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!
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!
