Instant Pot Chana Masala

An easy pressure cooker recipe for a popular Indian spiced chickpea curry, called Chana Masala.  This hearty curry is made with chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, which are rich in iron, protein and are naturally vegan & gluten-free. 

How to Pressure Cook Dried Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans

When I can plan ahead, I prefer to cook dried chickpeas or garbanzo beans.  They turn out creamier than the canned chickpeas.

I soak them overnight, or for 10 hours, after which I rinse them well and pressure cook in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot. The same process can be followed in any electric pressure cooker.

If I am cooking them plain, I add water, salt and pressure cook for 15 minutes. When making this curry, that time changes to 35 minutes since chickpeas take longer to cook with seasoning.

If you want to cook them separately and add the seasoning later, you can follow this easy recipe to cook chickpeas in 15 minutes.

How to Make Chana Masala in 30-Minutes

By using canned Chickpeas, you can reduce the total cooking time to less than half for this channa masala recipe.

I simply rinse out the canned chickpeas and add them to the pot as per instructions, and pressure cook everything for 5-6 minutes.

Once the cooking is done, I wait 10 minutes before releasing the pressure manually.

Why Use Pressure Cooker for Cooking Chickpeas

Cooking legumes and beans is a breeze in Instant Pot, or any programmable pressure cooker, it’s EASY and SAVES TIME.  

It’s an easy method which is mostly hands-off, and the chickpea curry practically cooks itself. The total time it takes to cook this curry in a pressure cooker might be close to the stove-top one, but once you set your Instant Pot, you don’t have to monitor it. That saves a lot of time, which is always a big plus.

If I were to cook them in a pan over the stove, I would end up cooking them for around 50 mins-1 hour, to get a similar consistency.  Plus, I would have to stir the pan every now and then.

Easy Recipe for Chana Masala in Instant Pot

Step 1: I soak dried chickpeas in water overnight, or for about 10 hours. You can skip this step if using canned chickpeas.

Step 2: Heat oil on saute mode (high). It takes about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Add cumin seeds and wait for them to sizzle. Next, add onions, crushed ginger and garlic, tomatoes and saute for 1 minute.

Step 4: The garam masala and other spices go in next.  If you don’t have all the spices listed below, you can find ready-made chana masala powder in many stores and substitute about 1- 1.5 tablespoons of that in this recipe. If it contains salt, add only 1 tablespoon.

Step 5: Add the strained chickpeas and fresh water.  Close the lid and pressure cook on Bean or Pressure cook mode for 35 mins. In dup models, set the vent to ‘sealing’ position.

Step 6: After pressure cooking is done, wait for the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Carefully release the remaining pressure after that. You can do that by rotating the pressure valve to ‘venting’ position in DUO models, or by pushing down the pressure valve in ULTRA models. Open the lid after the pin drops. 

Step 7: Using a potato masher, mash a few beans.  This makes the curry creamier naturally.

Step 8: Squeeze fresh lemon juice, about a teaspoon.  Stir in roasted cumin powder and chopped cilantro.  Serve warm with naan or Jeera rice.

Make a Meal: What to Serve with Chana Masala

I like to make cumin rice with Chana masala. Sometimes, I serve it with Brown basmati rice as well. Adding a cucumber raita completes this meal for my family. Here are the recipes:

• Cumin Rice (Jeera Rice)
• Brown Basmati Rice
• Cucumber Raita (Indian Yogurt Dip)

Pro-Tips for a Delicious Chana Masala

• If you don’t have all the spices listed below, you can find ready-made chana masala powder in many stores and substitute about 1- 1.5 tbsp of that in this recipe. If it contains salt, add only 1 tbsp.
• To make Chana Masala in 30-minutes, use canned chickpeas.
• If using canned chickpeas, use 2 cans for this recipe. You may have to reduce the salt considering canned chickpeas are already salted.
• For best results, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes.
• To make this curry creamy naturally, use a potato masher and mash a few beans in the pot. As it sits for 5-10 minutes, the curry thickens and becomes creamy.
• Squeezing a lime towards the end makes this curry pop and it enhances the taste.

What is the Difference Between Punjabi Chole and Chana Masala

These days, I often find, that Indian food restaurants use both these names interchangeably, but in my opinion, there is a difference in taste and spices used for these two dishes.

Of course, like any classic recipe, there are many variations of this dish. Here are the differences between these two chickpea recipes based on how I’ve seen it being cooked in my family:

Punjabi Chole Recipe

• Punjabi Chole/ Punjabi Chana Masala/ Chole / Chole Masala is referred to a popular street-food style preparation of Indian chickpea curry.   It is more spicy and tangy than Chana Masala.
• You can find some of the most authentic Punjabi Chole preparations in and around Punjab and New Delhi.
• It’s distinguishing factor is a dark-brown curry or gravy, and a slight tangy flavor, both of which are a result of cooking Chole (chickpeas) with a combination of dry-mango powder (amchur) and dry pomegranate seeds powder (anardana powder).
• I also add a tea-bag while cooking Chole, to enhance that dark color.
• I don’t add any turmeric to Punjabi Chole, and add very little tomato.

Click here for PUNJABI CHOLE RECIPE.

Chana Masala Recipe

• Authentic Chana Masala or chickpea masala on the other hand, is a tomato-onion rich gravy, with an iconic reddish-orange curry sauce.
• I get that color by adding turmeric, Kashmiri red-chili powder (similar to paprika), and tomato puree, as detailed in the chana masala recipe card below.
• The tomatoes form a foundation for this curry and give it a slightly sweet taste.  That contrasts perfectly with the earthy spices.

That being said, both these chickpea curries are awesome, so no matter which one you make, you can’t go wrong!

More Instant Pot INDIAN VEGETARIAN RECIPES like this:

I have several more Indian recipes on this blog, including these vegetarian recipes, all of which are gluten-free:

• Restaurant-Style Easy Dal Makhani (Veg, Gluten-free)

  Rajma Masala (Kidney Beans Curry)(Vegan, GF))
• Paneer Tikka Masala (Veg, GF)
• Palak Paneer / Saag Paneer (Veg, GF)
• Dal Tadka /Dal Fry (Vegan, GF)

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