Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker

Made from scratch, world's simplest and healthy Chickpea Curry prepared with easy to find Indian spices and humble tomato-onion masala.

Posted On: Dec, 19 |  Author:
Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker
Diet Info: DF GF F LF Na LS VG V Fa

Starting Monday with a healthy and delicious Chickpea Curry, made with dried chickpeas (pre-soaked) cooked in Indian spices and tomatoes-onion gravy.

Creamy without the creams or nut milks.. this everyday chickpea curry is vegan, gluten free, dairy free and yet loaded with lots of flavor. It is also very quick to put together. Thanks to my trusty pressure cooker, this chickpea curry fly from kitchen to dinner table in about 30 minutes. 

Usually I see when we think chickpea curry vegan.. we think coconut milk or some nut milk in place of yogurt. Don't you think the same? This curry is vegan but little different. Different in way that it does not need milks or yogurt or nut milks for creamy texture. This curry gets creamy texture from chickpeas itself which is an Indian kitchen's old school hack (check in recipe instructions). 

I felt after Christmas festivities and cookies, a healthy dinner will make perfect sense. It does not have to be a smoothie because it is cold winter days. So something warm and spiced yet lean will be perfect. What do you say?

If your answer is yes, then bookmark this recipe for next week. And let's read on to make this simple chickpea curry.

Chickpea Curry Vegan and Gluten Free but very creamy without coconut milk or dairy | chefdehome.com

Pressure cooker cooking is most common way of cooking, legumes, lentils and even meats, in Indian cuisine. It not only cooks food faster... But also preserves nutrients and adds lots of flavor to the food. Whenever possible, when I'm making chickpea salads or other chickpea dishes, I prefer to cook a fresh batch in cooker than open a canned one.

When we prepare everyday chickpea curry at home, it is this curry and magic of pressure cooker.  A mixture of tomato, garlic, onion and spices sauted to bring-out their flavor and natural sweetness. everything is then combined in pressure cooker - masala, pre-soaked and rinsed chickpeas, and a few cups of water. About 10 minutes later, a flavorful pot of chickpea curry is ready to rock your winter dinner.

That was easy! right?

Simple Chickpea Curry prepared in pressure cooker | chefdehome.com

Soaking Dried Chickpeas Overnight

One important thing about cooking dried chickpeas at home is to pre soak chickpeas in fresh water. For best results, soak chickpeas overnight or at least for 6-8 hours. In this time, dried chickpeas will soak water and there skin will get soft. It is important to drain the water in which chickpeas were soaked and use fresh water for cooking. 

Creamy Curry without Creams

To make chickpea curry creamy and yet keep it vegan. I take out a cup of chickpea curry from the pot and pulse it with immersion blender or puree in food processor. I mix it back in the pot of curry and simmer it without lid for 5 more minutes. 

That's it! 

All creaminess you see in the pictures is by this magic hack. There is no dairy or coconut milk added to this chickpea curry.

This chickpea curry is not very high on spices and is perfect fit for every day light dinner. 

Still I would say, feel free to further tone down the spices, if you like, in the curry with milk/cream such as coconut milk (vegan) or yogurt (not-vegan). You can even mix in some lemon juice. That tone down the spices without adding any calories.

Simple and Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry made from scratch in pressure cooker | chefdehome.com

Chickpea Curry in Dutch Oven:

If you don't own a pressure cooker, follow the instructions below to cook same curry in a heavy bottom pot.

To cook in a pot, follow steps 1-3 below, then combine all ingredients in dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, bring to boil, cover with tight lid and simmer of slow for 25-30 minutes or until chickpeas are tender. Then follow steps 6 to finish the chickpea curry.

Enjoy!

Savita

Pairing Ideas:

Quick Oven Baked Naan Bread Homemade No Yeast Garlic Butter Naan Homemade Restaurant-Style Indian Garlic Naan

Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker

5 (4 reviews)
Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker
Total Time: Prep Time: Cook Time: Cuisine: Indian () Difficulty: Easy
Yields: 4 Servings - Serves: 4
(No. of servings depends on serving size.)

Ingredients

Chickpea Curry
Serving Suggestions

Directions

  • Step for Recipe - Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker 1. Rinse pre soaked chickpeas under running water and set aside.
    Step for Recipe - Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker 2. In pressure cooker pot or a saute pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. grated onion and garlic, then saute until onion are slight brown at ends.
  • Step for Recipe - Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker 3. Add pureed tomatoes with 1/2 tsp salt and cook on medium heat until oil separates (4-5 minutes) Then add all the spices with bay leaf and saute for 30 seconds.
    Step for Recipe - Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker 4. Add rinsed chickpeas to pressure cooker pot with 1.5 cup of water.
  • Step for Recipe - Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker 5. Transfer the sauted onion and tomato masala to pot with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Close the pressure cooker lid. Bring to full pressure on high heat. (or for first whistle if cooker has whistle indicator.) Then lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes (or 6-8 whistles.) Once done, leave aside to auto release the pressure and open the lid. Additional Notes: Instant Pot - Close lid of instant pot cooker. Set it to Pressure Cook. Set time as instructed in manual for raw beans/chickpeas. Once time is up, quick release pressure and leave lid covered for 5-10 minutes. Or let auto release pressure in 10 minutes.
    Step for Recipe - Vegan Chickpea Curry in Pressure Cooker 6. Discard bay leaf. Remove 1 cup cooked chickpeas from pot, puree in food processor and return back to pot. Cook chickpeas for 5 more minute or until gravy thickens a bit. Add fresh chopped cilantro and lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt/black pepper. Serve with rice or bread of choice and enjoy!
Savita's Notes:

Instant Pot - Close lid of instant pot cooker. Set it to Pressure Cook. Set time as instructed in manual for raw beans/chickpeas. Once time is up, quick release pressure and leave lid covered for 5-10 minutes. Or let auto release pressure in 10 minutes.

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34 Responses

  1. Simple but sooo delicious.
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  2. Nice
  3. I buy dry chickpeas at Sprouts.
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  4. I couldn’t find dried chickpeas at my grocery store :( I got canned instead. How many cans do you suggest using for this? I plan on making it for Meatless Monday tomorrow :)
    4-5 8 ounce can of chickpeas should work. Please reduce the cooking time. Also adjust the salt per taste since canned chickpeas have added salt. I hope it helps.
  5. I want to use canned chickpeas. How many cans do you recommend and is the water ration the same? (1.5 cups?) what would the time be in the instant pot? Thanks.. looks delicious.
  6. If make a big batch of this for my husbands lunches will it freeze well?
    Hi Elizabeth, fresh cooked chickpeas are perfect for freezing. I recommend freezing in small meal-size portions for easy reheat. I hope it helps.
  7. By chili powder, do you mean ground chili or the American chili powder spice blend?
    Hi Sarah, from Chili powder I meant ground dried red whole chili. The closest American version would be Cayenne (please adjust to taste). If you like heat, you can also use part dried chili flakes and part cayenne. This recipe does not need smokey or flavored chili powders, so I'm afraid the chili blend will not work. I hope this answers your question.
  8. great vegan dish, easy to make and so delicious
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  9. If I double the recipe, should I double the water in the recipe as well, or still do 1.5 cups?
    About 2.5 cups of water should be good.
  10. I just made this in the instant pot. Doubled the recipe and it came out amazing! I used the manual setting for 20 minutes. Thanks for this!
    Tiani, I'm glad you enjoyed. Thanks for sweet feedback.
  11. Made it tonight, exactly as you indicated. Turned out great, its delicious! Will definitely make again!
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
    Lauren, I'm glad you enjoyed. Thanks for sharing your feedback.
  12. Savita, I made a double batch of this tonight and its fantastic! Historically I'm not the biggest fan of garbanzo beans because of the texture, but this is great. Yum. Will definitely make again. Oh and 30 minutes in the Instant Pot on the bean setting with manual pressure release is spot on.
    Shiloh, I'm happy to hear you love texture of chickpeas in this curry. It is one of the most frequent curry in my home for similar reasons. Also, thanks for sharing Instant Pot settings for cooking chickpeas. Have a wonderful day! -Savita
  13. Haven't triedit yet...as I just bought a pressure cooker and want Savita's advice on whether it's a worthwhile purchase for a vegan, since I heard many grains, split peas, etc, should not be cooked in a pressure cooker? Thoughts? THANK YOU!!!
    Hi Jane, thanks for asking this good question. I have not heard of this new theory of not cooking grains in pressure cooker. Pressure cooker cooks food under pressure which helps preserve the nutrients. However, two things to consider: for legumes with skin, like these chickpeas or beans.. I like to pre-soak'em overnight so that pigments from their skin is gone. For rice and it's cousins, if not time pressed, cook in boiling water and discard extra water. This helps get rid of some starch. If that is not a worry, then go ahead cook anything in it. Rest, I speak per my experience, Pressure cooker is a great investment for meat eater or a vegan alike. I can't even dream about cooking legumes, grains by perching on stove for 30 minutes!! Another thing, if you need grains/legumes with some bite always follow the instructions as Pressure Cooker cooks stuff fast. This is not a place to write more or I can share a thesis on this topic. I hope to write an article sometime soon. I hope it helps and answers your question. Happy Cooking!
  14. Soooooooo Good! I made this as my first effort in my new Instant Pot. Fantastic, complex flavors, and so quick to the table.
    Hi Jennifer, I'm glad you enjoyed Chickpea Curry. Thanks for sharing sweet feedback.
  15. Hi Savita, thank you for this delicious recipe. Could you recommend a way to cook this without a pressure cooker? Thank you!
    Hi Olivia, you can prepare this curry in crockpot or dutch oven too... but it will take long to cook, key is to cook until chickpeas are tender. One easy way is to save time is use canned chickpeas and cook in dutch oven/deep pot with lid, using same recipe. It will be faster and will taste quite similar. I hope it helps.
  16. So simple and delicious!
    Indeed, isn't it! This curry makes me very happy when I want to keep things simple for dinner. Hannah, thanks for sharing your feedback!
  17. Made it! It was very yummy! I used the Instant pot, so next time I will probably cool for 20-25 minutes.
    Hi Abigail, I'm glad you liked chickpea curry. Instant pot does need a little more time. Thanks for taking time to write. Have a woderful day! -Savita
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