Kala Chana curry in instant pot | Black Chickpeas Curry with detailed photo and video recipe – It is a mildly spiced black chickpeas curry made in the instant pot or a stovetop pressure cooker. Instant Pot Kala Chana is so easy to prepare and yet so delicious.
This Kala Chana or black chickpeas curry is a very simple curry and there’s nothing fancy about it. This is how everyday curry in India looks like – no butter, no cream, just some basic spices and comfort food for the soul.
This is a simple Punjabi vegetarian dish that goes perfectly with rice or roti. It calls for kala chana also known as black chickpeas – though I call them brown chickpeas because that’s what they look like to me.
Basic ingredients like onions, tomatoes and garlic along with the regular Indian spices go into it. This delicious black chickpeas curry is made quite often at home since it is one pot and you do not need to cook the chickpeas separately. It is vegan too.
This kala chana gravy has a thin soup like consistency and is not thick or creamy. It can be relished as a soup or even had with steamed rice or chapatis. They actually go very well with plain steamed rice and this combo is filling too.
While making chana recipes, always soak the chickpeas overnight to soften them. When we make black chickpeas we don’t throw the water and use it for cooking. Whereas for white chickpeas, we discard the water which is used for soaking them.
I suggest to cook black chickpeas in a pressure cooker rather than cooking in a pot. In a pressure cooker, the chickpeas cook much much faster than in a pot, which takes hours.
Black chickpeas are a rich source of protein and is excellent for growing up kids and people who are into sports or need lots of energy. Black chickpeas should be cooked really well. They might be difficult to digest for some folks. Hence adding cumin and asafoetida help in the digestion.
Kala chana curry in instant pot with detailed video recipe :
Kala chana recipe card :
Kala Chana curry in instant pot | Black Chickpeas Curry
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black Chickpeas (Kala Chana)
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/2 inch cinnamon
- 2 Cloves
- 2 cardamom
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 Onion Chopped
- 1 cup Tomato puree
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- Cilantro to garnish
- 2 tsp Coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp Garam masala
- 1/2 tsp Red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Wash chickpeas and soak for 6 hours or overnight in 3 cups of water. The chickpeas will increase in size when they are soaked.
- Start the instant pot in sauté mode and let it heat. Add oil, bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds to it.
- When the cumin seeds start to splutter, add chopped onion and ginger garlic paste . Sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add tomato puree and spices. Stir and sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Drain the soaking water from kala chana. Add kala chana and 2 cups of fresh water to the instant pot.
- Change the instant pot setting to bean/chili mode. This will automatically set the timer to 30 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally (NPR). If the pin has not dropped after 20 minutes, release the pressure manually.
- Open the instant pot , if still watery keep in saute mode and boil for 5 mins.
- Garnish with cilantro. Kala Chana curry is ready to be served with rice or roti.
Visit my other popular and related recipes collection like
Simple Brinjal(Eggplant) Curry in Instant Pot
How to make Kala chana curry in instant pot with step by step :
1.Wash chickpeas and soak for 6 hours or overnight in 3 cups of water. The chickpeas will increase in size when they are soaked.
2. Start the instant pot in sauté mode and let it heat. Add oil, bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and cumin seeds to it.
3. When the cumin seeds start to splutter, add chopped onion and ginger garlic paste . Sauté for 3 minutes.
4. Add tomatoe puree and spices. Stir and sauté for another 2 minutes.
5. Drain the soaking water from kala chana. Add kala chana and 2 cups of fresh water to the instant pot.
6. Change the instant pot setting to bean/chili mode. This will automatically set the timer to 30 minutes.
7. When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally (NPR). If the pin has not dropped after 20 minutes, release the pressure manually.
8. Open the instant pot , if still watery keep in saute mode and boil for 5 mins.
9. Garnish with cilantro. Kala Chana curry is ready to be served with rice or roti.
