Easy Instant Pot Chana Masala Style Chickpeas

Instant Pot Chana Masala

I love Indian food and it’s been fun to introduce the flavors to my kids. This easy family dinner comes together in minutes and then you get to let the Instant Pot do the rest! It has similar flavors to traditional chana masala and is very easy to make. You can also make this in a slow cooker. See the Notes section of the recipe at the bottom for the info. This dish has veggies are all pureed into a sauce for extra flavor. I love doing this since it’s an easy way to add nutrition to the meal and the sweet potato makes everything super creamy and delish.

Ingredients You Need

To make this recipe, you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand and ready to go. Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent to your inbox.

Crushed tomatoes: Canned crusthed tomatoes are a great option here. Sweet potato: You can use freshly peeled and diced sweet potato or diced frozen sweet potato. Garbanzo beans: Fully cooked garbanzo beans (or chickpeas) are the typical bean used in this dish. Garlic: Fresh garlic adds flavor to this recipe. Spices including turmeric, salt, garam masla, cumin. ginger Canned coconut milk: Look for canned full fat or light style coconut milk to use in this recipe. Rice: Fully cooked rice is delicious for serving.

Quick Tip for Storing Fresh Ginger

I like to store fresh ginger in a freezer bag in the freezer and grate it on a fine microplane right into the skillet. It grates easily and you don’t have to worry about the ginger going badly between usages if you don’t use it often. So handy!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s a look at the process involved in making this recipe so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full information. TIP: We like to serve this with diced cucumbers, naan or pita bread, and plain yogurt. This rounds out the flavors nicely and provides some safe foods on the table if the kids decide they aren’t into the main dish.

Favorite Rice to Use

We like short grain brown rice or basmati rice. I like to buy rice from Lundberg to reduce the likelihood of excess arsenic as they test regularly and keep their levels below the EPA limits.

Best Tips for Success

Use fresh sweet potato or frozen diced sweet potato. Omit the garam masala if you don’t happen to have it. Store fresh ginger in the freezer in a freezer bag and grate over a microplane while still frozen to make it easy (and to avoid it going bad). Serve with rice, naan or pita, plain Greek yogurt, and cucumber. Freeze extras, once cooled, in a freezer container for a future meal. Use within three months. Serve some of the sauce, without the beans, to babies eating purees. Mash the beans lightly to babies eating finger foods.

I’d love to hear what your family thinks of this recipe if you try it out so please comment below!