Instant Pot aloo baingan (potato and eggplant curry)
Potatoes and eggplant cooked down in a spiced tomato masala until the eggplant melts into a rich sauce, done in the pressure cooker.
- 45 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.40 a serving
- 490 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 eggplant, large, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ lemon
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ cup water
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 2¼ cups water
Each serving has about 490 calories, 14 g protein, 93 g carbs and 9 g fat, and costs about $2.40 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the garlic, the ginger and cut the potatoes and eggplant into 1-inch .
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Set the Instant Pot to and heat the oil. Add the cumin for 20 seconds, then the onion, and cook until soft and at the edges, about 5 minutes.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 5 min
Stir in the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then the turmeric, coriander, paprika and cayenne for 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes and ½ cup water and scrape the bottom clean. Add the potatoes, eggplant and 1½ teaspoons salt and stir once.
Dolly’s tip: Anything stuck to the bottom can set off the burn warning, so scrape well.Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing and pressure cook on High for 4 minutes.
Timer: 4 min
Meanwhile, the rice and bring it with 2¼ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt in a .
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn to low and cook 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Let the pressure come down on its own for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting, keeping your hand away.
Timer: 5 min
Stir in the garam masala and a squeeze of lemon. The eggplant will break down into the sauce, which is what you want.
Serve over the rice with a spoonful of yogurt and cilantro on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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