10raw cashews soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and drained.
9baby eggplants cut into halves
3medium sized potatoes cut into quarters
⅓rdcupveg broth / water
1teaspooncumin seeds
1teaspoonturmeric powder
1teaspooncoriander powder
1teaspoongaram masala
2teaspooncayenne pepper powder/red mirch
Salt to taste
Fistful of finely chopped mint leaves
Fistful of chopped coriander
Instructions
Grind the cashews , tomatoes together until smooth and keep aside.
Heat instant pot to saute mode.
Add in oil. After 30 seconds add in the onions with some sprinkle of salt and cook for 1 minute.
Add in ginger and garlic , cook for 30 seconds.
Add in the green chilies , bell peppers and mix well to coat.
Add in the masalas and mix well.
Now add in the water .
Add in the tomato puree . Loosely cover it with some flat lid and cook for 3 minutes. Stir once or twice in between.
Add in chopped eggplant and potatoes . Stir to coat.
Press cancel to Cancel SAUTE mode.
Close the lid . Sealing position.
Cook on manual mode high for 2 minutes.
Quick release after 10 minutes by placing a towel on the knob or Natural pressure release.
Carefully vent steam if any after the pin drops.
And mix everything well.
Adjust seasoning if needed.
To avoid overcooking simply take out the inner pot with help of kitchen towel or instant pot safe mittens .
Notes
As this recipe calls for potatoes you will need good amount of salt .Start with little. You can always add it after tasting. Adjust spices to your taste. Potatoes used are approx 3-4 " tall.Substitute the baby eggplants with 1 big full size eggplant .If using roasted cashews then it does not require soaking. You may sub cashews with soaked almonds or peanuts. The flavor of the curry deepens after few hours . The curry will thicken as it cools down . I have used baby eggplants for this recipe . Just cut it into halves. You may use eggplant of your choice- just keep it 2-3” chunks. And I have even roughly cubed the potatoes in approx. 2” chunks. The idea behind keeping them so big is that I did not want a mushy curry. Big chunks will cook through but remain intact at the same time. The spice level of this curry is 3 on 5 . 5 being the hottest.This recipe is updated as on 01/08/2019 . with change in method and uses less cooking time now.Previously it was 3 minutes. But I have tested it 4 times with 2 minutes and QR after 10 minutes.Previously it was a DO NOT STIR after adding tomato puree. But new change is I have cooked puree for 3 minutes by stirring which deepens the flavors .The reason behind DO NOT STIR was that generally tomato based curry sticks to the pot as I have experienced in few recipes . Not stirring will not cause any sticking or burning and cook everything with steam . Though sticking is really less otherwise too. So try both ways- stirring and not stirring.When I tested it few times with stirring I found negligible sticking of food at the bottom.