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 By Savita
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.
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?
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.
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:
Ingredients
- Chickpea Curry
- 1.5 Cup Chickpeas (dried, rinsed and soaked for 8 hours with 1/2 tsp salt)
- 1 Cup Tomatoes (8 ounce can of pureed tomatoes, or 3 medium ripe roma, grated)
- 1/2 Cup Red Onion (grated)
- 2 tbsp Canola Oil (or olive oil)
- 2 Garlic (cloves, grated)
- 1/2 tsp Chili Powder (or more, adjust per taste)
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric (Use only if curry powder mix does not have turmeric)
- 1 tbsp Curry Powder
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 1-2 tbsp Lemon (juice)
- Salt and Black Pepper (to taste)
- 2-3 tbsp Cilantro (for garnish)
- Serving Suggestions
- Rice (or quinoa, cooked)
Directions
-
1. Rinse pre soaked chickpeas under running water and set aside. -
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. -
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. -
4. Add rinsed chickpeas to pressure cooker pot with 1.5 cup of water. -
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. -
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 Recipe 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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