Potato Eggplant Curry is a delicious and flavorful Punjabi dish made by cooking potatoes and eggplants with onions, tomatoes and few indian spices.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 3 medium potatoes ((about 2.5 cups))
  • 6-8 baby eggplant ((about 3 cups))
  • 2-3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 inch ginger (minced)
  • 1 green chili (finely chopped)
  • 1 large onion (finely chopped, (about 1 cup))
  • 2 medium tomatoes (finely chopped, (about 1 cup))
  • salt (to taste)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro)

Dry Spices

  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Method

Stovetop Method

  1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
  2. Next, add minced ginger, garlic, and green chili, and saute for a few seconds until fragrant.
  3. Then add onions and saute until the onions turn light brown.
  4. Next, add chopped tomatoes and cook till they are soft and mushy.
  5. Add the dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala and cook for another 2 minutes till the masalas are cooked well.
  6. Add diced potatoes, mix well, and saute for 2-3 minutes.
  7. Add ¼ cup of water. Mix well. Cover, and cook the potatoes for 6 to 7 minutes on medium-low heat until they are fork-tender. You may stir occasionally once or twice in between.
  8. Then add diced eggplant (brinjal) and mix well.
  9. Cook covered for another 5 to 6 minutes (keep stirring in between occasionally), until the eggplant and the potatoes are perfectly cooked. You can add some water to cook if needed.
  10. Lastly, add kasuri methi, lemon juice and mix very well. Turn off the heat.
  11. Garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves), and serve with roti or paratha.

Instant Pot Method

  1. Firstly, peel the potato skin and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Also, cut Eggplant (baingan) into large pieces, 1 to 1.5 inches. If you finely chop them, eggplants will all turn mushy. Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Add oil to the POT. Once hot, add cumin seeds, and let them splutter.
  2. Then add minced ginger, garlic, and green chili. Saute for 30 secs.
  3. Add chopped onion and saute till onions turn light brown in color.
  4. Next, add tomatoes, and all the dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala, and cook for 2 more minutes till tomatoes turn soft.
  5. Then add diced potato, eggplant, 1/2 cup of water, and salt and mix well. Make sure to scrape (deglaze) any spice if sticking to the pot.
  6. Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 3 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, do a QUICK RELEASE (QR) by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. BURN ALERT? If your instant pot has shown BURN in the past, add an extra ¼ cup of water and deglaze the pot before pressure cooking. You might have to put the instant pot on SAUTE at the end and adjust the consistency of the curry according to your preference.
  7. Remove the lid away from you, squeeze in some lemon juice and garnish with cilantro (coriander leaves), and Mix well.
  8. Instant Pot Aloo baingan recipe or Potato Eggplant Curry is ready, serve hot with chapatis, roti & parathas.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.