Sada roti and baigan choka was one of my favorite dishes while growing up. It is so versatile, that it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a glass of mauby or some other refreshing drink.
Baigan or Eggplant Choka
The spicy, “roasted garlic” taste of the baigan choka cannot be put into words; you just have to try it.Even though I know this dish as baigan choka from our East Indian culture , I read that it's called “baba ganush” in middle eastern countries; the preparation is a little different but one thing remains the same, the baigan (eggplant). This dish has become so popular now, that it is sometimes served at all inclusive fetes. Sada Roti & Baigan Choka has come a long way !
Sada Roti and Baigan or Eggplant Choka Recipe
Sada Roti and Baigan Choka
Ingredients:
For Sada Roti:
4 cups flour, sifted
4 tsp.baking powder
1 tsp.salt
1 ½ cups water or slightly more
For Choka:
2 medium baigan (eggplant)
2 cloves garlic
½ onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp.Oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Directions:
For Sada Roti:
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl.
Form a well in the centre and add all the water, and little more if needed to make soft dough. Knead well and form a large ball .
Cover the dough with a damp towel and leave to rest for 1 hour. Divide the dough into four “loyah” (balls) and shape them.
Again, allow dough to rest for 1 hour.
On a floured board, or clean table top, roll out dough using
a bailna (rolling pin) till it is about ½ inch thick and round.
Cook on a moderately hot tawah ( griddle) until it rises and turns slightly brown. Turn to the other side and cook. Edges are toasted over the fire to ensure they are cooked (notice in the picture how the edges billow slightly). Place on a clean cloth and cover. Serve hot.
For Baigan Choka:
Place lightly oiled baigan (just rub a little oil on the baigan) over an open flame. Slowly roast the baigan by turning it over the flame until the skin looks thin and paper like. (A variation of this is to make some slits in the baigan and place garlic cloves in it to roast also, thus infusing the roasted garlic flavour into the baigan as it is roasted). Remove from heat and place the roasted baigan on paper.
Cut the baigan longitudinally and scoop out the cooked flesh using a spoon and place it in a bowl. Be careful when scooping out the flesh because you don't want any black flecks of the roasted skin with the flesh. When finished scooping out the flesh, just wrap up the paper with the remains and throw away. Easy cleanup!
Then mash the baigan to a smooth consistency.
And mix in one clove of the garlic (chopped) and the onion. Fry the other clove of garlic, until golden brown, in some oil using a kalchul (ladle).
Pour the fried garlic and oil into the baigan and mix.
We call this process “chongkayin' (chong-kay-in) de choka”.
Expect a sizzle when you begin to pour the hot oil and garlic over the baigan.
Add salt to taste.You may add a hint of pepper sauce to the baigan for a more spicy taste (for me, baigan choka must have some pepper !). Mix well.
Here we have the baigan choka ready to serve with the sada roti. Enjoy!
Don't forget to leave your comment on this recipe, sada roti and baigan or eggplant Choka.
Sada Roti
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour sifted
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 ½ cups water or slightly more
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl. Form a well in the centre and add all the water, and little more if needed to make soft dough. Knead well and form a large ball .
- Cover the dough with a damp towel and leave to rest for 1 hour. Divide the dough into four “loyah” (balls) and shape them. Again, allow dough to rest for 1 hour.
- On a floured board, or clean table top, roll out dough using a bailna (rolling pin) till it is about ½ inch thick and round.
- Cook on a moderately hot tawah ( griddle) until it rises and turns slightly brown. Turn to the other side and cook.
- Edges are toasted over the fire to ensure they are cooked. The edges will billow slightly. Place on a clean cloth and cover. Serve hot.
Baigan Choka
Ingredients
- 2 medium baigan eggplant
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 3 tbsp. Olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place lightly oiled baigan (just rub a little oil on the baigan) over an open flame. Slowly roast the baigan by turning it over the flame until the skin looks thin and paper like.
- (A variation of this is to make some slits in the baigan and place garlic cloves in it to roast also, thus infusing the roasted garlic flavour into the baigan as it is roasted)
- Remove from heat and place the roasted baigan on paper. Cut the baigan longitudinally and scoop out the cooked flesh using a spoon and place it in a bowl.
- Be careful when scooping out the flesh because you don't want any black flecks of the roasted skin with the flesh.
- Mash the baigan to a smooth consistency and mix in one clove of the chopped garlic and the onion. Fry the other clove of garlic, until golden brown, in some oil using a kalchul (ladle).
- Pour the fried garlic and oil over the baigan and mix (chongkaying). Expect a sizzle when you begin to pour the hot oil and garlic over the baigan.
- Add salt to taste.You may add a hint of pepper sauce to the baigan for a more spicy taste. Mix well. Serve hot.
Nice plate presentation. I like that thing you did with the tomato; its pretty. I love sada roti and baigan choka 🙂
I thank you very much for your comment.stay tuned for more:)
Hi! Yes the Baigan Choka is similar to Baba Ganoush – is it also served cold? Sometimes you add a little yogurt to Baba Ganoush as well as some cumin spice. Isn’t eggplant so lovely and versatile?!
Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll!
Hi there my name is Jeena and I have started a food recipe forum that I thought you would like to join here Click here for food recipe forum
I would love to see you on there to chat about food and cooking you can talk about anything you like and start your very own topics. 🙂
or see my main food recipe website Jeenas food recipe site
Hope to see you soon
Thanks
Jeena x
jenndz I must agree that Baigan (Eggplant) is versatile. This is only one of the ways in which we prepare it. It is also curried, browned (stewed in carmelised sugar)or fried as in the case of an East Indian delicacy we call “Baigani”.We don’t really eat it cold unless it was in the refrigerator and couldn’t wait to eat.
it has been literally years since i made this! will have to change that soon.
great blog by the way! i stumbled upon it looking for baigan choka, and just had to start reading it from the beginning. great stuff. will definitely check back in on a regular basis
Well reya what took you so long? ha ha! keep visiting because there’s lots more to come and if you can’t visit you can subscribe to my feed or through email. Thanks again for your comments. 😉
I can say it is one of the greatest post on Sadi Roti and Baigan ki chokha. I had seen also one of the greatest post on Litti and Chokha like yours post. It is regional recipe of Bihar specially.
Thanks
I made this with some few changes of adding tomato and parsley but I must say this is the best use of egg plant. I want to eat the entire bowl
I’m glad you liked the recipe. But the whole bowl? you must really like this baigan choka. 🙂
Felix, your blog is a gem – a rare and fabulous find! Thanks so much for so generously sharing. I’ve added your link to my list of favorites on my B.Y.O.G. blog.
Trish
byogrogandtucker.blogspot.com
Thanks for the link I’ve added you as well. Nice to meet you.
Thank you very much. Do try other recipes and tell me what you think 🙂
I just made this and it came out so delicious! couldn’t have done it alone-thanks!
thank you sooo much. i was able to try the roti and for the first time, and it came out the way it should.
i have always been famous for my flying saucers, and was so elated to see the roti actually ‘swell’ this time. lol.
thanks again.
No probs Leemoy. I’m happy it came out like it should. Now all you have to do now is to try the baigan choka and “yuh good to go”. Thank you for your comment. 🙂
if i had to make this for breakfast, i may end up having to wake up 4 o clock in the morning! o Lordie! lol. tell me, can i leave the dough to raise overnight, after shaping them into balls? that might make the morning work alot easier….
is there a version of sada roti that uses wholewheat flour? if so, what is the correct proportion?
@ Dora Of course you can. I don’t see a problem there.
For the Wholewheat sada roti it depends on how you would like it to come out. But 2 cups wholewheat flour and 2 cups all purpose seems like a good starting point.
You know how long I eh eat Baigan Choka?! The only difference is that I prefer it with buss up shut instead of Sada roti.
Does the Sada Roti swell like the other roti? I’ve made it about 4 times so far and it bubbles just like in your pic. I was wondering. And also how thin are they supposed to be? Your post says 1/2 in. thick. That seems a little on the thick side, or is this necessary for the bubbling?
It is supposed to. if you’re getting it to swell then you’re good to go. You have mastered Sada Roti 🙂
The measurement is just an average for you to work with I just eye balled it when it was done. It could be a bit thinner but I can’t tell you exactly how thin it would be since I don’t have a measuring tape when I’m cooking lolz! haha!
The bubbling has nothing to do with the thickness it’s just the reaction of the baking powder to the heat that releases carbon dioxide thus causing bubbles.
Firstly, thank you! I think you are amazing and recipes come out great except for the puffs still having a hard time with them but since when we sifting flour to make roti. I can’t believe you making me sift flour to make Sada Roti!! Plus what if I do not have a stove top with open flame but one of those glass, electric stove tops what to do with the Baigan……. I tried roasting it in the oven but to me it took forever……..???
Blessings …..
Raya practice makes perfect but then you don’t need much practice since I’ve gone through all the trouble already doing the recipes. So I say to you try again. In the case of the stove top problem you could always roast the baigan on a grill or if you have a torch that would do fine as well …just don’t burn yourself and blame me 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. I am from Fiji and of Indian descent and I was pleasantly surprised how the words you used and the style of cooking choka is so so similar. However, we never use baking powder in roti but use boiling hot water to make dough and it comes out really soft. Going to get some fresh baigan and make this tonight!
Regards from Fiji
Thank you Natasha for stopping by. Yes indeed we have many similarities in our cooking …even your surname is a common one too on the island. Regards from Trinidad and Tobago 🙂
Great recipe. You can place the eggplant on a tawah to roast also instead of placing it on the fire directly