Baked Burmese Eggplant Salad/khayan dhi pope thote

If you like Indian Baigan Ka Bharta//Roasted mashed spiced eggplant or Middle Eastern dip Baba Ganouj, should try this egg plant salad. Eggplant I love them now, however when I was young I used to hate them. 

One thing about eggplant is they are bland just like zucchini; you can add any spices or vegetables they will get blend in very easily and becomes a tasty dish. Baingan ka Bharta is one of favorite dish, everywhere Indian restaurant cater them irrespective of countries. Even though preparation is same in all case the taste is only good some time. 

I was curious to taste various cuisines; however courage came only after marriage because hubby encourages me a lot. So when I decided to host AWED, I immediately picked Burmese cuisine, it is one I had never tried. If you watch old Hindi movies you can see hero will be going outside India to do business in Rangoon, Burma. I thought since it borders our country, it is interesting to explore its cuisine. During my last grocery shopping I bought eggplant thinking of making a stir fry. While browsing for recipes of Burmese cuisine I found this roasted eggplant salad recipe. I decided to give it a try, however not being sure about the taste I made only two serving using half of the egg plant. Other half I used to make pulincurry with them.

Like I read, it tastes unique, you need to acquire that taste and it doesn’t have any strong flavor. I changed the recipe little bit by adding 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and substituted dried shrimp with dried coconut and fish sauce with soy sauce. I needed a vegetarian version of this salad. They are really good with crunchiness from fried garlic, roasted coconut, sesame seeds and peanuts. It has tanginess from lemon juice, spiciness from paprika and saltiness from soy sauce. We enjoyed this salad as an appetizer for our dinner.

What you need

 Egg plant: Half of big one
Red onion: 2 tablespoon (finely chopped)
Garlic cloves: 2 (thinly sliced)
Olive oil: 2 tablespoon
Salt: ½ teaspoon
Paprika: ½ teaspoon

For garnish

Desiccated coconut: 1 teaspoon
Toasted sesame seeds: 1 teaspoon
Roasted Peanuts: 1 tablespoon (crushed into fine pieces)
Soy sauce: 1 teaspoon
Lemon Juice: ½ of one lemon
Coriander leaves: 1 tablespoon


How I made

Preheat oven to 415 degree Fahrenheit.

Wash eggplant and slightly rub with olive oil and sprinkle some salt and make holes with fork to prevent juice from bursting while baking. Wrap it in aluminum foil. 

Place the foil packed egg plant in baking dish and bake for 45minutes or until it become soft on touching.

If you want you can alternatively roast in the grill. I don’t have grill so I baked them.

In the mean time, heat oil in small pan and fry the thinly sliced garlic cloves into crispy golden brown color chips. Keep aside.

Once the eggplant is cool enough to touch, remove the skin and seeds and scoop the flesh into a small bowl. 

Add remaining salt, soy sauce, paprika, lemon juice and mix everything to combine.

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, fried garlic, crushed peanuts and coriander leaves.

Enjoy as much as you wish.

Preparation time: Baking time: 45 minutes
Assembly: 2 minutes
Yield: 2 Serving
Verdict: Tasty
Will you make it again: Yes I Will


This Baked  Burmese eggplant salad is going to

  AWED : Burma  hosted by me originally started by DK.

 Sizzling summer contest  hosted by Spicy tasty ( Shirya,Nithu and Arthi)

Also to Side dish show down : June;  hosted by Reeni of Cinnamon and Spice.

Swathi