An easy Instant Pot recipe for a popular Indian spiced chickpea curry called Chana Masala. This hearty curry is made of chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, cooked in an onion-tomato gravy, seasoned with warm Indian spices. Enjoy this delicious vegan & gluten-free curry with cumin rice or butter naan.
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What is Chana Masala?
Chana means "chickpeas" in Hindi, and masala literally means "spiced", so Chana Masala refers to a spiced chickpeas curry.
Chana masala is a protein and fiber-packed, vegan, and gluten-free curry made with chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. Its worldwide popularity makes it a must-have at Indian restaurants.
It's a hearty North-Indian curry in which chickpeas are cooked in a Punjabi-style onion-tomato gravy, and spiced with commonly used aromatic spices such as garam masala, coriander, and cumin.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's an easy Instant Pot recipe for a restaurant-style curry in roughly an hour, most of which is hands-off pressure cooking time.
- You can use dried or canned chickpeas/garbanzo. To suit your convenience, I've included instructions for soaked as well as unsoaked beans.
- It's a very tasty way of incorporating beans into your meal plan. And a definite winner if you're venturing into a vegan diet.
Need more creative recipes for beans? Here's a collection of Instant Pot Beans Recipes.
Let's get started with this Instant Pot Chana Masala recipe!
Ingredients - Notes & Substitutions
The recipe is made with easily available ingredients and commonly used Indian spices. You can find them at your local Indian store, ethnic food aisle in a large supermarket, or online.
Chickpeas: I use dry chickpeas that have been soaked overnight. You can also use unsoaked chickpeas or canned chickpeas (cooking time adjustments included).
Oil: I prefer to make this curry with any neutral oil like olive oil or avocado. Feel to use ghee or butter if you like.
Cumin seeds: Toasting cumin seeds in hot oil adds a sweet-earthy flavor to the curry.
Aromatics: Chopped onion, Serrano chili, ginger, and garlic form the base of the curry here.
Finely chopped onion and chili by hand, or pulse them fine in a mini food processor. Remove the seeds and ribs of Serrano chili for mild flavors. Alternatively, use a jalapeno pepper.
I prefer to make fresh ginger-garlic paste, or you can use the frozen paste as well.
Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes are best for this curry but you can also use 1 cup of canned diced tomatoes.
Spices: Salt, turmeric and red chili powder are standard spices that I use in most Indian curries.
Garam masala, coriander, and cumin powder, and kasoori methi provide the authentic and bold taste and mango powder gives it a slight tart flavor.
I also use fennel powder (optional) which adds flavor and aids digestion.
Water: I follow a 1:2 ratio of beans to water, but you can add more to suit your preference.
Garnish: Fresh cilantro adds the perfect herby finish to the curry. I like to squeeze a few drops of lime or lemon juice, or add chaat masala to brighten up the flavors, but that is optional.
Scroll to the recipe card for a detailed list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Chana Masala
Let's look at the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make chana masala in Instant Pot:
Prepare Beans: Soak dried chickpeas in water overnight, or for about 10 hours. You can skip this step if using canned or precooked chickpeas. If using canned beans, rinse and drain them.
Alternatively, you can cook a batch of plain chickpeas ahead of time using this easy Instant Pot Chickpeas recipe.
Saute Onions: Heat oil on saute mode (high), add cumin seeds and wait for them to sizzle. Next, add onions and cook them until they get transluscent, about 3-4 minutes. (pic 1 & 2)
Add aromatics and spices: Now add in ginger, garlic, green chilies and cook another minute. Tomatoes and spices go in next along with a few tablespoons of water to deglaze the pot. Cancel Saute. (pic 2, 3, 4)
Pressure Cook: Add the drained chickpeas and freshwater. Close the lid and pressure cook for 45 minutes. (pic 5, 6 & 7)
Release Pressure: After pressure cooking wait for the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, and then carefully release the remaining pressure. Open the lid after the pin drops.
Thicken Curry: Using a potato masher, mash a few beans. This makes the curry creamier naturally. You can also cook it down on saute mode.
Garnish: Squeeze fresh lemon juice, or add chaat masala to finish this curry. Stir in chopped cilantro and enjoy. (pic 8)
Serving Suggestions
Here are some of my favorite ways to serve healthy Chana Masala:
Rice: I like to serve chana with cumin rice (jeera rice). You can also switch that with brown basmati rice to increase the fiber content of your meal. If you prefer plain white rice instead, check out this evergreen steamed basmati rice recipe.
Flatbreads: To enjoy a restaurant-style spread, serve this with garlic naan or butter naan. You can also serve this with homemade roti or paratha.
Side Dishes: For a complete a homestyle meal, add a side of crunchy cucumber raita or boondi raita . To add a vegetable side dish, try bhindi masala or aloo gobi.
Fusion: Switch up your menu and serve Chana Masala Tacos with a fresh cucumber salsa.
Low-Carb: If you're following a low-carb diet, you can cut out the carbs from rice since chickpeas are already high in carbs. Serve them with cauliflower rice instead.
How to Store & Freeze
Store chana masala in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You can freeze it in a freezer-safe container or food storage bag for up to a month. To reuse, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Spices: If you're using ready-made chole masala powder instead of the listed spices, add about 1-1.5 tablespoon. If it contains salt, add only 1 tablespoon.
- Fennel Powder: I like to add fennel powder since it helps in the digestion of beans and legumes, but it is optional.
- Make it in 30 minutes: To make Chana Masala in 30-minutes, use canned chickpeas.
- Canned beans: If using canned chickpeas, use 2 cans for this recipe. You may have to reduce the salt considering canned chickpeas are already salted.
- Releasing pressure: For best results, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes.
- Thicken the curry: To make this curry creamy naturally, use a potato masher and mash a few beans in the pot. Additionally, you can simmer it on saute mode until it thickens to your liking.
- Finishing touches: A few drops of lime juice towards the end makes this curry pop and it enhances the taste. This is totally optional though.
Frequently Asked Questions
Garam masala is a ground Indian spice mix containing whole warm spices like coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and cardamom, just to name a few. Most chana masala spice blends contain garam masala spices along with dry mango powder for tartness.
Chana masala tastes creamy from the chickpeas with hints of tartness from the dry mango powder.
Chana masala spice mix is made of garam masala spices including coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and fennel, along with dry mango powder, and dry fenugreek leaves.
No, it's not. Masala is a common term that refers to a curry of some sort. While chana masala refers to chickpeas cooked in an onion-tomato gravy, tikka masala most often refers to grilled protein simmered in a spiced tomato sauce.
While chana masala is a curry made with an onion-tomato gravy, Chole gravy is made with very little to no tomatoes. The prominent tart flavors in chole are achieved by adding tamarind or pomegranate seed powder.
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📖 Recipe
Chana Masala
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Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry chickpeas rinsed and soaked in 4 cups water, for 8-10 hours (see notes for unsoaked or canned)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste 1 inch ginger
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste 3-4 cloves
- 1 cup onion finely chopped (1 medium)
- 2 serrano chillies for mild spice, de-seed and remove ribs
- 2 roma tomato Deseeded and finely chopped, or 1 cup diced tomatoes
Spices
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2-3 teaspoons garam masala adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or paprika
- ½ teaspoon fennel powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon amchur (mango powder) or lime/ lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon fenugreek leaves kasoori methi
- 2 cups water add more depending on your consistency preference
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice or ½ teaspon chaat masala (optional)
Instructions
Soak Dried Chickpeas or Use Canned
- Rinse and soak dry chickpeas in about 4 cups water, overnight, or at least 8-10 hours. Drain and rinse them before cooking. Skip this step if using unsoaked chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain them.
Saute and Pressure Cook
- Turn on Saute adjust it to high. Heat oil (or ghee) and add cumin seeds. When cumin begins to splutter, add onions and saute them for 3-4 minutes.
- Add ginger and garlic paste, along with green chilies, and saute for another minute. Now add the tomato, and all the spices along with a few tablespoons of water. Use that to deglaze the pot and scrape off any brown bits stuck at the bottom. Cancel Saute.
- Add chickpeas, and water and give it a stir. Close the lid, vent set to 'sealing', and pressure cook for 45 minutes at Bean/Chili or Manual mode. If using unsoaked dry chickpeas, adjust the pressure cook time to 60 minutes. If using canned chickpeas, reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.
- Once cooking time is up, wait for the pressure to release naturally for 10-15 minutes, followed by manual pressure release. Open the lid after the pin drops.
Finish and Serve
- Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon, mash a few beans. This makes the curry creamy and thick naturally. To thicken it more, simmer for a few minutes on saute mode.
- Garnish with cilantro and squeeze a few drops of lime or lemon juice. Serve with Puri, Naan, or Cumin rice!
Notes
- Spices: If you don't have all the spices listed below, you can find ready-made chole masala powder in many stores and substitute about 1-1.5 tablespoon of that in this recipe. If it contains salt, add only 1 tablespoon.
- Make it in 30 minutes: To make Chana Masala in 30-minutes, use canned chickpeas.
- Canned beans: If using canned chickpeas, use 2 cans for this recipe. You may have to reduce the salt considering canned chickpeas are already salted.
- Releasing pressure: For best results, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes.
- Thicken the curry: 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. You can also simmer it on saute mode until it thickens to your liking. Please know that the curry will also thicken as it cools.
- Finishing touches: A few drops of lime juice towards the end makes this curry pop and it enhances the taste. This is totally optional though.
- Cooking Time: The pressure cooking time has been updated to 45 minutes (from 35) to work consistently across different brands of dried chickpeas.
Katie Dee says
Absolutely delicious. I didn't have fenugreek or chilies, so I tossed in some red pepper flakes. Often, IP recipes for curries end up being bland and/or watery, but this came out so flavorful and the perfect consistency (I used 1 c dry unsoaked chickpeas and 2c water). I will definitely be making this again. It's so good, I wonder if I could double it-- for a 6 quart, would that lead to a disaster?
Aneesha says
Hi Katie, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And yes, you can absolutely double the recipe in a 6 or 8qt cooker.
Jaspreet says
Hi Aneesha, the addition of tomatoes is missing from the recipe card. Thank you for this recipe — I've been using it for almost 2 years now. Your website has seriously taught me how to cook.
Aneesha says
Hi Jaspreet, that's so sweet of you, thank you! I'm so glad you like my recipes. And thank you for pointing out the missing ingredient, I fixed it 🙂
Cc says
If using canned puréed tomatoes, how much is equivalent to 2 Roma tomatoes?
Aneesha says
Hi CC, 1/2 cup should be good. Enjoy!
Stephanie says
My favourite chana masala recipe! We make it on repeat - easy and delicious!
Aneesha says
Thank you so much Stephanie ????????. I'm so glad you enjoy it!