Make a traditional Baingan Bharta or Eggplant Bharta easily in your Instant Pot. Follow this technique to get a wonderful smoky flavor without spending time to roast and char the eggplant.
Instant Pot Baingan Bharta Eggplant Dip
What insane person tries to make an Indian Baingan Bharta, a dish known for its distinctive smokiness, the delicate charring that comes from broiling, in an Instant Pot? Me. That's who.
I looked around for Instant Pot eggplant recipes and made this wonderful one for Baba Ghanoush which I was planning to make, but I've really wanted to do Instant Pot Baingan Bharta for a while.
Traditionally when roasting eggplant for Baingan Bharta, you pierce a whole eggplant, you cover it in oil, and you broil it in an oven, flipping from side to side.
I have clear instructions on how to make perfect roasted eggplant here that you should also check out.
This takes a good 30-45 minutes. I like things simpler. So I used the principles of the Instant Pot Baba Ghanoush recipe but the ingredients of an eggplant Bharta.
One of the immediate challenges of this Indian Baingan Bharta recipe was how to add enough water to the recipe without drowning it in water afterward. Ordinarily, I'd add onions and tomatoes after the eggplant was done, because you sort of want the fresh taste.
But I knew if I put it into the Instant Pot the veggies would release their liquid and flavor the eggplant. So I figured I'd try it that way.
Be forewarned this Baingan Bharta recipe will a) take more oil than you want since eggplant is an oil-sponge b) take 10-15 minutes charring the eggplant in the pot.
But I wanted maximum char to replicate that smoky flavor. You want this to have very little water at the end, but be sure to scrape up any bits of char remaining once you open the pot.
Also, go slow with that liquid smoke, tasting it and smelling it to make sure you've got enough.
The end result was a wonderful slightly smoky mix that was done in less than half the time it would have taken me on the stove. It makes a wonderfully delicious main dish or side and I'm dying for you to try it!
Eggplant Frequently Asked Questions
The short answer is no, as you want the peel intact to keep the juices in. As a matter of fact, you don't even have to peel the eggplant after roasting if you don't want to as the peel is entirely edible, but it can be a little tough with larger eggplants
I tend to peel the eggplant after roasting as I typically mash the eggplant for most of my recipes.
You only need to salt the eggplant before roasting if you are cubing or slicing before roasting in order to get rid of some of the moisture. It's very common for people to salt eggplant before roasting it, and it's widely believed that salting before roasting can take away some of the bitterness in eggplant. In my experience, it doesn't seem to have any bearing on removing bitterness. So if you're cubing or slicing, salt away, but if you're roasting it with the skin on you can put the salt away.
Eggplant actually has a myriad of health benefits. It's chock full of nutrients like protein, fiber, potassium, vitamin K and vitamin C. It's rich in antioxidants which could help prevent heart disease and cancer. Due to the high fiber content of roasted eggplant, it can help lower blood sugar by slowing the rate of digestion and absorption of sugar in the body. Eggplant is also quite low in carbs, with only 8 grams of carbs in a 1 cup serving of chopped, cooked eggplant.
How To Make Instant Pot Eggplant Bharta
- Heat the Instant Pot pot, and when it's hot, put in a few tablespoons of oil.
- Once the oil is hot, put in one layer of eggplant slices. This is the tough part now, do not mess with them until they are properly charred at the bottom. Without this char, you won't get the smoky taste you need. Once these slices char, they will shrink a bit and you can put in some more eggplant slices.
- At this point, you may need to put in more oil. This thing sucks oil, so just embrace that. Use a spatula or spoon and scrape up the char from the bottom as needed. This took me about 10-15 minutes to get it all charred.
- Once the eggplant is charred and somewhat soft, add in onions, garlic, turmeric, salt and let these spices roast in the oil for a bit as you mix everything together.
- Add in the tomato and scrape up every last bit of the brown bits from the bottom.
- Add in the water, and close the pot immediately before you lose any liquid through evaporation.
- Cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes, and release steam immediately.
- Open the pot and turn on to Sauté to get rid of some of the water if needed. It will thicken as it cools.
- Add the liquid smoke and stir well, garnish with cilantro and serve with naan.
- If you have kids that are not fond of eggplant or spicy food, I'd suggest mixing in a little greek yogurt or sour cream to soften the taste and trying it that way.
What Does Baingan Bharta Mean?
The meaning of Baingan Bharta is pretty straight forward. "Baingan" is Hindi for eggplant and "bharta" is Hindi for puree or mash. So it quite literally translates to mashed or pureed eggplant. It's a wonderfully delicious traditional Indian dish that's bursting with smokey flavor and spices.
Other Easy Eggplant Recipes
- Instant Pot Baba Ghanoush Lebanese Eggplant Dip - Quick, flameless, and tastes delicious!
- Malai Baingan - A creamy, spicy, hearty Indian Instant Pot recipe.
- Tomato Eggplant Soup - A great vegan soup recipe.
- Instant Pot Eggplant Pasta - One of the best pasta dishes I've ever had, and I don't say that lightly.
- Roasted Ratatouille Recipe - All the flavor of a traditional ratatouille without all of the work!
- How To Make Roasted Eggplant – Whether you’re making it in the oven, on the stove, in the air fryer, or even the Instant Pot, this guide covers it all.
I have more Instant Pot Fast and Easy Recipes as well as Vegetarian Instant Pot Recipes in my cookbooks you might want to check out.
Enjoy this Instant Pot Baingan Bharta and do let me know how it goes for you if you try it! Make sure to share this recipe with your friends on Pinterest and Facebook so they can enjoy it as well!
Ingredients
- 1 (1) Eggplant, peeled, cut in half, and then sliced lengthwise
- 1/3 cup (72.67 g) Vegetable Oil
- 3 cloves (3 cloves) Garlic, minced
- 1/2 (0.5) Onion, diced
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Kosher Salt, to taste
- 1/3 cup (49.67 g) Tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup (125 g) Water
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Liquid Smoke
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the Instant Pot pot, and when it's hot, put in a few tablespoons of oil.
- Once the oil is hot, put in one layer of eggplant slices. This is the tough part now, do not mess with them until they are properly charred at the bottom. Without this char, you won't get the smoky taste you need. Once these slices char, they will shrink a bit and you can put in some more eggplant slices. At this point, you may need to put in more oil. This thing sucks oil, so just embrace that. Use a spatula or spoon and scrape up the char from the bottom as needed. This took me about 10-15 minutes to get it all charred.
- Once the eggplant is charred and somewhat soft, add in onions, garlic, turmeric, salt and let these spices roast in the oil for a bit as you mix everything together.
- Add in the tomato and scrape up every last bit of the brown bits from the bottom.
- Add in the water, and close the pot immediately before you lose any liquid through evaporation.
- Cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes, and release steam immediately.
- Open the pot and turn on to Sauté to get rid of some of the water if needed. It will thicken as it cools.
- Add the liquid smoke and stir well, garnish with cilantro and serve with naan.
- If you have kids that are not fond of eggplant or spicy food, I'd suggest mixing in a little greek yogurt or sour cream to soften the taste, and trying it that way.
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Nutrition
Post originally published on April 6, 2017, at 2:29 PM.
Tammy
I'm growing Japanese eggplant, what is the volume of eggplant? Approximately how many grams? Thank you
Kathy Biallas
Hi, Urvashi,
First of all, thank you for posting this recipe. I love this dish but have never made it myself.
However, I do have one query: do you char both sides of the eggplant slices? It is not clear from the instructions. Thank you very much!
TwoSleevers
It is not necessary to char both sides of the eggplant, but it will enchance the richness of the recipe. I hope you try it soon and let me know how you liked it!
Wes Giessinger
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Gauri Naik Gopalakrishnan
Urvashi, thank you from my hubby and I !
Another authentic Instant Pot version of a classic dish that normally takes a long time to make.
Debbie Gunter
In your book, the recipe for Baingan Bharta leaves out the charring eggplant step in the directions Did you mean to leave it out?
Should I add this step before I make it?
Karen Bruneau
May I ask how this dish is traditionally eaten?
URVASHI PITRE
With chappatis or naan typically. But I have been known to eat it with pita bread or over buttered toast 🙂
Karen Bruneau
Thank you very much. Not doing low carb at the moment, so that sounds fantastic. I love your recipes, low carb or not!