Instant Pot Masala Eggplant Curry. Pressure cooked Indian Baghare baingan. Stuffed Baby Eggplant / Brinjal Curry. Add chickpeas to make a meal. Vegan Glutenfree Soyfree Recipe . Easily made nut-free
I make variations of stuffed baby eggplant using the traditional method of pan frying the eggplant, then stuffing it, and then cooking in the sauce. The frying or pan frying helps hold color and shape of the eggplant. But its a long process. And really its so delicious either way whether you do the frying method or this shorter pressure cooked version. Everything looks brown in the end, so use garnishes liberally and serve with colorful foods like dals, side salad etc.
Make this pressure cooked version and dress it liberally with coconut and cilantro so no one will know how you made it and serve over rice or as a side with dals and flatbread. The stuffing a a mix of roasted whole spices, nuts, chickpea flour or besan, and some coconut. Omit the nuts and use more of chickpea flour and coconut for nut-free version. The toasty mixture is ground up and blended with some ginger, garlic and lime juice to make a coarse paste. The eggplants are sliced across and filled with the paste. Place them in the Instant pot or pressure cooker, add water and done! Cook for 3 to 5 mins, natural release whenever ready to serve. You can also make them in a saucepan on stove top. See both options below.
More Indian Veggie Dishes from the blog.
- Mushroom Matar Masala GF
- Bombay Potato and Peas GF
- Aloo Baingan – Potato Eggplant Curry GF
- Veggies in Coconut Sesame Kolhapuri sauce. GF
- More Instant Pot Recipes here
Serve these eggplants with Dals like a simple everyday Lentil Chard Hariyali Dal, restaurant style Punjabi Dal Fry. Mom’s favorite Sabut Masoor – or Brown Lentil Soup, or a saucy dish like Tofu in Spinach Curry – Saag Tofu
Toast the whole spices
Toast besan, nuts and coconut.
Blend with ginger garlic lime juice.
Stuff the eggplants
Place in instant pot or pressure cooker. Add water and cook for 3 mins.
Natural release and serve garnished with coconut and cilantro. Specimen number 1 on how difficult it is to photograph brown sauces and pressure cooked veggies.
Its true that Indian food is a bit intensive. It is like art with layers of subtle flavors that work with each other and some that dont overlap at all. This applies to many other cuisines. You can play around with the recipes with whatever you have for most cases. It gets easier and faster when you cook more recipes from a cuisine. There is a shorter method in the notes.
Instant Pot Masala Eggplant
Ingredients
Stuffing Masala:
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) mustard seeds
- 2 to 3 tbsp chickpea flour or besan
- 2 tbsp chopped nuts such as peanuts or cashews
- 2 tbsp coconut shreds
- 1 to 1.5 inch ginger chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 hot green chile chopped
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) ground cardamom
- a pinch of cinnamon
- 1/3 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) turmeric
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) raw sugar jaggery or sweetener
- 1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lime or lemon juice
- water as needed
Curry:
- 4 to 6 baby eggplants
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- cilantro coconut and garam masala for garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat or heat the instant pot over saute. Add coriander, cumin and mustard seeds and cook for 2 mins or until the coriander seeds change color.
- Add chickpea flour and mix well. Cook for a min. Add the nuts and coconut and mix well. Roast for 1-2 mins until fragrant. Cool the mixture for a minute then transfer to a small blender or small food processor.
- Process/blend to coarsely grind.
- Add ginger, garlic, chile, lime/lemon and the rest of the ground spices and pulse to make a coarse mixture. Add a tsp or so water until the mixture easily sticks. The mixture is a small amount so you will need a small blender. Alternatively, transfer the dry spice nut mixture from earlier step to a bowl. Add finely chopped ginger, garlic, chile, rest of the ground spices, and mix in. Add lemon and water and mix and make a coarse pasty mixture.
- Make cross cuts on the eggplant, not all the way through so the whole eggplant stays put. Fill the stuffing into the cross cut. See pics above.
- Place the eggplants in an instant pot or pressure cooker. Add 1 cup or more water and 1/4 tsp salt. At this point you can also add in a cup of cooked chickpeas or other beans. Pressure cook for 3 to 5 mins depending on the size of the eggplants. Let the pressure release naturally. Garnish with coconut, cilantro and garam masala and serve with flatbread/roti or rice.
Saucepan:
- At the last step, place the stuffed eggplants in a skillet or shallow saucepan with a lid. Add 1.5 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and ook over medium heat for 18 to 22 mins or until tender to preference.
Sue says
February 24, 2017 at 3:14 pmRicha you had me at eggplant! Cooking in the pressure cooker is an added bonus.
I will definitely make this! Thanks for another creative recipe.
Richa says
February 26, 2017 at 7:40 pmGreat!
Pallvee Shah says
February 24, 2017 at 4:40 pmCan’t wait to try this out. Also any other instant pot recipes you have as I’ve only made biryani in mine so far! Thank you!!
Richa says
February 24, 2017 at 4:56 pmI have a bunch of pressure cooker recipes on the blog. I am adding IP specific instructions to them a few at a time http://www.veganricha.com/category/instant-pot
Pallvee Shah says
February 24, 2017 at 5:15 pmThank you!! ????????????
Isabel Ramos says
February 25, 2017 at 12:07 amDear Richa,
Just want to let you know that yesterday while passing my eyes through the catalogue of a health conscious publishing house, here in Germany, I saw your book there, on its German translation. – Ah, that’s Richa’s book, isn’t it? Oh, yes, it is, that’s really nice, yes, well, I know her (- bragging to myself!), see, I get her recipes on my mail box every day! 😉
Anyway, I just want once again to congratulate you as your readership goes far and wide, which is totally deserved, as your recipes are wonderful. It is nice to see your work recognized by the publishers on this side of the Atlantic.
Have a lovely weekend. Many greetings from Leipzig,
Weisserose
Richa says
March 1, 2017 at 3:32 pmThats awesome! Yes the german version released last november. Polish and Spanish versions coming soon too!
Pasha Davidson says
February 25, 2017 at 9:52 amI have the instant pot, and I have to make this tonight but only have regular sized eggplants. Do you think it will work – maybe if I cut them in half?
Richa says
February 25, 2017 at 2:54 pmDo hasselback instead to each half. Thinly slice till the 3/4, fill with the stuffing. Put the rest of the filling in the pot with the water. whole eggplant will need 6-8 minutes i think
Pasha Davidson says
February 26, 2017 at 4:22 amThanks for the reply. It was so awesome. Cooking eggplant can be a challenge, and not only was it superb, but having the IP do the cooking made it incredibly fast and easy!
Richa says
February 26, 2017 at 1:30 pmAwesome! did the time work out for the larger eggplant?
Pasha Davidson says
February 26, 2017 at 1:36 pmAh thanks for reminding me! I set it for 5 ( was still looking at the original instructions ) , but it didnt matter! After the natural release was done it was perfect.
Jacky says
March 6, 2017 at 8:32 amHow many regular-size eggplants will work for this method?
Richa says
March 6, 2017 at 10:15 amI would do 1 very large,. or if they are medium size or long eggplants, then 2 or 3. Depending on if there is enough filling and space in the pot. Slice one, fill it up and go from there.
Jacky says
March 6, 2017 at 10:23 amGreat, thanks so much!
denise says
April 4, 2017 at 12:24 amRicha, Can the cooking be done in a regular stovepot? or in the oven? I don’t have or want an instantpot. Also, I don’t understand your instructions for using a large/regular shaped eggplant. I love eggplant and would like to try this way of seasoning it. Also, please suggest a sub for the chickpea flour (i can’t eat it) Thanks
Richa says
April 4, 2017 at 11:33 amYes, you can.. See the recipe under step 6. There is a saucepan method listed “At the last step, place the stuffed eggplants in a skillet or shallow saucepan with a lid. Add 1.5 cups water and ¼ tsp salt. Cover and ook over medium heat for 18 to 22 mins or until tender to preference.”
For large eggplants, you can cut them like you would hasselback potatoes. ie. slice the eggplant about 3/4 of the way, so the bottom is still attached. then stuff the filling in between the slices. Hope that makes sense. look up hasselback potato on google for pictures of how to slice.
Jan says
February 25, 2017 at 9:56 amHi
So pleased to see you’re posting instant pot methods no tweaks for the instant pot, I love your recipes, have your awesome book! Looking forward to the next one?????
Best wishes
Jan
Richa says
March 6, 2017 at 10:13 amI have many IP or pressure cooker recipes on the blog since I have used pressure cooker for ages. They have pressure cooker instructions and I am adding IP specific instructions to them in the next few weeks. http://www.veganricha.com/category/instant-pot
Thecla says
February 26, 2017 at 10:07 pmI’m a huge fan of Indian food and I also LOVE eggplant! This looks delicious! I’ll have to try this!
Marissa says
March 1, 2017 at 3:17 pmI tried this recipe and it was very good. It reminds me of Ethiopian collard greens. Yum
Richa says
March 1, 2017 at 3:31 pmthats interesting. I should make those to compare.
JuliaRos says
March 24, 2017 at 11:31 amLooks amazing 🙂 Thank you for all your amazing recepies! Everything i have tried so far is delicious 🙂
Can you use coconut flour instead of coconut shreds?
Richa says
March 24, 2017 at 12:37 pmcoconut flour would make it too dry. You can use some part coconut flour and the rest shredded coconut.
JuliaRos says
March 24, 2017 at 11:33 amCan you use coconut flour instead of coconut shreds?
Richa says
May 19, 2017 at 10:24 pmcoconut flour will dry it out a bit much, use less of it
GEETIKA says
August 22, 2017 at 4:16 pmI tried this last week, my hubby totally loved this recipe, he could not resist singing its glories for the next few days!
Thank you???? You are awesome ????????
Katy says
October 30, 2017 at 10:03 pmDo you use dry coconut or fresh shredded (I’ve seen that sold in the frozen section of some Asian grocery stores)?
Richa says
October 31, 2017 at 9:27 pmeither will work
Jen says
April 28, 2018 at 4:58 amFor those with eggplant questions, here’s what I did. I bought 4 Italian baby eggplant that were definitely smaller than traditional globe eggplant but were long and kind of thin. I cut the very tops off and then cut another 3rd off the top, leaving enough eggplant remaining to cut and stuff. This worked beautifully. I reserved the remaining cut pieces for another time. Though the eggplant technique worked very well, I wasn’t enamored with the dish as a whole. Hers had a reddish hue in the picture that mine never achieved. I do not have an insta pot but rather made in a shallow skillet with a lid, as step 6 suggests. I’m not sure if this is why the dish didn’t come out as I would have liked. I love many of her other recipes tho.
Richa says
April 28, 2018 at 11:21 amSome regional Indian dishes can be an acquired flavor/texture. Adjust it a bit to the profile you like more, like more coconut or some garam masala, or paprika for color. Pressure cooking can add a bit more color as it also roasts a bit under pressure. Also, photos get edited to look a bit more vibrant with extra light and shadows. Some sauces can get a too grey-brown that look not as appealing in photos (some colors and textures that look fine in real life dont translate as well to photos). Maybe chop up the eggplants for stove top version so they cook and roast well.
Also sometimes eggplants(any size) can be bitter, so they add a bitter profile to the overall dish. It happens once in a while that there is a significant flavor difference in the same dish with all same ingredients which was harmonious at other times but not as much with a particular eggplant batch as the bitter is not as pleasing. Same with green bell peppers. once in while, they are inedibly bitter. I am glad you generally love my other recipes! 🙂