Punjabi Aloo Baingan Recipe

Say goodbye to mushy eggplants forever with this boldly spiced punjabi aloo baingan recipe. Enjoy tender, juicy eggplant chunks cooked with earthy potato pieces in a fragrantly spiced, tomato-forward masala that will have you licking your fingers! This homestyle, one-pot baingan sabji is perfect to scoop with Indian flatbreads or as a side dish with dal rice (lentils and rice). 

Not going to lie, however I disliked eggplant as a kid. The only exception? Baingan pakora! Other than that, I wouldn't go near it. Fast forward a few decades, and surprise, surprise—I’m now the proud owner of a website full of Indian eggplant recipes! My love for this veggie took its sweet time to blossom, but when I went full-on vegetarian a few years back, eggplant and I really hit it off.

Baingan is one of the most loved vegetables in indian cuisine and is cooked in a lot of ways. We love to stuff it (bharwa baingan), deep fry to make pakoras, mash it to make smoky baingan ka bharta or turn it into a summer dish such as dahi baingan.

What's Aloo Baingan

Also known as aloo baingan masala, it is simply, a dry dish of aloo (cubed potatoes) and baingan (eggplant) cooked together with indian spices, tomatoes and garlic-tons of it. In my home we also make rasedar aloo baingan, which is a wet eggplant potato curry, slightly different from dry preperation and has a onion & tomato masala.

For most sukhi sabjis (dry curries) like this one, mom skipped onion and ginger in the masala base. I do the same. This home style, north indian aloo baigan recipe focuses on ripe tomatoes and garlic. Whip up this easy recipe in under 30 minutes! It uses a handful of basic ingredients easily available in your kitchen and is a gluten-free, vegan recipe.

My Tips To Make Best Aloo Baingan Sabzi

• Picking the perfect eggplant is key! If your baingan is bad, your sabji will be sad. When you buy, look for green stems and caps—freshness alert! That means that the eggplants haven't been sitting for long on the shelf. The skin should be shiny and the baingan should feel firm to touch. Spongy ones? Too many seeds and watery —avoid!
• Don't soak your eggplant in water. They absorb water hence refuse to absorb the oil and the flavors.Cut the eggplant right when you are adding it to the cooking pot. Sometimes I sprinkle salt over eggplant pieces to draw out the moisture but I do so mostly when making pakoras.
• Start the potatoes first by adding them to the masala base early. Potatoes take longer to cook, even if cut the same size as the eggplants. Par-cooking the potatoes ensures they finish cooking at the same time as the eggplants, keeping both veggies perfectly tender without getting mushy.
• Don't skimp on oil! Eggplant needs enough oil to cook properly and taste delicious. I'm not talking about pools of oil, just the right amount to fry the masala and enhance the eggplant's texture.
• If you want, you can peel half of the eggplant, but I prefer keeping the peel on. You have to be extra careful of cooking time since peeled eggplants overcooks pretty quickly and can get mushy.
• When making any kind of sukhi sabzi, avoid adding too much water at the beginning. Once you sprinkle salt, the vegetables release their own juices. For the best flavor, let the sabzi cook in its own juices for as long as possible. Keep in mind that if needed, you can always add water at any stage.

Ingredients

• Baingan- To be honest, I make this sabji with all kinds of eggplants—Japanese long, globe Italian, or Indian baby eggplants—all work! Just avoid ones with too many seeds, as they can sometimes be bitter. In-season baingan is always the best.
• Potatoes - I use russet or yukon gold potatoes. Try to cut the potatoes similar to how you chopped the eggplant.
• Tomatoes During summer, I use fresh ripe roma tomatoes, but canned tomatoes or tomato sauce work too. Since we’re skipping onions, the base of the sabji masala is tomatoes. Avoid using sour tomatoes else the sabji will get tangy. Chopped tomatoes can stay chunky and their skins separate(annoying to chew!), so I blend them first and then fry them with spices.
• Whole Spices - For the spices, use cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds (methi dana), and whole dried red chili (or red chili flakes). If you don't have cumin seeds, you can use cumin powder instead. 
• Ground Spices - We use spice powders at two stages. First for flavoring the masala, we are going to add coriander powder , red chili powder and turmeric powder. Then garam masala powder and amchur powder(dry mango powder) are used as finishing spices.
• Oil -I love using mustard oil for North Indian dishes; it gives an authentic taste and aroma. If you don't have mustard oil, you can use another cooking oil like avocado oil.

Note - Fenugreek or methi is a lovely flavor pairing with eggplants. It has a unique flavor with notes of tangy, bitter and tangy! If you love the taste of baingan-aloo at indian restaurants, the whole fenugreek seeds and crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) are the secret! I totally understand that fenugreek seeds is a spice hard to come by in non-indian kitchens. Try to source it online(via amazon) or nearest indian grocery stores. However, if you cannot find, simply skip it.

How to Make Baingan Aloo

1. In a wide cooking pan(10 inch or larger) or wok, heat up the oil. If you are using mustard oil you will need to heat it up for up to 1-2 minutes to do away the raw smell. Make sure that the oil is not smoking profusely. 
2. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to low and temper with fenugreek and cumin seeds. Let crackle. Immediately add the garlic (chopped fresh garlic is best) and hing. Let cook for 5-7seconds taking care they do not burn. Add 1-2 tablespoon water if needed. (You do not want the garlic to turn bitter as it changes the taste of the sabji, take the pan off the heat, if needed).
3. Add the potatoes next and sprinkle a little salt. Let them lightly brown in hot oil for 2-3 minutes.
4. Next, add a splash of water and sprinkle spice powders- coriander, red chili and turmeric. Fry for 1 minute taking care that ground spices dont burn. 

5. Pour in the tomato puree next. Mix well and then cover the pan. Let cook on low- medium heat till the potatoes are 50%-60% tender. The moisture from tomatoes should be enough to par cook the potatoes. Check while cooking and add a splash of water if needed.
6. Meanwhile, wash the eggplant and cut it up roughly the same size as the potatoes.

7. To the par boiled potatoes, add the chopped eggplant and salt. Mix well so that everything is covered in spices & tomatoes. Fry for a minute to get the eggplant started.
8. Cover again and let cook till both eggplant and potatoes are tender. On medium low heat this should take 7-10 minutes. Cook time will depend on the variety and size of the vegetables. Check 1-2 times while cooking to make sure that the sabzi isn't getting dry else add ¼ cup to ⅓ cup water water. As the eggplants cook, they will release their water and that should be enough to cook everything.

Cooking Time - We don't like mushy potatoes or eggplants so I have noted the cooking time accordingly. If you prefer softer or mushy eggplants and potatoes, cook longer (about 5-7 minutes extra) to achieve the desired softness.

7. Take off the lid and sprinkle the amchur powder, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Instead of amchur, you can use teaspoon of lemon juice. At this stage you can also add some chopped green chilies. On high heat, gently toss (vegetables are very soft right now!) everything for another 1-2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro & serve.

Serving

In my home baingan aloo was usually served two ways. For lunch, Mom would make plain parathas to scoop up the sabzi, accompanied by cooling raita and fresh green chutney on the side. For dinner, we enjoyed aloo baingan with yellow dal, steamed basmati rice and either a side salad like kacumber or achar(pickle).