Heat up 3 tbsp of mustard oil in a pan. Once hot, add in cumin seeds.
Once cumin seeds start to turn brown and forms aroma, add in asafetida.
Add in finely chopped onions, cilantro stems, white part of scallions and julienne ginger along with 1 tsp of salt. Mix well. Keep cooking until onions are completely translucent and starts to turn brown.
Add in chopped tomatoes. Mix well, keep cooking until tomatoes are completely mushy.
Add in 1½ tsp of salt (more or less based on preference), kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat or until oil starts to separate.
Add in roasted minced eggplant. Mix well, cover and cook for 4-6 minutes. Keep stirring few times during this step.
This step is to add smokiness and completely optional. Fire up one black cardamom, place it in a tiny bowl with 1 tsp of mustard oil. Place that tiny bowl in the pan you are cooking bharta and immediately close the lid for few minutes. Uncover and take the tiny bowl out. Discard black cardamom, add the oil in bharta and mix well. (check out the video above for visuals)
Add in chopped cilantro and green part of scallions Mix well, simply serve it with choice of roti/paratha/naan/kulcha, onion tomato salad and papad!