If you're craving a cozy, flavorful, and comforting 30-minute one pot Indian meal that’s both easy and budget-friendly, Aloo Baingan is the perfect dish. This potato and eggplant curry is a humble, home-style recipe packed with warm spices and fresh ingredients. Serve Aloo Baingan as a vegetarian side dish with dal for a simple weeknight dinner.
Aloo Baingan is a beloved North Indian vegan curry that brings together tender potatoes (aloo) and melt-in-your-mouth eggplant (baingan), simmered in a lightly spiced tomato-based gravy.
The flavor profile is rich yet familiar — earthy and beautifully spiced without being too heavy. It's a versatile, homestyle dish that pairs well with roti, rice, or just a dollop of yogurt for a wholesome meal. Aloo Baingan is also very forgiving, it's hard to go wrong with it and when made well, it can be so comforting with a dollop of dahi.
This recipe is a little different though. In our home, we love to let the eggplant and potatoes shine so we only add the tomatoes in at the end to cook just until softened instead of making a gravy.
If you're enjoying an abundance of eggplant harvests this summer like we are, you'll also love these Indian Stuffed Eggplants (Bharwa Baingan).
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Why You'll love this Recipe
This is a dish you won't see at Indian restaurants! It's truly just a simple, homey recipe that is a quick and easy way for moms to get vegetables in front of their kids. We ate it quite often in the summers paired with different dals, roti, and a small bowl of dahi for a wholesome, well-rounded meal.
- One-pot meal that's easy to whip up in under 30 minutes
- Perfect way to use up fresh summer season eggplants and pantry staples
- Naturally vegan, gluten-free, and customizable to your spice level
- Tastes even better the next day, making it meal prep-friendly
- Nostalgic, home-cooked Indian flavor without complex steps
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
*Not pictured - ginger
- Eggplant - Ideally, use Indian eggplants that are small and round. Otherwise, use globe varieties of baby eggplant or even long slender Japanese eggplants.
- Potatoes - Use baby potatoes to get the same size half moons as the eggplant for the best texture. Sweet potatoes also work for a slightly sweeter flavor.
- Tomatoes - High quality fresh tomatoes are best. You can also use canned tomatoes if you want to make a gravy.
- Green chili - Use jalapeño, serrano, or Indian green chilis.
- Spices - For whole spices, grind the coriander and fennel seeds for the best flavor or use it pre-ground. We're also using asafoetida, garam masala, aamchur (substitute with lemon juice or chaat masala), cumin seeds (substitute with ground cumin), Kashmiri chili powder (substitute with red chili powder), and turmeric.
This recipe doesn't require onion or garlic but they are pretty classic to Indian flavors! We're using asafoetida which gives that flavor instead. You can add ginger garlic paste and sliced onion here but this homestyle recipe doesn't require any.
🍆 How to Make Aloo Baingan
- Step 1: Slice the potatoes, eggplants, and tomatoes into half moons. Dice the jalapeño.
- Step 2: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Add ginger and potatoes and cook until the potatoes are golden brown. Then, toss in the spices (except aamchur and fennel), salt, and green chili. Cook for another 2–3 minutes until the spices are fragrant.
Adding tomatoes: Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook until they soften, releasing their juices. Add the spices and continue to cook. The oil will separate on the sides. Then add the potatoes. This will result in the classic gravy base.
- Step 3: Toss in the eggplant pieces. Mix everything together, cover, and let it cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes and eggplants are tender.
- Step 4: Add the tomatoes and ground fennel. Cover and cook until the tomatoes have softened. Mix in aamchur and remove from heat.
- Step 5: Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top and finish with a spritz of lemon juice.
Serving Instructions
Since Aloo Baingan isn't a saucier curry, it's easy to serve with warm roti, naan, or plain basmati rice. Pair it with Whole Masoor Dal and papad for a full traditional meal. We especially love the eggplant with a cooling side of plain dahi or cucumber raita balances the spices perfectly.
Variations
- Dry Aloo Baingan: Skip the tomatoes and cook it dry for a more sabzi-style version.
- Add peas: Throw in a handful of green peas for color and sweetness.
- Spicier version: Add more green chilies or a pinch of crushed red pepper.
- Tomato gravy version: Add extra water and simmer for a slightly saucier curry.
- South Indian twist: Add mustard seeds and curry leaves to the tempering.
Expert Tips and Tricks
Salt your eggplant: Toss cut eggplant with a little salt and let it sit for 10 minutes. Pat dry before cooking to remove bitterness. Keep in water if not cooking within 30 minutes.
Don't over-stir: Stir gently so the eggplant doesn’t break down into mush. It also helps to pan fry the eggplant to golden brown prior to adding it back in.
Cover while cooking: Helps the vegetables cook faster and evenly without drying out.
Add water sparingly: If you want a gravy version, add water little by little so it doesn’t get too soupy.
Batch cook: Double the recipe—it tastes even better the next day!
Storage Instructions
Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat: Warm gently on the stove or microwave with a splash of water to freshen it up.
Freeze: Aloo Baingan freezes fairly well! Freeze in Souper Cube containers for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
More Indian Dinner Recipes to try
Recipe
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Aloo Baingan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500-600 grams Indian eggplants
- 300 grams potatoes, (~6-7 baby potatoes)
- 250 grams tomatoes, sliced (~2 medium tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- pinch of asafoetida
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 5 grams ginger, finely diced
- ½ jalapeño (or green chili), finely diced
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel
- salt, to taste
- ½ teaspoon aamchur
- 15 gram cilantro, chopped
- lemon, spritzed, to finish
Instructions
- Slice the potatoes into ½-inch thick half moons. Remove the stem of the eggplants and slice them into ½-inch thick half moons.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil on medium heat. Once hot, add the asafoetida and cumin seeds. As soon as it starts popping, add the sliced potatoes and finely diced ginger.
- Once the potatoes are a light golden brown and slightly translucent, about 5 minutes, toss it together with the diced jalapeños, ground coriander, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, and salt.
- Add the eggplant and toss everything together. Cover with a lid for 10 minutes, mixing in intervals, until the eggplant is tender.
- Mix the tomatoes and ground fennel in. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft. Lastly, mix in the aamchur and remove the pan from heat.
- When ready to serve, stir in fresh chopped cilantro and spritz with fresh lemon.
- Serve warm with roti, dahi, and dal.
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