Malai Baingan is a recipe you need to try, because you are going to love it! The flavors blow up and are so good together! This is an easy and delicious indian eggplant recipe that will be quite different to anything you've tried. Creamy, spicy, hearty Indian Instant Pot recipe which is a great way to add a low carb keto side dish to your dinner table.
Malai Baingan | Keto Indian Creamy Eggplant
I love sharing recipes with you that you wouldn't get outside of India. But this recipe is even more special, because you're extremely unlikely to get it in India either. That's because I totally made it up and it was so tasty that even thought I'm not a fan of eggplant pieces as a rule, I'd totally eat this. So I think it's a good recipe for the eggplant lover as well as those who don't particularly love eggplants. Really by the time the spicy, creamy sauce coats the caramelized onions and pan-roasted eggplants, the flavor explosion isn't what you'd associate with eggplant.
Looking for more delicious eggplant recipes? Check out my Indian Baingan Bharta! It gives you all the smoky flavor of traditional Baingan Bharta without having to spend the time to roast and char the eggplant.
Another great eggplant dish is my Instant Pot Baba Ghanoush! It's quick and easy to make and it makes a great appetizer or snack.
Also, check out my Tomato Eggplant Soup! Pour everything into your Instant Pot, and you'll have a wonderful Mediterranean soup for dinner in under 30 minutes.
I made this Malai Baingan very quickly on the stove top (once I decided what to do), and although I'll list the spices I used, I'm quite sure you could make this with whatever spices you feel like and make versions from different cuisines, depending on the spices you use. But let me share how I did this so you can improvise.
The Recipe Steps are:
- Roll eggplant pieces in oil and mixed spices
- Sauté onions and eggplant until browned, then finish cooking under a covered lid
- Add heavy whipping cream or your favorite non-dairy substitute
Ingredients
Mix together
- 3 cups (246 g) Chopped, Peeled Eggplant
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper, (adjust spice level to suit)
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Garam Masala
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Amchoor or Chaat Masala, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Goda Masala, or Chana Masala, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
Other Ingredients
- 1 (1) Sliced Onions
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Ghee or Oil
- 1/4 cup (62.5 g) Water
- 1/4 cup (62.75 g) heavy whipping cream or nondairy substitute of choice
Instructions
- Into a plastic ziplock bag, place the eggplant pieces. Pour in the oil and all spices. Smooth the bag together to mix up the spices and coat the eggplant with the oil and spices. This method keeps you from getting turmeric stains on your nails (don't ask me how I know).
- Heat oil 1 tablespoon oil or ghee, and when it is hot, add in the onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add in the spiced eggplant in a single layer, cut side down.
- Let the eggplant and onion brown for about 8-10 minutes.
- Add water and cover the pan, and let the eggplants finish cooking under steam.
- When they're soft, add in the cream and stir, picking up any caramelized fond from the bottom of the pan. Let the cream boil and take on the flavor from the spices before serving.
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Nutrition
Don't forget to check out my other Keto cookbooks.
Keto Instant Pot, Keto Fat Bombs, Sweets, & Treats, and Easy keto in 30 minutes.
Brandy Candy
bookmarked!!, I love your blog!
Rebecca
I don't know if I did something wrong, but it was so bitter.
URVASHI PITRE
It was neither you nor the recipe. Sounds to me like you got a bitter eggplant. That has happened to me before, and it’s so disappointing isn’t it? I hope you will try to again. What works for me is to find smaller younger eggplants. The larger one seems to be more likely to be bitter. It also helps to peel it quite well
surrealchereal
I just made this. I don't usually change recipes the first time I made them, but I didn't think it had enough heat with just the cayenne. I also added a seeded chopped jalapeno and a squirt of sriracha at the end. I went easy on the cream. It's tasty spicy, and delicious. The dish tastes better if you can let it sit for a while after cooking and let the flavors marry.
Carol G
Delicious! And I made it in a skillet on my cooktop.
casinsf
It was pretty good, but I thought it lacked flavor. I am going to make it again tonight and add more spices and garlic.
Josee
Just tried this recipe from Urvashi Keto cookbook! Excellant results and so easy! I did get a burn error in my instant pot right at the beginning. No biggie, I just added 1/3 of cup of water and restarted it. It came out fabulous!
Dhanya
Hi Urvashi,
Did you use baby eggplants for this recipe? If not, what kind of eggplants work best for this recipe?
Thank you for sharing.
URVASHI PITRE
I think I did use Baby eggplants yes. It’s been a while hah!
Amreen
Any suggestions on how to store the leftover chipotle peppers?
Thanks!
URVASHI PITRE
I put them in a small plastic container and put it in the fridge where they appear to last endlessly. I also use in the chicken tortilla soup and carne adovada
Amreen
Oops posted on the wrong recipe! Sorry
URVASHI PITRE
I realized that. Same suggestion though ????????
Zahraa
I added labne instead of cream and some cilantro. Was so yummy! Thank you!
URVASHI PITRE
Oh I love that idea! Thanks for sharing that.
Tami
What size should you chop the eggplant?
URVASHI PITRE
About 2-inch pieces or so?
Sri
I made this curry just substituted a tomato in the end in place of the cream, its perfect. I am not a fan of cream based curries but i love egg plant and always on the lookout for new ways of cooking them, this recipe turned out to be easy and quick, taking me less than 30 min from start to finish.
Thanks for sharing it.
URVASHI PITRE
You're welcome! Try the baingan Bharta and the baba ghanoush I've posted too if you have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.