Eggplant, or aubergine as it is also known, is not my favorite veggie, unless it arrives on the table in the form of Indian baingan bharta! Then it’s number one, right up there with saag paneer (which is, oddly, also number one). As it happens, I had baingan bharta the day I painted this; I remember, because painted it to honor the owner of my favorite Indian restaurant who had signed up for my painting email list that day.