Start by washing and soaking the rice in some water. Dice the eggplant and soak in water to avoid discoloration

Once you have your onions sliced, heat some oil+ghee in your pressure cooker. I didn't dump lots of ghee like most pulao and biryani recipes call for (especially since we are working out everyday hehe..)When it was hot, I added the cinnamom stick, the cloves, and the bay leaf, let it saute for about a minute, the smell is just so heavenly (partial credit to the ghee :) ). Next went in the onions and I cooked until that got transparent

I added the eggplant cubes, some salt and sauteed it on high until the eggplant got slightly brown. Add the garam masla powder and tamarind paste. For the masala, you don't have to stick to my measurement, because it all depends on the flavor that you are looking for

I let this cook by adding a cup of water.Since I used 2 cups of rice for this recipe, (and thus need 4 cups of water), this 1 cup gets deducted from the 4 and I waited to add the 3 cups of water

You will need to check the salt quantity, as you add the water. When the eggplant comes to a boil, add the 2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water. Give it all a good mix, add the coconut (freshly grated / frozen / store bought) and coriander leaves. Add some salt if needed and close the lid

I let it go for a whistle and switched the stove off. Serve this hot with some home-made raita!