INSTANT POT CHANA MASALA _ Instant Pot Indian Recipe

# Instant Pot Chana Masala: A Hearty Vegan Curry Recipe

## Introduction

Hello everyone! Today, we're diving into the kitchen to create a delicious and hearty vegan dish using the Instant Pot. The recipe in question is Chana Masala, an Indian chickpea curry that's not only flavorful but also incredibly comforting. This dish is a staple in my mother's kitchen, and I'm excited to share this quick and easy recipe with you.

## Ingredients

### For the Recipe:

- **Black mustard seeds or brown mustard seeds**: These add a spicy kick to the dish.

- **Cumin seeds**: Enhance the aroma of the curry.

- **Onion**: Serves as the base for the aromatic layer.

- **Serrano peppers** (or jalapeños for milder heat): Adds the perfect amount of spice.

- **Ginger, garlic, and green chili paste**: These form the aromatic foundation of the dish.

- **Ground coriander, chili powder, garam masala, and turmeric**: Essential for that authentic Indian flavor profile.

- **Lemon juice or amchur (dried mango powder)**: Provides the tangy element traditionally found in Chana Masala.

- **Canned chickpeas** (or dried chickpeas if preferred): The star of the dish.

- **Canned tomatoes**: For added depth and flavor.

### Equipment:

- **Instant Pot**: The key appliance for quick cooking.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Preparing the Spices

Begin by heating oil in your Instant Pot. Add black or brown mustard seeds and cumin seeds, allowing them to sizzle for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Be cautious as they can spit, so keep a safe distance.

### Step 2: Adding Aromatics

Next, introduce the chopped onion, green chili, garlic, and ginger into the pot. Cook these until they are lightly browned, which enhances their flavor and aroma.

### Step 3: Incorporating Ground Spices

Once the aromatics are ready, add ground coriander, chili powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Stir well for about a minute to toast the spices, releasing their essential oils for maximum flavor.

### Step 4: Managing Dryness

If the mixture appears dry, a tablespoon of water can be added to prevent burning and ensure everything cooks evenly.

### Step 5: Adding Chickpeas and Tomatoes

Stir in the chickpeas (canned or dried, soaked if necessary) along with canned tomatoes. The tomatoes add acidity and richness to the curry.

### Step 6: Cooking in the Instant Pot

Secure the lid, set the valve to sealing, and switch to manual mode at high pressure. Cook for 8 minutes (35 minutes for dried chickpeas). Allow a natural release for about 10-15 minutes before opening.

### Step 7: Final Touches

After cooking, stir in lemon juice or amchur for that tangy finish. Garnish with fresh cilantro and let the curry sit for 15-20 minutes to meld flavors, enhancing its taste.

## Tips and Variations

- **Spice Level**: Adjust by using more or fewer peppers or removing seeds.

- **Chickpea Choice**: Canned are convenient; dried require soaking but offer a different texture.

- **Tomato Substitute**: Fresh tomatoes can be used if available, offering a vibrant touch.

- **Safety Tip**: Use gloves when handling chili peppers to avoid eye irritation.

## Conclusion

This Instant Pot Chana Masala is not just a meal; it's an experience that warms the soul. Easy and quick, it's perfect for weeknight dinners or anytime you crave a hearty, flavorful dish.

Thank you for cooking along with us! We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more culinary adventures. Until next time, happy cooking!

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This article provides a comprehensive guide to making Instant Pot Chana Masala, ensuring all details from the transcription are included for an engaging and informative read.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHi guys. Today I'm making an Instant PotChana Masala. This recipe is super easy,it takes just 10 minutes of actualcooking, and it's 100 percent vegan.And it's delicious. If you want to seemore Instant Pot recipes or more InstantPot Indian recipes in particular, justlet me know in the comments below.If you're not familiar with chana masala orchole masala as it's sometimes called,depending on the type of chickpea used,it's basically an Indian chickpea curry.And chana refers to the type of chickpeaand masala refers to the spice blend orthe spice mix. What I love about thisdish--aside from the fact that it remindsme of my mother's kitchen-- is that it'sreally hearty and comforting but stillreally healthy. It's basically chickpeas cooked in athick, tangy spiced gravy. So how do youmake the perfect gravy? For this dish, itstarts with a few whole spices I'mfrying some black mustard seeds andcumin seeds in oil. If you can't findblack mustard seeds, not to worry. You canuse the more commonly available brownmustard seeds. They'll do just fine,they're just a little bit less spicythan the black ones. And the reason a lotof Indian dishes start with fryingspices is that it really enhances theflavor of the original spice. It makes itmore intense, bolder and it gives a morecomplex flavor to the entire dish. Youwant to wait until the oil is really hotin the Instant Pot before adding thespices.They'll sputter and spit a little bit sostand back so you don't get burned. Andyou just need about 30 seconds for that.Like most Indian dishes, chana masalaalso starts with a base of aromatics -onions, green chili, garlic and ginger.In fact, these ingredients are so commonin Indian cuisine so that I can alwaysfind a tub of green chilli-garlic-gingerpaste in my mom's fridge.For this recipe,I'm using two Serrano peppers, whichyields a nice medium heat. If you want itto be spicier, you can use another pepper.And if you want it to be less spicy, youcan omit the seeds where most of thespiciness is, or you can use how jalapenopeppers instead, which have lessspiciness than a Serrano pepper. I liketo use gloves when I'm chopping peppersbecause there's nothing worse thantouching your eye after you've touchedhot chili peppers. Trust me this is notsomething you want to experience. Afterthe whole spices have been toastedyou'll add the aromatics.Start by cooking the onion until it'slightly browned and then add the ginger,bay leaves, garlic and green chilies.Sfter you let these initial ingredientscook down and get a little browned,you're gonna add some ground spices. And no Indian dish would be complete withouta generous dose of spices. I'm usingground coriander, chili powder, garammasala and turmeric, along with thehealthy amount of salt and pepper. Thespices just need a minute to cook andincorporate. And if it seems dry, youmight want to add a tablespoon of waterto prevent burning because the Instant Potcan really suck up all the oil.There is one spice that's commonly usedin chana masala that I'm not using today.It's called amchur and it's dried mangopowder.It's made from unripe green mangoes andit gives the dish a tart, tangy flavor.Unfortunately amchur is hard to findoutside of Indian grocery stores, so Iwanted to keep this dish accessible. Instead I'm using some lemon juice atthe end to give it that tart, tangyflavor. But if you happen to have awell-stocked Indian spice cabinet, feelfree to use one and a half teaspoons ofamchur instead of the lemon juice. Whileit's a little more traditional to usewhole dried chickpeas instead of cannedchickpeas, I wanted to keep this dishsuper easy and quick. And honestly can'treally tell the difference. But if you dowant to use whole dried chickpeas, you'llneed about 12 ounces or one and a halfcups, which is about 3 cans of chickpeas.You also need to soak the wholechickpeas in plenty of water for about8 hours before cooking, so if you want toskip this extra step, just use cannedchickpeas. It'll turn out great, I promise.After all of the spices, you'll just addthe remaining ingredients - the chickpeas,tomatoes and broth. For the tomatoes I'mactually using canned tomatoes insteadof fresh because, honestly, the quality ofmost supermarket tomatoes in the U.S. ispretty bad - they're bland and they'reboring. And canned tomatoes are gonnagive a lot more flavor than fresh ones.But if you live somewhere with amazingquality tomatoes or it's tomato seasonand you have some locally grown tomatoes,feel free to use a couple fresh tomatoesinstead of the canned ones. It'll add anice freshness and vibrancy. Giveeverything a good stir and secure thelid on the Instant Pot and set thepressure release to Sealing instead ofVenting. Select the manual setting andset it to high pressure for 8 minutes. Ifyou're using dried whole chickpeas thatyou've soaked, you'll set it to 35minutes instead. Allow the pressure to come to a naturalrelease - this should take about 10 to 15minutes. Open the pot give it a stir andthen add the lemon juice and freshcilantro leaves.I recommend letting the chana masala sitfor about 15 to 20 minutes beforeserving because it gives a chance forall the flavors to meld together and italways tastes better the next day. I hopeyou enjoyed this recipe for Instant Potchana masala. If you did go ahead andgive it a thumbs up because it's alwaysappreciated when you do. And feel free toshare with friends and family who youthink might like this recipe. Thanks somuch for watching and I'll see you inthe next video, bye.\n"