Eggplant Stew, Madagascar Pink Rice with Seitan (No Added Fat)

I was pleased with how quickly (3 minutes) and how well eggplant came out in the pressure cooker when I made a dish on July 5. I had a thick Italian eggplant, so decided to let my family try a version of what I made earlier. I made a few modifications, adding some Indian spices and ginger that my wife's sister-in-law would likely enjoy, as well as adding potato for more texture.

In the end, I didn't mix seitan in as I had last time, because I felt that it would clash with the Indian seasonings. Instead, I prepared Madagascar pink rice and, when ready to serve it, I mixed in some seitan. Here is how I made the main course:


Ingredients

• Medium to large Italian eggplant cut into 3/4" cubes (it ended up being about 6 cups); since it was organic, I kept the skin on
• 3 medium carrots cut into 1/4" slices
• Medium onion cut into 3/8" cubes with 1/4 cup reserved
• 3 cloves garlic clove, chopped finely (I was out of garlic, surprisingly, so used a medium shallot)
• 4 kale leaves, stems discarded (composted) and leaves roughly torn into approximately 3/4" squares
• 1 medium Yukon gold potato cut into 1/4" cubes
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 1T coarsely chopped ginger
• 1t (or to taste) finely chopped jalapeno
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 chopped basil leaves
• 1/4 t kala namak (black salt - or any other salt)
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1t black sesame seed

Process

1. I put everything up to but not including the basil and spices (i.e., all the vegetables except the reserved onion, as well as the bouillon cube and water) into the Instant Pot and set it to cook for 3 minutes in high pressure.
2. Once I was ready to serve, I would have gently let out the remaining steam, but it wasn't necessary as the pressure had dropped by then. I opened the top and mixed in the reserved onion, basil, salt, and spices.

Results

I was surprised that the dish was so soft and rather mushy, though I think it tasted good. My wife enjoyed it, as well, but I think that it was under-seasoned to her sister-in-law's taste (she is visiting from India). The eggplant didn't bring much flavor or texture to the meal.

Ideas for the future

I had feared that the potato wouldn't cook in only 3m, so cut it into such small cubes. To get more texture, I wonder what a 1/2" or even 3/4" cut would be like. I should try larger eggplant cubes and perhaps saute the eggplant first. There was too much water - I'll bet 1/4 cup would be plenty.