Bharwa Baingan – INSTANT POT

Stuffed eggplants with potatoes – Bharwa Baingan made in INSTANT POT, loaded with onions, garlic, ginger, serrano peppers, cilantro, chives, peanut, sesame seeds, chickpea flour and whole bunch of species.

I don’t know why the thought of making stuffed eggplant is so overwhelming. It is actually not hard at all. Once you get the stuffing going, it is pretty simple. The stuffing is the core of this dish. I like my stuffing to be loaded with spices, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds and lots of cilantro along with some fresh garlic or chives. Oh and did I mentioned that we are going to use an Instant Pot?!?!

Cutting eggplant certain way to hold the stuffing in is little tricky. I used to cut it certain way and one of the eggplant would alway break during stuffing part. My mother in law showed me a trick on how to cut the eggplant for stuffing and that was a game changer! Look at the image, it shows 2 cuts on the eggplant, one from the top and the other one from the bottom leaving an inch of uncut area on each sides. Of course, you remove the stems of the eggplant first!

All you need to do for making this dish is to gather all stuffing ingredients, mix it well and keep it aside. Once you have cut eggplants and potatoes, stuff eggplant with the stuffing mixture and mix rest of the mixture with the potato cubes.

Now the easiest part of the process, add 1 tbsp of oil to the instant pot, add stuffed eggplants, potatoes along with all leftover stuffing mixture and one cup of water. Close the lid and cook it on high pressure for 3 minutes. Yes, 3 MINUTES!!! Isn’t that amazing?!?! Let the pressure release naturally and there you have it ready to serve!

You can serve this with any type of flat breads like phulka roti, chapati/bhakhri, naan, puri, kulcha etc. It goes very well with plain khichdi and plain yogurt!

It is very flavorful Gujarati dish. Oh and did I mention, adding one tbsp of jaggery to the stuffing gives a completely different flavor if you like just a little sweetness to your curries! It is made with different types of stuffing in different regions in India.

I hope you give this easy recipe a try. If you end up making it and liking it, tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would love to see your recreation of this goodie!
Happy and Healthy Eating!

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Stuffed eggplants with potatoes – Bharwa Baingan INSTANT POT

Indian eggplants stuffed with chickpea flour, peanuts, sesame seeds, onion, garlic, cilantro, chives and whole bunch of fresh and dry spices, cooked along with potatoes in an INSTANT POT

Servings 6

Equipment

• Instant Pot
• any pressure cooker

Ingredients

• 12 Small Indian Eggplants
• 3 Red Potatoes Medium size

Stuffing

• ½ cup Finely Chopped Onions
• 2 Finely Chopped Serrano Peppers
• 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
• 1 tbsp Grated Ginger
• ½ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Cilantro
• ¼ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Chives
• ¼ cup Coarsely Ground Peanuts
• ¼ cup White Sesame Seeds
• ¼ cup Peanut Oil any oil wold work with high smoke point
• 2 tbsp Chickpea Flour
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin Powder
• 1 tbsp Jaggery optional, add if you like your curries a little sweet

Instructions

• Mix all stuffing ingredients together and set it aside.
• Peel potatoes and cut them in big cubes. Big potato should make 6 cubes, small potato should make 4.
• Wash eggplants and remove stems. Now we need to make couple of cuts in each eggplant so that the eggplant can hold the stuffing. I have an image showing how to make 2 cuts in each eggplant on this page above.
• Stuff each eggplant with the prepared stuffing. There should be some leftover stuffing. Mix leftover stuffing and cubed potatoes together.
• Put 1 tbsp of oil to the instant pot and add stuffed eggplants and potatoes along with left over stuffing to it. If using Indian style pressure cooker, do the same in the cooker as mentioned in this step.
• Add 1 cup of water to the bowl you had the stuffing/stuffed eggplants in and give it a quick stir. I know this sounds wired but I hate to waste any stuffing or spices. Pour that water over eggplants and potatoes in the instant pot.
• Close the lid, make sure the pressure valve is closed. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Yes, only 3 minutes! Isn't that amazing?! Let the pressure release naturally. And it's ready! If using Indian style pressure cooker, do 3 whistles and take it off the stove to avoid over cooking. Let the pressure release naturally.
• Garnish with some extra cilantro and enjoy it with roties, naan, parathas, chapaties or plain Khichdi!