Preparing eggplant with less oil I love cooking with eggplant (or aubergine/brinjal in your specific English flavor). 

However to get rid of the bitter taste and slightly spongy texture, I end up using huge amounts of olive oil, which tends to make the dish heavy overall. I've had some success with grilling the eggplant, but for sauté or oven baking I always grab my oil and apply liberally. 

Are there any tips/preparations I can use to reduce the bitterness and sponginess of eggplant using less oil?
Put salt on the eggplant and let it sit for an hour to drain out the bitter fluids. Rinse with water afterwards to remove the salt.