Pigeon Peas & Eggplant Curry, winter special spicy garlicky curry made with Pigeon Peas, Eggplant, Potatoes and basic spices.
Many people not a big fan of eggplant. I was that person growing up. The texture and look of eggpeggplantalnt were never appealing to me. It is funny that all things I did not like growing up, I crave now as an adult. This simple curry is an example of that. Pigeon Peas, aka tuvar lilva, is a winter specialty back home. Now they are widely available all year long in frozen section of almost all Indian grocery stores here in the States.
I love using frozen lilva. It cuts down tons of work, no peeling no washing no drying of these lilva. That is one of the biggest reason I love making this shak/curry. It is perfect for cold busy weeknigh. I love making this shak and pair it with Plain Khichdi, Â Gujarati Kadhi, Bhakhri and loads of spicy mango pickle, Gujju style! If you do not have pigeon peas available, you can simply use frozen peas. It is a great substitute for tuvar lilva.
This recipe calls for just few basic ingredients, not a lot of chopping and just 5 minutes in Instant pot. What more can you ask for while cooking a comforting wholesome meal at home?!?! I would love for you to try this recipe of mine and leave me a feedback. You can either leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots.
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Pigeon Peas & Eggplant Curry
Equipment
- Instant Pot any pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Avocado/Peanut Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- ¼ tsp Asafetida (Hing Powder)
- 2 Whole Dry Red Chili
- 1 small Tomato, diced
- 2 tsp Grated Ginger
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- ½ Serrano Pepper OR 2 thai green chili OR 1 small Jalapeno
- ½ tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder (Half of it can be sub with ½ inch fresh turmeric root if available) ½ tsp with tomato + ½ tsp with other spices
- 4 tsp Cumin Coriander Powder
- 1¾ tsp Salt
- 1 lb Eggplant, cubed American OR Globe OR Italian eggplant
- 2 medium Red Potato, peeled and cubed
- 3 cup Frozen Pigeon Peas fresh if available
- â…“ cup Finely Chopped Cilantro
- ¼ cup Water may be a bit more to cook tomatoes and spices
Instructions
- Put Instant pot on saute mode. Add in oil, once hot add in mustard seeds.
- Once mustard seeds start to pop, add in asafetida. Then add in tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chili with ¼ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of turmeric powder (OR shredded fresh turmeric root if available.
- Once tomatoes are fully cooked and mushy, add in rest of the dry spices along with 1½ tsp of salt. Mix well, if spice mix start to burn/stick to the bottom of the pot add in ¼ cup of water. Mix well and cook for few seconds.
- Add in thawed Pigeon Peas. Mix well. Then add in cubed eggpalnt and potatoes. Mix well.
- Add in ¼ cup of water, mix well, close the lid and seal. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Once time goes off, let the pressure release naturally all the way.
- Once IP valve is released, open the lid, add in freshly chopped cilantro. Mix well. If the curry feels too runny, you can cook the water out while keeping IP on saute mode. Serve it with plain khichdi, kadhi, achar and papad! Or simply enjoy with bhakhri/roti/paratha!
