Here is an easy-to-make aloo baingan curry with tender and creamy eggplant and potatoes cooked in an earthy sauce spiced with turmeric, red chili powder, and ground coriander. One of my weeknight go-to recipes this vegan eggplant and potato curry makes for a tasty vegetarian meal served with hot roti, dal-rice, or plain khichdi!
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About Aloo Baingan
I have vivid memories of eating aloo (potato) baingan (eggplant) AKA "Vange Batata Rassa bhaji" at Maharashtrian weddings served piping hot with a few other simple sides. A simple curry made without onions and often without garlic, and is not heavy on spices allowing to bring out the mild, sweet, and creamy flavors of the eggplant. It is a staple dish in many Indian homes with just a handful of ingredients that comes together in minutes.
Eggplant known as Brinjal or Baingan is a popular vegetable in India used to make dishes like baingan masala, baingan bharta, and Baingan Pakoras just to name a few. There are a variety of eggplant curries made in different regions each having its own uniqueness and spice level. So if you are one of those people who do not enjoy eggplant I would highly recommend trying one of the Indian eggplant curries and I promise you will fall in love with the humble vegetable.
Ingredients & Substitutes
- Baby Eggplant - Sold in Indian grocery stores, baby eggplants are traditionally used in this recipe. Make sure to pick small ones that are firm and have fresh green stalks. You can also substitute baby eggplants with Japanese eggplant or Italian eggplant. Simply cut them into 2-inch cubes.
- Potato - Russet or red potato works best in this recipe adding a creamy texture and thickness to the gravy.
- Spices - mustard seeds, asafoetida(hing), ground turmeric, red chili powder, ground cumin + coriander - a simple combination of spices that adds warm earthy flavors with a touch of spice. Add more or less red chili powder per your taste. I like to use the mild Kashmiri red chili powder that adds vibrant orange color to the dish without too much heat. Mustard seeds can be substituted with cumin seeds and asafoetida can be optional.
- Curry leaves - Fresh curry leaves are available in Indian grocery stores. I like to chop them up before adding them to any dish so no one picks them out and we also get all the benefits of this wonder herb. Curry powder is not a substitute but you can use dried curry leaves in place of fresh
- Garlic - If you are on a no-onion-garlic diet, skip it. If you're a garlic lover like me, adding a generous spoonful of freshly chopped garlic brings a ton of bold flavor to any dish!
How to Make Potato Eggplant Curry
Here are step-by-step instructions for Instant Pot Aloo Baingan Recipe. A printable recipe card with ingredients and stovetop instructions is at the end of this post.
- Remove the green leafy parts from the stem and trim off half of the stem. Cut each eggplant lengthwise into 4 pieces along with the stem. Bigger eggplant can be into 8 pieces.
- Peel and cut the potato into 1-inch cubes.
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and heat the oil. Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.
- Add asafetida, garlic, curry leaves, and turmeric. Mix well. Add potato and eggplant.
- Add red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt.
- Add water and give a quick stir.
- Close the Instant Pot with the pressure release valve to sealing. Pressure cook for 2 minutes followed by quick release. Open the Instant Pot, in case the eggplant is not fully cooked keep the lid closed for 5 minutes and it will continue to cook without having to pressure cook again.
- Garnish with ground peanuts and cilantro. Give a quick stir and enjoy hot. Discard the stem while eating.
Recipe Tips
- Cook time may change depending on the variety of the eggplant and also the size you cut in. If the eggplant looks uncooked simply keep the lid closed for 5 minutes.
- Make sure to cut the potatoes into small one-inch cubes so they cook well in 2 minutes pressure cooking time
- The curry is supposed to have soft cooked creamy eggplant, so don't worry if the eggplant starts to look mushy as you serve
What to serve with Aloo Baingan
Roti, Parathas, or gluten-free Sorghum Roti pair well with this curry and are perfect to scoop up the stew-like curry. You can also serve it along with steamed rice and dal or khichdi for a gluten-free meal. Serve beet raita or cucumber salad as a cooling crunchy side dish.
Storing Eggplant Potato Curry
This eggplant potato curry makes for a great make-ahead dish. The flavors will continue to develop and the curry with taste good the next day too. Keep any leftovers refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or stovetop. Add a little bit of water to thin out the curry if needed and adjust the salt accordingly.
More Potato Curries You'll love
- Aloo Rasedar (Potatoes with tomato-ginger based curry)
- Batata Bhaji(spicy potato stir fry)
- Aloo Beans(potato and green beans curry)
- Aloo Gobi (Potato CauliflowerCurry)
- Dum Aloo (curries baby potatoes)
Recipe
Eggplant Potato Curry (Aloo Baingan)
Equipment
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 baby eggplants 1 lb
- 1 medium russet or red potato
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon asafetida
- 1½ tablespoons garlic minced
- 12 curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup ground peanuts
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Remove the green leafy parts from the stem and trim off half of the stem. Cut each eggplant lengthwise into 4 pieces along with the stem.
- Peel and cut the potato into 1-inch cubes
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and heat oil. Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Add asafetida, garlic curry leaves, and turmeric. Mix well. Add potato, eggplant, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt. Add water and give a quick stir.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure release valve to sealing. Pressure cook for 2 minutes followed by quick release. Open the Instant Pot, incase the egg plant are not fully cooked keep the lid closed for 5 minutes and they will continue to cook without having to pressure cook again.
- Garnish with ground peanuts and cilantro. Give a quick stir and enjoy hot. Discard the stem while eating.
Notes
- Keeping short stems on the cut eggplant pieces helps from overcooking. You can also remove them if you like
- Chinese or Italian eggplant can also be used in this recipe by cutting them into 3-inch long and 1-inch thick pieces.
- Make sure to pick eggplants that are firm and of similar size.
- Pick medium-sized baby eggplants, that are about 2 to 3 inches from the stem and will not have as many seeds.
- Cut each of the quartered eggplants into half to make smaller to 1.5-inch pieces.
- Heat oil in a medium-sized pan. Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.
- Add asafetida, garlic curry leaves, and turmeric. Mix well.
- Add potato and cook covered on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add eggplant, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and salt.
- Add water and give a quick stir.
- Cooked covered on medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until the eggplant are tender.
- Garnish with ground peanuts and cilantro. Give a quick stir and enjoy hot. Discard the stem while eating.
Nina says
Wow! I didn't know what to expect from this recipe, I had never tried this dish before, but it is soooo good!! Thank you! I will definitely be making this many more times.
Lata Porecha says
I love , how U teach us. I like cooking too. I see , many You tube recipes, but explain in details.
thanks so much for helping us. I am also coking for long time. thanks.
Jim says
Hi, I am trying to cook it now just wondering what may be the reason for not adding tomatoes?
Can I more water ? Don’t like without “ “rassa” ( love little liquidy!) thanks
Archana says
You can add a diced tomato and also more water if you like. You may need to add more salt and red chili powder for the additional water
Seema K says
The dish came out really yummy. The only one addition I did was to add a little bit of amchur powder at the end. All other spices were the same. Thanks for sharing!
Maneesha says
So tasty!! Thank you for an amazing indian recipe!