Pressure Cooked Stuffed Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine Recipe | Baby Eggplants Stuffed with Onion and Peanut Paste

 Pressure Cooked Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine

Time! A four lettered word! But if you start looking for the deep meaning, all the time in your life will not be enough… This simple four lettered word is the most precious thing in everyone’s life! But it has become all the more valuable when I new joyous chapter of motherhood touched my life! Time has always been precious and now it has become a treasured part of my life!

With one over active 2 year old who is on testosterone overdrive, who has zillions of things to do and wants me to take part in all those zillions of things, 24 hours a day seems too less for all the fun, adventure and craziness! Lil Dumpling is at a stage where he wants to see, touch, taste, and give little jolts of shocks and heart attacks to his unassuming slaves for life (that’s us, his parents!). Jumping from table, chair, sofa, bed, and any raised platform has become the most loving sport of his life right now, which leaves us keeping our eyes glued to him at a record breaking time of unblinking our eyes! Oh, the joys of motherhood…

Simple yet delicious ~ Pressure Cooked Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine

With so much happening around, it is no wonder that I resort to the recipes which take very little time and also that needs less looking after! These days my trusted old pressure cooker has been burdened with double the workload. And with a new addition of microwaveable pressure cooker that I bought from our last trip to home in India, cooking has become less time consuming leaving me enjoy the crazy moments of motherhood with Lil Dumpling. I have been experimenting with various recipes that we love by cooking them in the pressure cooker. Some have been successful and some not so much… So I wanted to share few successful pressure cooked recipes which are usually made using stove top method with my readers who too are pressed for their time!

Success story ~ Pressure Cooked Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine

One such success story was making my most loved Pressure Cooked Stuffed Baby Brinjal/Aubergine/Eggplant. Whole baby aubergine is stuffed with spicy onion and peanut paste and cooked in a pressure cooker. Cooking them in pressure cooker not only saves time, but also the amount of oil used in cooking. You can follow any of my other recipes for Stuffed Baby Brinjals and cook them in the pressure cooker. For this recipe, I have sautéed the onions with other aromatic spices before grinding them to smooth paste along with some roasted peanuts. A generous spoon of this spice paste is stuffed into the slit baby brinjals and cooked in the gravy made using the same spice paste in the pressure cooker. Fuss free Pressure Cooked Baby Brinjals/Aubergine/Eggplant will be ready in no time! The result is a tender baby eggplant in creamy and mildly spiced onion-peanut gravy that will leave you wanting for more! You can use different spice stuffing for the baby brinjals and cook them in a pressure cooker. So what are you waiting for? Go on… Make some for yourself and your loved ones :)

Before I logoff, let me wish all my fellow Indians a very Happy Independence Day!

Purple beauty ~ Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine

Sautéed onions, spices and roasted peanuts for the onion-peanut paste 

Spicy Onion and Peanut Paste for the stuffing and gravy

Stuffed Baby Brinjals/Aubergine/Eggplant ready for cooking

Make best use of your time ~ Pressure Cooked Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine

---

Pressure Cooked Stuffed Baby Brinjal/Aubergine (Baby aubergines stuffed and cooked in a spicy onion and peanut gravy and cooked in a pressure cooker)
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins in pressure cooker and 20-30 mins on stove top
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Medium
Serves: 5-6 people
Shelf Life: Best served fresh but can be refrigerated up to 3 days
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or Akki Rotti with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice

---

Ingredients:
10-12 Baby Brinjal/Aubergine/Eggplant
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 tbsp Oil

For Onion-Peanut Stuffing/Filling:
2 medium Onions, finely chopped
3 large cloves Garlic, chopped
½ cup Roasted Peanuts
¾ tbsp Dhania/Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
5-6 Dried Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Saunf/Fennel Seeds (Optional)
1 marble sized Tamarind Pulp or ½-¾ tsp Tamarind Paste
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Optional but recommended)
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Easy and quick Pressure Cooked Stuffed Baby Brinjal/Aubergine

Method:
Prepare the Onion-Peanut Stuffing/Filling:

1. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, hing and dried red chillies. Sauté for a minute or two on low heat till spices change their colour and are aromatic.
2. Next add chopped garlic and onions and sauté till the sides of onions turn light brown, about 3 minutes, on medium flame. Switch off the flame and let it come to room temperature.
3. Grind all the above ingredients along with roasted peanuts, tamarind pulp/paste and salt to taste to smooth paste by adding very little water at time. The paste should be very thick as shown in the photo.

Proceed to Stuff the Baby Brinjal/Aubergine/Eggplant:

1. Wash the baby eggplants and pat them dry. Make + marked slits ¾ th way, keeping the stems intact.
2. Take about ¾ tbsp of onion-peanut paste and stuff the eggplants. Be patient, be gentle and take care not to break the eggplant.
3. Stuff all the eggplants and keep them aside. You can either let them marinate for 15-20 mins of continue to cook as instructed below.
4. Keep aside the remaining onion-peanut stuffing/filling.

Cooking the Baby Brinjal/Aubergine/Eggplant:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds and hing.
2. When cumin seeds start to sizzle and change in colour, about 15-20 seconds, add the remaining onion-peanut stuffing and fry it for 2 minutes.
3. Next add 2-3 cups of water and bring it to gentle boil, about 3 mins, on medium flame.
4. Place all the stuffed baby brinjals in the pressure cooker and close the lid. Let it cook for 12-15 minutes or for 1-2 whistles depending on the size of the baby brinjals. Let the pressure cooker release all the pressure before opening the lid.
5. Serve this irresistible and easy to cook Pressure Cooked Stuffed Baby Brinjal/Aubergine with any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or Akki Rotti with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice. A pure bliss!

Tender and succulent ~ Pressure Cooked Stuffed Baby Brinjal/Aubergine

---

Sia’s Notes:

• If using wok/pan, the cooking time will be different from cooking in the pressure cooker. And you also need to make sure gently stir in between to prevent the curry from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Also adjust the quantity of water used for cooking.
• The cooking time will also vary depending on the size of the baby brinjals. Make sure to choose same sized baby brinjals for even cooking.
• You can experiment by using different masalas or stuffing for the Pressure Cooked Baby Brinjals/Aubergine/Eggplants.