Eggplant Curry In Instant Pot (Video) – Easy Eggplant Masala

Instant pot eggplant curry is so quick and easy to make and you can adjust the flavors based on your preferences. You can even make it more spicy by adding a little hot sauce or pepper sauce along with green chilies if you wish.

I make this Indian style instant pot eggplant curry (Aubergine curry/brinjal curry) using sauteed onions, eggplant, spices and either tamarind or tomato based sauce.

The addition of tangy tamarind or tomato based sauce gives this curry a delicious sourness that blends very well with the eggplants and spices.

Add a little heavy cream or thick coconut milk to make this delicious eggplant curry creamy in texture!

You can make this easy instant pot eggplant curry using a 6 quart instant pot quickly and easily.

If you are new to instant pot or want to learn more about cooking with instant pot, you can read more on instant pot cooking tips here.

Here is another great instant pot dish using eggplants which is vegetarian and vegan as well.

Tamarind Or Tomato Based Sauce

A little tamarind paste or tomato based sauce like tomato basil sauce (or marinara sauce) along with spices added to the gravy give this instant pot eggplant curry the perfect blend of flavors without making it very sour but just enough to make it delicious.

I have tried the recipe with tomato basil sauce as well as tamarind paste as they both add the required sourness to the eggplant curry, without which it may be quite bland.

I have used 4 tablespoons of tomato basil sauce (or use any tomato based sauce) or use just 1 teaspoon of tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate in its place. You may also use 1 teaspoon of concentrated tomato paste instead.

If you do not have tamarind or tomato sauce, you may also add chopped or canned tomatoes (two medium sized fresh tomatoes will be enough) instead of using tamarind.

The addition of something sour, like tamarind or tomatoes along with spices make the delicious gravy for this instant pot eggplant curry.

If you want to spice it up a bit, you may also a tablespoon of hot sauce or any pepper sauce of your choice.

What Kind Of Eggplant To Use For Eggplant Curry?

I have used a large sized eggplant to make this curry, instead you can used small variety eggplants (also known as brinjal or aubergine) too to make this instant pot eggplant curry.

If you are using small eggplants, you can use 4 to 5 small sized eggplants instead of a large one, but adjust the number of baby eggplants based on the size of the eggplants used.

How Long To Cook Eggplant For Eggplant Curry?

In this recipe for eggplant curry, I have cooked eggplants in high pressure for 2 minutes and then waited for a natural pressure release of 10 minutes.

This is because I like soft cooked eggplants, especially in curry (The cooking time for eggplants may be adjusted based on what recipe you are doing).

If the eggplants are not cooked until they are soft, sometimes they tend to have a slightly rubbery and chewy texture which I do not like.

Also, the soft cooked eggplants will make the gravy more delicious in my opinion.

If you prefer the eggplant to be not very soft, you may do a controlled manual release of the pressure after about 5 minutes of natural pressure release.

So here is how you can make this easy, quick and delicious instant pot eggplant curry following this easy instant pot eggplant curry recipe.

How To Make Instant Pot Eggplant Curry

We use the following ingredients to make this easy and delicious eggplant curry in instant pot.

Ingredients to make instant pot eggplant curry

1 large sized eggplant sliced into cubes

1 large onion sliced (or two medium sized onions)

2 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

3 green chilies (optional)

salt adjust to taste

1 cup water

4 tablespoons tomato basil sauce (or any tomato based sauce) (or 1 teaspoon tamarind paste)

2 tablespoons thick coconut milk (or heavy cream)

Spice Powders

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon red chili powder

2 tablespoons coriander powder

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds powder

1 teaspoon garam masala powder (or curry powder)

For garnishing (optional)

1 tablespoon cilantro leaves chopped

Step By Step Instructions

Add the oil to the inner pot of instant pot and also add the sliced onions.

Mix well and press the saute button. While the onions are getting sauteed, stir the contents occasionally.

Once the onions start to sweat and turn transparent or start to turn very light brown, which happens in another 2 minutes, stir continuously for about a minute or so to prevent the onions sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for another 1 minute.

Add the eggplants (and green chilies if using) also to the inner pot, stir well. Saute for few seconds and press cancel to stop the saute function.

Add the water and stir well, also deglaze the pot using the spatula if anything is stuck (this is needed to avoid burn error).

Add all spices – turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin seeds powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder (or curry powder), stir well.

Add the tomato based sauce or tamarind and stir well to mix well with the eggplants.

Close the instant pot with lid in sealing position, cook in high pressure for 2 minutes.

Once the cooking is done, the instant pot will beep and you can press the ‘keep warm/cancel’ button. Wait for a natural pressure release for about 10 minutes and then carefully do a controlled manual release of remaining pressure.

Once the pressure is all released, carefully open the lid.

Stir the contents and add the coconut milk or heavy cream, stir in.

Simmer if necessary, garnish with cilantro leaves if you wish. Serve the delicious, tangy eggplant curry with rice!

Notes : If the gravy is more for your preference, you can simmer the curry in the instant pot itself for few more minutes until the desired consistency is reached.

To simmer the eggplant curry, press the saute button, then press the adjust button and select low and simmer as needed.

Serve the easy and delicious instant pot eggplant curry hot with rice for lunch or dinner.

To spice up the curry a bit more, you may add a tablespoon of sriracha sauce or any hot sauce or pepper sauce of your choice.

Preparing eggplants before cooking

Prior to cooking, you may soak the sliced eggplant in a bowl of water mixed with some salt and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Then discard the water, squeeze out any water content from eggplant slices and pat dry the eggplant slices using a paper towel.

This is done to get rid of any bitterness eggplants may have, but this step is not necessary and you may skip this if you don’t want to do.

This easy, quick and delicious instant pot eggplant curry goes great with rice for a vegetarian/vegan lunch or dinner.

If you love eggplant curry for rice, you can also try this creamy eggplant curry, punjabi style baingan bharta recipe, fried eggplant coconut curry etc which all goes great with rice though they are not instant pot eggplant recipes but made in the conventional methods over the stove top and using the oven.

More Instant Pot Recipes In This Blog:

Instant Pot Broccoli Recipe

Instant Pot Pasta Soup Recipe

Instant Pot Spaghetti Noodles Recipe

Instant Pot Rice Pudding Recipe Using Condensed Milk

Below you can get the recipe for instant pot eggplant curry in detail.