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.

Course Appetiser, Breakfast

Cuisine Trinidadian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 266kcal

Author Charla

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

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 scooped up too.
Serve this gluten naan bread, roti or even brown rice