Instant pot Chickpea curry (Chana Masala)

This Instant pot chickpea curry is an easy and quick version of restaurant-style Chana masala using an Instant pot. This chickpea curry is vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for lunch and dinner. Serve it with either basmati rice or naan bread, and quickly make the restaurant-style food at home.

The Chana Masala curry in Indian restaurants is an Indian-style Chickpea curry cooked in an onion-tomato mixture and spices. Chana means chickpeas, and masala means Indian-style onion tomato sauce.

Traditionally, chickpeas are pressure cooked and then simmered in onion tomato gravy so that chickpeas absorb all the flavor. This post shows how to make chana masala in the Instant pot. You can make this curry in less time and with all the flavors.

Check my vegan chana masala post to cook this curry using the stovetop method.

Ingredients

• Chickpeas: I am using already-cooked chickpeas in this recipe and again cooking them in the onion tomato gravy. In this way, chickpeas will be flavored well. But you can use dried chickpeas also to make this Instant pot chana masala. The difference would be cooking time and water content. Check my Instant pot chickpeas recipe to batch-cook the chickpeas and store them.
• Aromatics: I used finely chopped onions and ginger garlic paste to flavor the curry. Instead of ginger garlic paste, you can also use finely chopped ginger and garlic. You can even use powdered garlic and ginger if fresh ingredients are unavailable.
• Tomatoes: Using my handheld chopper, I pureed the fresh tomatoes into a rough paste and used to make this curry. You can also use canned tomatoes or canned tomato puree. Crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes also work. You can even roughly chop the fresh tomatoes and make this curry as we are using the pressure cooker. 
• Spices: We only need basic spices like turmeric powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, red chili powder, and garam masala to make this curry. 

Instructions

• If you are using dried chickpeas, soak the chickpeas for at least 8 hours or overnight. Discard the water from soaked chickpeas, rinse them 2 to 3 times, and keep them aside.
• Start the Instant pot in saute mode.

• Add oil, bay leaf, cumin seeds, ginger paste, and garlic paste.

• Once the cumin seeds start spluttering, add chopped onions. Saute them for 3 to 4 minutes. 

• Now add tomato purée and cook it for 4 to 5 minutes.

• Add salt, spice powders to this cooked tomato mixture and mix it well.

• Add cooked chickpeas and stir it, so the tomato mixture is coated well with the chickpeas.

• Now add the water to this chickpeas tomato mixture. Deglaze the pot to avoid burn signals.

• Mix it well and stop the Instant pot saute mode.
• Close the Instant pot with its lid and seal the vent. Start the Instant pot again in manual or pressure cook mode and cook it on HIGH pressure for 5 minutes.
• If your chickpeas are already soft, you can simmer the curry for 5 minutes in saute mode or pressure cook for 5 minutes on low pressure.
• If you are using uncooked chickpeas, set the timer for 35 minutes and cook it on HIGH pressure. And use 1.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of dried chickpeas.
• When the Instant pot finishes cooking, wait 10 minutes and release the pressure carefully. You can wait for natural pressure release also.

• Mix the curry once, and the easy chickpea curry is ready to serve with basmati rice and naan bread.
• I sometimes use cashew cream to thicken the curry and make it creamy. 

• Garnish the curry with fresh cilantro leaves for added flavor.
• And the flavorful and delicious Instant pot Chickpea curry is ready to serve!

Cooking times and water ratio 

Recipe Notes & Variations

• This Instant pot chickpea curry will be a little soupy in consistency. To make the dry version of this chickpea masala curry, simmer the curry for around 5 minutes once you release the pressure. And while simmering the curry, gently mash a few chickpeas using the back of the spoon.
• Instead of water, you can use vegetable broth or coconut milk for cooking the curry. Coconut milk will make the curry rich, creamy, and less spicy. 
• You can use thin coconut milk or full-fat coconut milk to make the coconut chickpea curry.
• I like the chickpea curry to be creamy. So I added cashew cream at the end. 
• If you do not have cashew cream handy, you can also use cashew butter or almond butter. You can even use fresh cream.
• If you get dried fenugreek leaves, add ½ teaspoon of them. If you are using chana masala powder, you can skip these, and that blend will already have dried fenugreek leaves. 
• While making this curry, you can add a cup of potato cubes or baby potatoes along with cooked chickpeas and enjoy the delicious potato chickpea curry. However, potatoes will be overcooked if you use dried and soaked chickpeas, so I do not recommend them.
• I sometimes add leafy greens like spinach, Kale, fenugreek leaves, or swiss chard after the pressure cooking step and simmer for a couple of minutes.
• You can use half a teaspoon of dry mango powder to make the curry a little tangy.
• You can use a chana masala spice blend or chole masala blend to make this curry. Skip red chili powder and garam masala in this recipe and use 1 tablespoon chana masala powder. You can taste the curry and add more chili powder to make it spicy.
• Before serving, add a dash of fresh lemon juice and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves for added flavor and taste.

Serving & Storage

Plain basmati rice is the best and a favorite side dish to pair with this Indian-style chickpea curry. Naan bread and everyday Indian flatbread chapati also pair very well with this curry.

Leftovers of this curry taste delicious, and you can store it for a day or two in the refrigerator. Also, you can freeze the curry for around three months.

I usually batch cook, freeze chickpeas, and make this curry when needed.

FAQs

You will like my other Instant pot vegetarian curry recipes as you are here. Do try them out!

Instant pot black-eyed peas curry

Instant pot lentil coconut curry

Instant pot Chickpea vegetable curry

Instant pot potato spinach curry

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