a open flame. This recipe is at its peak when made on a open flame, believe me the open flame imparts an incredible taste that won't even compare to the oven.

    Recipe modification

    I had to revisit this recipe post by tweaking it to add the how you can make it on your stove up, indirectly on the flame as well as leaving the old oven instructions.

    Another update to draw your attention to is the onion, I now use only half of a small onion that I chunkay as well add some to the eggplant once it has been roasted.

    This is reflected in my open flame pictures but not the oven ones, so keep that in mind.

    Ingredients you will need

    ingredients for the baigan choka

    Open flame method

    steps 1-9 for making baigan choka on the stovetop

    • Make two slits in each egg plant
    • Put the two pieces of garlic in each eggplant, make another slit for the scotch bonnet
    • Place a rack over the stoves flame and on medium heat roast the eggplant for about 10-15 minuted each side until it looks limp.
    • Use tongs to carefully remove the eggplant and allow to cool down.
    • Slice open the eggplant and scoop out the inside into a bowl
    • Use a fork to mash into a puree then add the onions, black pepper and pink salt
    • Meanwhile chunkay by heating up the olive on medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cook until golden then drizzle over the eggplant.

    How to make baigan choka (oven version)

    Baigan choka steps 1-2

    Make some slits in the eggplant and put the pieces of garlic cloves inside.

    baigan choka steps 3-4

    Place the eggplant and scotch bonnet on a tray ready to roast. As you can see once the eggplant has roasted the skin will appear to wrinkle and look limp.

    baigan choka steps 5-6

    Scoop out the flesh and mash it with the scotch bonnet and some of the onions then pour on the oil (chunkay)

    Notes and tips

    • Be sure to go to the section entitled "open flame method" if you want to follow that method.
    • Feel free to serve this recipe with some Gluten Free Roti.
    • The heat comes from the use of the whole scotch bonnet with the membrane intact. Omit if you don't care for spiciness or use the skin only.
    • Eggplant is also known as aubergine in the UK
    • If you are doing the stove top method, it can get messy so lay down some aluminium foil.
    • I used an old cooling rack  to roast the eggplant over the heat.
    • Use a spoon to scoop out the contents, do it carefully because you can run the risk of charred skin being scoop up too.
    • Serve this gluten naan bread, roti or even brown rice

    eggplant with roti

    Other Trinidadian recipes to try

    • Trinidad Corn soup
    • Trinidad Stew Chicken
    • Dhal and Rice
    • Cornmeal Cou Cou
    • Green Seasoning
    • Trinidadian Dhal

    **Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**

    eggplant and roti

    Baigan Choka (Roasted Eggplant Dip)

    This delicious eggplant dip called Baigan Choka can be made on the stovetop or oven and tastes equally as good.
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Appetiser, Breakfast
    Cuisine: Trinidadian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2 servings
    Calories: 266kcal
    Author: Charla

    Ingredients

    • 2 eggplant aubergines
    • ¼ a large onion finely sliced
    • 2 garlic cloves sliced lengthways in half
    • pink salt and black pepper to taste
    • 1 scotch bonnet or chilli optional

    To Chunkay

    • 2 tablespoon of olive oil
    • 2 garlic cloves chopped
    • ¼ a large onion sliced

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven at 190C/374F or gas mark 5 and line a baking tray with parchment paper
    • Make some small vertical slits about 4cm long all over the entire eggplant./aubergine, be careful not to slice too deep.
    • Place 2 garlic slices in each eggplant
    • Rub the eggplants and scotch bonnet with 1tbsp of oil before placing on a lined baking tray and transfer to the oven.
    • Roast the scotch bonnet until darkened for the first 4-5 minutes then remove, continue to roast the eggplant until it looks limp and thin in size (should take 25 minutes).
    • In the mean time, prepare the onions and scotch bonnet in a bowl.
    • Once the eggplants have been removed from the oven, allow to cool before slicing length ways to scoop out the flesh into the bowl with the scotch bonnet and some of the onions, pink salt and black pepper.
    • Mash everything together until smooth.
    • Do the chunkay method by heating up the olive oil in a miniature sized pan with the garlic and onion until golden brown, proceed to pour the hot oil over the pureed mix

    Notes

    • Be sure to go to the section entitled "open flame method" if you want to follow that method.
    • Feel free to serve this recipe with some Gluten Free Roti.
    • The heat comes from the use of the whole scotch bonnet with the membrane intact. Omit if you don't care for spiciness or use the skin only.
    • Eggplant is also known as aubergine in the UK
    • If you are doing the stove top method, it can get messy so lay down some aluminium foil.
    • I used an old cooling rack  to roast the eggplant over the heat. 
    • Use a spoon to scoop out the contents, do it carefully because you can run the risk of charred skin being scoop up too.
    • Serve this gluten naan bread, roti or even brown rice

    Nutrition

    Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 1147mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 153IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @ThatGirlCooksHealthy or tag #ThatGirlCooksHealthy!
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    About Charla

    I'm Charla. Caribbean foodie & Certified Health Coach. Welcome to the heaven of gluten and dairy free recipes as well as modernised healthier alternatives to some of your favourite Caribbean recipes.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jessica Formicola

      May 29, 2020 at 3:25 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely love eggplant, and this dip looks incredible! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

      Reply
      • Charla

        May 29, 2020 at 3:27 pm

        You are welcome Jessica

        Reply
    2. Deanne

      May 29, 2020 at 3:03 pm

      5 stars
      I have eggplant growing in my garden and I'm always looking for ways to use them. This is going on my must make list!

      Reply
      • Charla

        May 29, 2020 at 3:27 pm

        Enjoy Deanne

        Reply
    3. veenaazmanov

      May 29, 2020 at 1:26 pm

      5 stars
      I love Egg Plant recipes and yours looks delicious too. Best veg option as well.

      Reply
      • Charla

        May 29, 2020 at 1:53 pm

        Thank you so much Veena

        Reply
    4. Jen

      May 29, 2020 at 12:32 pm

      5 stars
      I only have a couple tried and true eggplant recipes. Glad to have found another great one.

      Reply
      • Charla

        May 29, 2020 at 12:36 pm

        You are welcome Jen.

        Reply
        • Soniya

          May 29, 2020 at 7:24 pm

          Love eggplant and this is something new to try... Thank you for sharing this recipe ❤️

          Reply
          • Charla

            May 30, 2020 at 10:50 am

            No problem.

            Reply
    5. Ceil

      January 08, 2017 at 3:40 am

      5 stars
      Hi Charla,

      I had this for lunch yesterday. It was quite tasty, but the onion and garlic was a bit too intense for me.
      Next time, I'll use less of both ingredients.

      Reply
      • Charlene

        January 08, 2017 at 11:38 am

        Yes. The garlic and onion can be quite potent for some. Simply scale back on both the next time you make it and enjoy!

        Reply
    6. Chris Benjamin

      December 31, 2015 at 4:24 pm

      5 stars
      I never know what to do with Aubergines...this is a very simple and easy recipe.
      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Charla

        December 31, 2015 at 5:01 pm

        You are very welcome Chris.

        Reply

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