This Instant Pot chana masala recipe is an Indian restaurant favorite. Chickpeas cook so quickly in the Instant Pot, making this healthy vegan Indian chickpea curry a perfect weeknight meal idea. The curry is made with chickpeas and a rich and flavorful sauce of tomatoes and spices. [Instructions for Instant Pot and Stovetop.]
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Chana masala is a spicy curry that’s popular on many Indian restaurant menus. It’s a delicious and comforting North Indian curry that’s vegan, gluten-free, and protein-packed.
In Hindi, “chana” means chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), and “masala” means spiced. Chana masala is popular throughout India, but each region has its own version. This version is one that I’ve been making for many years based on a family recipe.
➡ Looking for more Indian restaurant favorite recipes? Try my Instant Pot lamb curry or Instant Pot chicken tikka masala. You’ll love them as much as I do!
This easy chana masala recipe is very similar to Punjabi chole masala. In the North Indian state of Punjab, chickpeas are called chole. Chana masala is also known as chole masala (pronounced cho-lay).
Using the Instant Pot yields chickpeas that are melt-in-your-mouth tender. With just a few minutes of prep and about half an hour of pressure cooking, you can make chana masala that’s authentic and restaurant-worthy any night of the week.
❤️ WHY YOU NEED TO TRY THIS VEGAN INSTANT POT CHANA MASALA RECIPE
- This chole recipe has complex flavors without the long simmering time due to the convenience of the Instant Pot.
- The recipe is customizable – make it as mild or spicy as you like by adjusting the quantity of chili powder and paprika.
- You can use dry chickpeas or canned chickpeas. You can make it with soaked dry chickpeas or unsoaked.
- It’s budget-friendly and makes great leftovers for lunch or a quick and healthy weeknight meal.
- You can add different vegetables like spinach or potatoes or even paneer cheese for variety.
- The Instant Pot makes it a one-pot meal, which means easy cleanup!
- It’s great for meal prepping or freezing portions to enjoy later.
- This is a healthy protein-rich vegan and gluten free recipe.
🧂 Ingredients you’ll need for Instant Pot chana masala
- Lemon juice can be used if you can’t find amchur. It adds the bit of the tang that chana masala is known for.
- Cumin seeds should not burn. Add them in, and immediately add the onions.
- Yellow onions or red onions can be used. Red onions have a stronger flavor.
- Green chili can be omitted if you don’t like spicy foods. I use jalapeno or serrano peppers. Serranos tend to have a more consistent spice level, while jalapenos can be hit-or-miss.
- Tomato paste mixed with two tablespoons of water makes it easier to incorporate. It can be substituted with two medium finely chopped tomatoes or one cup of canned tomatoes (coarsely blended). Cook the tomatoes until they break down and become paste-like.
- I like to grind coriander powder in my spice grinder by toasting whole coriander seeds and cooling them down.
- Ginger garlic paste can be used instead of minced ginger and garlic.
- Kashmiri chili powder is a milder Indian chili powder. If you want the curry to be even milder, substitute any part of the chili powder with paprika.
- Brown sugar is optional, but I like adding it to balance the tart and spicy flavors.
- Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans. They should be soaked overnight or using the quick soak method. You may use canned chickpeas or fully cooked chickpeas. Reduce cooking time to 5 minutes and reduce the amount of water.
- Garam masala powder can easily be made at home. But you can purchase it too.
- Amchur powder is a dried mango powder that adds a sweet and sour taste to chana masala. If you can’t find it, omit it and add some lemon juice before pressure cooking.
- Fenugreek is dried leaves (methi). Don’t use fenugreek seeds because they have a different flavor. A box of dried methi will last a very long time, and it’s shelf-stable. A little goes a long way.
Note: if you prefer to use store-bought chole masala powder or chana masala powder, follow the recipe, but cut the quantity of coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and fennel in half and add two teaspoons of the chana masala spice mix.
More details in the recipe card at the bottom of this post
💡 Recipe and ingredient tips for making chana masala curry (Punjabi chole masala)
Here are some tips for getting the best results when making this pressure cooker authentic chana masala recipe:
- Use good quality, fresh spices – If your spice powders have been sitting in your cabinet for years, do yourself a favor and toss them. Fresh ingredients make a better curry. I toast whole coriander seeds, cool them, and grind them in a spice grinder.
- Soak the chickpeas – I find that the curry tastes best if the dry chickpeas are soaked. If you don’t have time to soak the chickpeas 8 hours to overnight, you can use my quick soak method to soak the beans. If you prefer to use unsoaked garbanzo beans, increase the pressure cooking time to 55 minutes.
- Use the full natural release method – Once the chickpeas are cooked, let the pressure release on its own. Don’t manually release pressure. If, after 20 minutes, the float valve has not fallen, you can release the pressure manually if you wish. Learn more about the natural release vs quick release.
- Customize spice levels – Adjust the spiciness by varying the amount of chili powder or substituting all or some of the Kashmiri chili powder with paprika. You can add more chopped green chilies to give the curry more heat.
- Add some baking soda – If you’re chosing not to soak the chickpeas, adding baking soda to the Instant Pot before pressure cooking can help the chickpeas become extra soft.
❓ FAQS
Yes, you can double the recipe. Keep the cooking time the same.
To make pressure cooker chana masala with canned chickpeas, cook for 5 minutes with a natural release of pressure.
If the chickpeas are undercooked, close the lid again and pressure cook for another 10 minutes.
You can either pressure cook the curry for 55 minutes to an hour, or do an Instant Pot quick soak of beans.
You can use pot in pot method to cook the rice and chana masala if you use canned chickpeas. Pressure cook the white basmati and chana for 6 minutes.
Learn more about your Instant Pot…
- Start Cooking Later: If you want to have dinner piping hot, set your Instant Pot Delay Start.
- Deglaze and avoid food burn message: Learn how to deglaze Instant Pot and avoid the burn message.
- Symbols on Display: What do all those Instant Pot symbols mean on your Instant Pot display panel?
- Elevate Your Food: What is a trivet and why should you use it?
- Cook Two Dishes at Once: The Instant Pot Pot in Pot method allows you to cook multiple dishes at once, make cheesecakes, casseroles, lasagna, and hard boiled eggs in your Instant Pot.
- Soak Dry Beans Hack: If you forget to soak dry beans ahead of time, this Instant Pot hack allows you to quick soak beans in no time!
📝 How to make vegan instant pot pressure cooker chickpea curry
- Soak chickpeas and add onions
- Cook onions, add tomato, spices, chickpeas
- Pressure cook
- Finish with spices
Soak chickpeas and add onions
- Place the chickpeas in a medium bowl, and add enough water to cover the chickpeas by 2 inches.
- Soak the chickpeas for 8 hours to (ideally) overnight. Alternatively, use my Instant Pot quick soak method to soak the chickpeas in a short time. I do this when I forget to soak the chickpeas, and it works quite well! *
- Heat the Instant Pot in Saute mode, and once hot, add ghee or oil. Add cumin seeds and stir briefly, but don’t allow them to burn. [See my recipe for Instant Pot ghee].
- Immediately add onions, garlic, ginger, and green chili.
* If you want to make this recipe without soaking, pressure cook the dry chickpeas for 55 minutes to an hour. Adding a pinch of baking soda will make the chickpeas softer.
Cook onions, add tomato, spices, chickpeas
- Saute the onion mixture until it’s a deep golden brown, about 7 to 10 minutes. If you find the onions sticking to the bottom, deglaze periodically with a couple of teaspoons of broth or water.
- Mix the tomato paste with a little water and add to the Instant Pot. Saute until the tomato is cooked, about 3 minutes. The oil will separate from the tomatoes. Add a tablespoon or two of water if it sticks to the bottom.
- Press Cancel to turn off the Instant Pot. The spices will cook in the residual heat. Add coriander, turmeric, chili powder, paprika, fennel powder (if using), salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Stir spices until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pot with a tablespoon or two of water so nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chickpeas and water to the pot. Stir everything to combine.
Program the Instant Pot and release pressure
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. *
- The display will go from On to 35:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a natural pressure release, where you let the pressure release for 10 minutes on its own and then release the remaining pressure. Once the float valve goes down, you can open the Instant Pot.
* Pressure cook for 55 minutes to an hour if using unsoaked chickpeas. Pressure cook for 5 minutes if using canned or precooked chickpeas.
Finish with spices
- Add garam masala, amchur, and fenugreek leaves and stir to combine.
- Turn on Saute mode. Stir and heat through for a couple of minutes or until the curry has thickened to your liking. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Enjoy the chole masala with rice or naan.
More Indian Favorites
Love cooking curries and other Indian dishes in the Instant Pot but looking for new recipes? Try restaurant favorite Instant Pot aloo gobi (vegetarian cauliflower and potatoes). For a fusion recipe that’s a reader favorite, try chicken curry soup. From my home state of Kerala, there’s Instant Pot beef curry and for one-pot sensation you’ll love Instant Pot lamb biryani.
For more Indian recipes, be sure to head over to my list of amazing Instant Pot Indian recipes you need to try!
♨️ Stovetop Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, sauté onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies in oil.
- Sauté onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic in oil.
- Sauté tomato until the oil separates.
- Briefly saute spices, add water and canned chickpeas.
- Cook until the curry thickens.
- Finish with amchur, garam masala, and methi leaves, and simmer briefly.
- Garnish with cilantro if desired, and serve with rice or naan.
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
Instant Pot Chana Masala Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas or 2 (15 ounces or 400 grams) cans cooked chickpeas *
- 2½ cups water for soaking
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1½ cups onions chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced or garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced or ginger paste
- ½ jalapeno pepper (to taste), sliced lengthwise (optional)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or cayenne (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon fennel powder
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar optional
- 1½ cup water for cooking + more for deglazing
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon amchur **
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (dried methi)
- cilantro chopped, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- In a medium bowl, soak the chickpeas in water 8 hours to (ideally) overnight. Drain. ***
- In Instant Pot Saute mode, heat oil or ghee. Add cumin seeds and stir briefly. Don't let them burn!
- Stir in onion, garlic, ginger, and green chilis and saute the onion mixture until onions are rich golden brown. This may take 7 to 12 minutes. Be patient, and don't let the onions burn. If the onions begin to burn, deglaze with a tablespoon (or more) of hot water.
- Mix tomato paste with 2 tablespoons of water and add to the onions.
- Saute until the tomato is cooked, about 3 minutes. You should notice that the oil starts to separate from the tomato. Add another tablespoon or two of hot water if it sticks to the bottom.
- Press Cancel to turn off Instant Pot. Otherwise, spices can burn when you add them.
- Add coriander, turmeric, chili powder, paprika, fennel powder, salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Stir till fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pot with a tablespoon or two of hot water so nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add drained chickpeas and 1½ cups of water.
- Close the lid and Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 35 minutes.
- Do a Natural Release of pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods].
- Open the lid and carefully stir in the garam masala, amchur, and dried methi.
- Select Saute mode, and heat through for a couple of minutes. Garnish with cilantro if you wish. Serve with rice, bread, or naan.
Stovetop Instructions (Using canned chickpeas)
- Drain and rinse canned chickpeas and set aside.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan.
- When oil is hot but not smoking, add the cumin seeds and stir briefly. Immediately add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. Saute until golden brown, stirring frequently. Lower the heat, if necessary, to ensure onions caramelize and don't burn. This can take 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and, stirring frequently, cook until the oil separates and the onion mixture becomes paste-like, about 5 minutes; Add a tablespoon or two of hot water if the mixture starts sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Add coriander, turmeric, chili powder, paprika, fennel powder, salt, pepper, and brown sugar, Stir for 30 seconds.
- Add ¾ cup water and garbanzo beans. Stir to ensure the bottom and sides of the pot have nothing stuck. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer till thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom. Add more water if needed.
- Add garam masala, amchur, and dried methi. Simmer for another 5 minutes. The curry should be fairly thick, and the water should mostly evaporate. But feel free to add water as needed if it's too thick.
- Serve with rice, bread, or naan. And feel free to garnish with cilantro, if you wish.
Notes
- * If pressure cooking canned chickpeas, rinse and drain. Reduce the quantity of water to 1 cup. Pressure cook the chickpeas for only 5 minutes and do a natural release.
- ** If you can’t find amchur, use 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to add tartness. Add it in with the chickpeas before pressure cooking.
- *** If you don’t want to soak the chickpeas, use dry chickpeas and pressure cook for 55 minutes to an hour. Adding a pinch of baking soda will make the chickpeas softer.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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✅ Why Trust Neena at Paint the Kitchen Red?
I’m Neena, and I have a lifetime of experience working with pressure cookers. I know how to maximize the potential of a pressure cooker to consistently produce delicious and easy meals. With my Instant Pot expertise, I can provide valuable insights, troubleshooting advice, and innovative recipe ideas so you can trust me on all things Instant Pot!
➡ New to the Instant Pot? Get my Instant Pot instructions for beginners.
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Diane says
This dish was really tasty, and although the ingredient list is fairly long, I was amazed to find I had all of these ingredients on hand, and the recipe came together quite easily (I made the Instant Pot version). I will definitely make this again. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Neena Panicker says
Diane, I’m so glad you liked the chana masala recipe. Most of the ingredient lists for Indian curries tend to be longish due to all those spices!
Yoav M says
Hi Neena. My father-in-law is now staying with us and he is vegan and likes Indian and Thai food very much. He has always enjoyed chana masala when we’ve gone to Indian restaurants so I decided to check to see if you had a chana masala recipe… and I found this. I was confident it would be delicious because all your recipes are and you didn’t disappoint one bit. He loved it!!! I’ll admit I’ve learned your recipes are a bit too spicy for my palette so I always cut the pepper and cayenne in half but it turned out to have just enough kick for me to enjoy it and he enjoyed it too even though he loves everything super spicy. Thanks as always for a great recipe!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Yoav – thank you so much for sharing that. I’m really glad you found the recipe and liked it! I keep meaning to post an Instant Pot version of the recipe; it’s on the to-do list! You made my day 🙂
Neil says
Amazing!!! Thank you. 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks Neil! I don’t get a lot of people trying out my non-Instant Pot recipes (oldies but goodies) so you made my day!
Kate says
I made your Chana Masala recipe in the Instant Pot that I found on the Red & Honey website, and it was tremendous! Do you have an Instant Pot dal recipe? Would love to try to make dal in my Instant Pot, but not really sure where to begin since I’ve never made it before either in the IP or the stovetop. Thanks for considering a blog post on dal! 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Kate, how great that you found me through that recipe 🙂 Yes, I will add dal to the list of requests. I don’t have one yet. Thanks for your comment!
Kate says
Cool! Thank you!
Anar says
I noticed you tend to use tomato paste instead of tomatoes in your recipes. Any particular reason for this?
Thanks,
Anar
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Anar, thanks for your question. There are a couple of reasons. When my mom lived in places where tomatoes weren’t always in season, she used tomato paste as a substitute because it gave a fresher taste than tomatoes from cold storage which are kind of mealy tasting. I got the recipes from her, and continued to use tomato paste. I always have tomato paste in my freezer: I open a can, freeze on wax paper in 1 tablespoon quantities and store in a ziploc bag. I also like that tomato paste gives a nice tomato flavor but a very smooth consistency. You can definitely substitute chopped tomatoes. When I use chopped tomatoes, I tend to give them a quick blend to make them smooth (because my mom does this too!). But that’s not necessary.
Aya says
Hi!
Can I replace chana masala spice mix with garam masala spice mix? And would regular mustard seeds be as good?
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thanx!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Aya, garam masala is pretty different from the chana masala spice mix but you can definitely add it in (I do sometimes). However, only add in about 1 teaspoon or so, and add it in towards the end of cooking (about 5 min before). The notes section of the recipe has a substitute for chana masala spices – add in whichever of those spices that you have on hand. And yes, regular mustard seeds will be just fine.
Joyce says
Ahhhhhhh I need to try this! I have a lot of garbanzo beans at home that I have no clue what to do with, I kept telling myself I should either make a hummus or a curry but I am terrible at making indian food, all my curries end up tasting the same! or very bland. I am so glad I found you and that I found this! 🙂 I can be your young grasshopper and you can teach me the ways! 🙂 Yay haha
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Oh, I can’t imagine you being terrible at making something Joyce! You probably just didn’t have the right recipe! Let me know if you try it out.
Elizabeth says
I loveee chana masala! Yours look so good! I’m so bad at making Indian food, heh.