Instant Pot Eggplant Carrot Curry
Dec 05, 2019, Updated May 28, 2023
Easy and vegan Eggplant Carrot Curry made in the Instant Pot. Pair with rice or quinoa for a comforting meal!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Easy and vegan Eggplant Carrot Curry made in the Instant Pot.
This curry is packed with flavors so even if you aren’t a eggplant fan, this might make you one!
Pair with quinoa, brown rice or white rice for a comforting and flavorful meal.
If you love all the Instant Pot vegetarian/vegan recipes that I share on the blog, please join me on this Facebook Group – Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes. The group would feature vegetarian instant pot recipes from all around the web!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information on my Affiliate and Advertising Policy, please click here.
What do you guys use your Instant pot the most for?
Personally, it has replaced my traditional Indian pressure cooker for pretty much everything.
I cook my everyday dals, rice, beans in it every week.
Other than that, I also use it to make pasta (seriously one of my favorite things to make in the IP) and some really comforting curries!
One of my recent favorite curries that I made in the Instant Pot is this Eggplant Carrot Curry.
This curry is really simple to make but is packed with flavors.
Sarvesh isn’t a eggplant fan, he only like it in form of bharta but he said it was good.
I will take a “good” from him when it comes to eggplant! Yeah, he is little hard to please with veggies that he doesn’t like!
This Eggplant Carrot Curry
✓ is packed with flavors
✓ easy to make in one-pot
✓ is vegan and gluten-free
✓ makes a comforting meal
As with most curries, the flavor lies in using fresh ingredients.
And for this reason, I highly recommend using fresh ginger-garlic in curry recipes.
It does make a difference to the final taste.
Not a fan of eggplant? Well this might make you one!
Honestly, I love eggplant but I know many who don’t care about it.
One of the best ways to enjoy it in my opinion is in curries and this one cooks together so quickly in the Instant Pot.
This curry has a little kick from the paprika, jalapeño which is wonderfully balanced by the sweetness from the coconut milk, carrot and peas.
What You Need For Eggplant Curry
Eggplant, carrots, green peas, onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and lots of spices!
This eggplant curry recipe has coriander, smoked paprika, cardamom, turmeric and garam masala.
It’s finished with coconut milk to make it creamy (and yummy!). And of course a garnishing of cilantro is must for any curry, if you ask me!
Serving Suggestions
I love it with white rice but goes equally well with brown rice.
Quinoa will be a good option too or even cauliflower rice if you want your meal to little less in carbs.
Method
1- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Once the pot displays hot, add the oil and then add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeño.
2- Cook for 3 minutes until onions soften, then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Also de-glaze the pot at this point in case there’s anything stuck at the bottom of the pot.
3- Add all the spices- coriander powder, smoked paprika, cardamom powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Also add the salt and mix to combine.
4- Add the cubed eggplants and carrots along with the peas. Toss to combine with the masala.
5- Then add the water. Close the pot with its lid.
6- Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.
Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release.
7- Open the pot and press the saute button. Add the coconut milk and stir.
8- Also add the cilantro and let the curry simmer for 2 minutes.
Garnish with more cilantro and serve with rice. You may squeeze some lemon juice for tang.
If you’ve tried this Eggplant Carrot Curry Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Instant Pot Eggplant Carrot Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil 30 ml, I used avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 5 large garlic cloves chopped
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 1/2 jalapeño chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 large eggplant around 500 grams, diced into 1-inch cubes
- 3-4 carrots cut into rounds
- 1/3 cup green peas I used frozen
- 1.5 cups water 12 oz
- 3/4 cup coconut milk 6 oz
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Press the saute button on the Instant Pot. Once the pot displays hot, add the oil and then add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeño.
- Cook for 3 minutes until onions soften, then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Also de-glaze the pot at this point in case there's anything stuck at the bottom of the pot.
- Add all the spices- coriander powder, smoked paprika, cardamom powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Also add the salt and mix to combine.
- Add the cubed eggplants and carrots along with the peas. Toss to combine with the masala.
- Then add the water. Close the pot with its lid. Press the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes with the pressure valve in the sealing position.Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release.
- Open the pot and press the saute button. Add the coconut milk and stir. Also add the cilantro and let the curry simmer for 2 minutes.
- Garnish with more cilantro and serve with rice. You may squeeze some lemon juice for tang.
Stove-top Instructions
- Follow all the steps as such in a pot/pan over stove-top on medium heat until adding the tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook the tomatoes for 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Then add the spices, eggplant, carrots and peas along with 1 cup water. Cover the pot with a lid and let the veggies cook for around 15 minutes on low heat. Stir in the coconut milk, cilantro and simmer for 2 minutes.
Notes
- You can add more coconut milk if you would like here. It would just make the curry creamier and more coconut-y. This was good for me!
- Once pressure cooked, it might look like the curry has a lot of liquid. But once you add the coconut milk, it gets thick and continues to get thicker as it cools down. So do add the mentioned amount of water to pressure cook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! I had left over cooked eggplant so I used that. I added frozen shrimp. I cooked it on high pressure for 3 minutes and natural release for 5. Then quick release and added the coconut milk and boiled green beens.
We loved it!
thanks Helen!
I had a bunch of leftover cut up veggies from making ratatouille. I was looking for a dish to use up my eggplant and zucchini. It was delish. Added a bit more fatal masala at the end and extra liquid. I ate it like a stew.
Really yummy! I wanted a bit more bulk, so did one carrot and a tin of chick peas plus around 200g frozen prawns. Cooked it on high for 5 minutes plus 10 minutes natural release, with the rice in a separate tin above.
Hi Manali, I have been enjoying your recipes for some time. I decided I needed more eggplant in my life and this recipe is great. I subbed out some ingredients I didn’t have. I used cayenne instead of jalapeno and edamame instead of peas. I used the entire can of tomato paste and coconut milk as I didn’t want them hanging around the kitchen. It was my first time cooking eggplant and I think next time I won’t be afraid to leave the skin on. I love that this recipe is vegan too. I made rice and parathas to complete my meal. Thanks so much!
glad you liked it Monisa!
PS, when it was done I puréed 2 cups to thicken it up.
Wow!! Delicious!! The carrots and coconut milk add a nice sweetness to balance out the other flavors.
Next time I will increase the tomato paste for more acid flavor, increase the garam masala and add beans or tofu.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Welcome Lisa! glad to know you liked it!
Wow! This was delicious! My family, people who never want to eat eggplant, enjoyed the meal with second helpings all around!
Didn’t have fresh tomatoes, so I used canned diced tomatoes (28 oz and 14oz). Ended up using the full can of coconut milk (13 oz).
Used spices as written in recipe. Wonderful overall flavor combination!
* Adjusted to about double on all the spice amounts listed. (My use of additional tomatoes and extra coconut milk needed compensation.)
This recipe is a keeper!
glad to know!
Thank you, Manali, for this wonderful recipe. I put in quorn protein to make it a main vegan course and made it old style, with a casserole. I left out the jalapeños since I didn’0t have any available. The result was a fulfilling meal, with a rich and delicate flavour. Namaste!
I was looking for a new way to use eggplant and found this welll written recipe. I used peas and a jalapeño from my garden. I like the simplicity of recipe and thought it tasted great! I made cauliflower rice separately, it paired nicely. Thank you for the recipe!
I am glad you liked it Greg!
This was okay, but I felt like it was missing something. Not spicy enough, so I add a touch of cayenne pepper that helped a bit. I think chickpeas would be a good add in and give it more substance.
thanks for trying
Super yummy. I didn’t have a jalapeno so left that out and it was still delicious but I was definitely missing a little heat. I also added a little bit of firm tofu for protein. Another hit! Thanks, Manali.
Hi
Can I use normal milk instead of coconut milk ?
no, need coconut milk here for the flavor and creaminess.
Omg. This was so so so good. I used canned peas instead of frozen (Covid meant lack of frozen peas at my grocery store). Added some pan fried tofu at the end and mixed them in.
Had no cilantro, but it tasted great anyways.
I have just found your blog and I find it wonderful- so big variety of recipes
I love Indian vegetarian kitchen and hope to learn cook better these meals with your valuable tips. Thank you for your great work!
Made this in pressure cooker with one whistle. My hubby loves eggplant and I try to make it in different ways. This one turned out pretty good.
Not sure what I did wrong but we will probably have to throw this out. I followed the recipe exactly but it’s watery and bland. ?
hmm not sure…there are a lot of spices here- coriander, smoked paprika, garam masala, cardamom, turmeric. There’s also coconut milk, jalapeno so lot of flavors going on, I am not sure how it turned out bland ..sorry it didn’t work!
Unfortunately I had the same result. Maybe the spices should be added before the tomato to release the flavours?
sorry you didn’t like it. But as you can see from other reviews, many have loved it so I am not sure what went wrong there. I think it’s quite a flavorful curry and that’s why I shared it. Thanks for trying.
hi,
I tried this recipe and it came delicious. I made on stove top. I am a big fan of instant pot cooking.
Just want to check one thing as im using instant pot since last year but now im feeling like in pressure cook mode it is taking long time. Like Tuar daal is taking 20 min to cook.
Should I change sealing ring? or givesome suggestion. thanks.
Hi Kanchan! glad you liked this recipe. Hmm do you mean it’s taking 20 minutes to come to pressure for the pot? What you can do next time is try adding boiling hot water to the dal, that way it will come to pressure more quickly. or try replacing the sealing ring like you mentioned.
Delicious! You are keeping me and my partner so happy with all these recipes. Thanks for sharing this one!
Loved this recipe. I added a cup of lentils for more protein but ended up getting a burn food notice and lo and behold a few of the lentils burned and I had to rinse the instapot, rinse and scrub it, put everything back in the pot and add more water and it turned out fine! lol
Changes:
-no peas
-added 2 eggplants instead of 1
-added red lentils
-cooked for 4 minutes
That looks delicious. I love eggplant and can’t wait to try this
This looks delicious and I have loved your recipes. Could you please add stove top and/or slow cooker directions?
Thanks Jessica, I added stove-top instructions. I have been doing that recently for all my IP recipes, sorry forgot for this one so thanks for bringing it to my attention! 🙂
Thank you!!!