Sheikh El Mahshi (Vegetarian) vs Baingan Bharta

Both dishes build on eggplant, tomato, garlic and onion, yet they treat the eggplant in opposite ways. In Sheikh El Mahshi, whole striped-peeled eggplants are fried golden, then slit and packed with a lightly crushed chickpea filling studded with toasted pine nuts before simmering gently in a thickened tomato sauce until meltingly tender. Baingan Bharta instead chars its eggplant over an open flame, mashing the smoky pulp into a pulpy onion-tomato masala sharpened by pungent mustard oil and chili powder. One is a saucy, stuffed centerpiece; the other is a rustic, smoky mash brightened with fresh cilantro.