Kala Chana Masala – IP

Kala Chana Masala, black chickpea curry made in Instant Pot with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and lots of spices

Kala chana, black chickpeas are one of the most nutritious beans out there. It is high in fiber and protein, low in calories and keeps you full for long time! Adding kala chana to your diet means adding nutrition with deliciousness! These chickpeas taste amazing in any form. Whether you eat it boiled with just salt, red chili powder and lemon juice. Or make kala chana chaat/bhel for a fun quick meal option. Or this super comforting plant-based curry!!

This kala chana masala recipe is very close to my heart. I adopted it from my mother in-law!! It has my tiny little own touches to it. My MIL made it in Indian style pressure cooker and served it with some buttery sour buns. I love eating it with either buttery buns or jira rice along with some raita!! If my MIL could see this being shared on this platform, she would be so proud of me!! I am sure she is watching from up there and sending me her blessings!! One of those recipes we bonded over in our kitchen!!

This is also great for meal prep! The longer it sits in the fridge the better it tastes!! I like making it over the weekends and enjoy on busy week nights. BTW this is an adult friendly version, it is loaded with spices. I would recommend skipping serrano and red chili powder if you would like to make it kid friendly. If you end up making it and liking it, tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would like to see your recreation of this goodie!
Happy and Healthy Eating!

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Kala Chana Masala – IP

Kala Chana Masala – black chickpeas curry made with onions, tomatoes along with ginger, garlic, chilis and lots of other spices, made in in Instant Pot for ease and perfection!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 8 hours hours

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

• 2 cup Dry Kala Chana washed and soaked in warm water for up-to 8 hours
• 3 tbsp Oil
• 4 Cloves
• 4 Whole Black Peppercorn
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 4 Whole Dry Red Chilis
• 1½ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1½ cup Chopped Yellow Onions
• 1½ cup Chopped Tomatoes
• ¼ cup Tomato Paste
• 2 tsp Chopped Serrano skip it for kid friendly version
• 1½ tsp Grated Ginger
• 1½ tbsp Minced Garlic
• 2 tbsp Cumin Coriander Powder Dhana Jiru
• 2¼ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder skip it for kid friendly version
• 1 tbsp Garam Masala
• 2 tsp Chana Masala
• 1 tsp Dry Mango Powder/Aamchur
• 1½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• ¼ cup Chopped Cilantro

Instructions

• Wash and soak kala chana in warm water for upto 8 hours.
• Once chana is soaked for enough time, Put instant pot on saute mode. If using Indian pressure cooker, put the cooker on medium flame.
• Add 3 tbsp of oil. Once warm, add whole spices and cumin seeds.
• Saute till the spices and cumin seeds start to form aroma, and starts to change color to deeper brown.
• Add chopped onions, garlic, ginger and chopped serrano along with ¼ tsp of salt. Saute till onions are completely translucent while stirring it frequently.
  
• Add chopped tomatoes and saute till they start to loose water and become mushy.
• Add tomato paste and mix well. Saute for couple of minutes, add couple tbsp of water if the spice mix starts to stick to the bottom.
• Add all other dry spices listed above along with 2 tsp of salt. Mix well and saute the spice mix for another minute or two.
  
• Add soaked chana without water in the instant pot (or Indian style pressure cooker if using that). Mix well.
  
• Add 3 cups of water in the pot and mix again. Taste for salt/spice, add more if needed.
  
• Put instant pot on high pressure for 30 minutes. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally at least for 20 minutes. Let rest of the pressure release manually or naturally.
• If using Indian style pressure cooker, close the lid once water is added and mixed. Do 8 whistles on medium heat. Let the pressure release naturally all the way.
• Once you open the lid, take ½ cup of chana masala in a blender along with some gravy and blend it to a smooth paste.
• Add that paste to the pot and simmer the chana masala for 5-8 minutes while keeping Instant Pot again on saute mode or leave the Indian style pressure cooker on medium flame. This helps the gravy to get thicker without using any chickpea flour.
• Once done, garnish it with fresh cilantro . Serve it with side of cumin rice/jira rice or roties, raita and a lime wedge!