Instant Pot Black Chickpeas or Sookha Kala Chana – This is an easy Indian dish made during the festival of Navratri. It is vegan, gluten-free, and high in protein. Enjoy it the traditional way with Halwa and puri, or make a salad with chopped veggies.
It is the best combination ever – Halwa Puri and Chana
During Navratri, Kala Chana is served along with Halwa and Puri (see picture above). The idea is to have dishes without onion or garlic during Navratri. This is a 9-day festival, where on the 8th or 9th day(Ashtami or Navmi) 9 little girls (called Kanjak’s) are revered, fed this delicious food and given presents. None the less, this used to be my favorite day – good food and presents!
In North India, Kala Chana is made with just some basic spices and tangy dry mango powder or lemon juice. In South India, this is called Kala Chana Sundal, and garnished with freshly grated coconut. You will be surprised how delicious this can be without much added ingredients.
If you want to try more kala chana recipes, I have shared the recipe for Punjabi Kala Chana Curry. If you like chaat, try this delicious Kala Chana Chaat recipe.
Black Chickpeas or Kala Chana Nutrition
Black Chickpeas are dark born and smaller in size than the more commonly found white chickpeas. A half cup of dried black chickpeas has 360 calories, 5 grams of fat, 60 grams of carbs, 17 grams of fiber and a whopping 19 grams of protein. They are high in fiber and have a low glycemic index. These chickpeas are even more nutrition packed that the white chickpeas.
How to cook Black Chickpeas in Instant Pot?
It is important to soak black chickpeas before cooking. It helps with cooking faster as the chickpeas soak in the water and increase in size. However, if you forget to soak, you can still pressure cook them for 45 mins at high pressure. I made these Sookha Kala Chana in the Instant Pot. You can find these on Amazon or in an Indian grocery store (much cheaper).
There are 2 ways to make these chickpeas –
- The traditional way is to pressure cook the kala chana in ample water. Then drain the excess water and separately temper them with cumin seeds and spices.
- The method I have shared here is a one-pot method, where I first add the tempering and then pressure cook the chickpeas along with the tempering.
I like the second method more, as it is a one-pot way of making this dish in a pressure cooker. It is less work and has the same great taste. Give it a try, and let me know it turns out.
Blast from the past:
- Posted 3 months ago – Quinoa and Vegetable Pilaf
- Posted 6 months ago – No boil Yogurt / Dahi
- Posted one year ago – Punjabi Kala Chana Curry
Instant Pot Black Chickpeas / Sookha Kala Chana
Ingredients
- 2 cups Black Chickpeas (Kala Chana), rinsed & soaked in water for 4+ hours
- 2 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 cup Water , for cooking
- 2 teaspoon Dry Mango powder (Amchur), or lime juice
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, to garnish
Spices
- 2 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin (Jeera powder)
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne or Red Chili powder, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
Instructions
- Start the pressure cooker in Sauté mode and let it heat. Add oil, cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds splutter about 30 seconds.
- Add the spices and mix them with the oil. Quickly add the soaked black chickpeas and mix them with the spices (quickly, so the spices don’t burn being in the hot oil for long).
- Stir in the water for cooking. Press cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Cook in manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 30 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, do a natural pressure release.
- Add dry mango powder and mix it well with the kala chana. If there is liquid, in the pot, you can put on sauté mode again to dry it. It will also dry off as the chana cool down.
- Garnish with cilantro. Enjoy with the puri and halwa. Another great way to enjoy these is as a high protein salad. Add diced onions, tomatoes and lemon juice. Other add on’s that work great are diced mango or avocado.
Notes
- Additions: You can add curry leaves, julienned ginger along with the cumin seeds. In south India, this is called Kala Chana Sundal and garnished with fresh grated coconut.
- This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Programmable Pressure Cooker.
Cooked them today, turned out awesome with ginger and curry leaves. I think it is easier to digest it as well compared to recipes with onions/tomatoes and water.
Hi Ednakram – Glad to hear you enjoyed the Kala Chana!
How long should I cook 6 cups of Chana? Same time? And if the Chana is old how much should we change the time?
Hi Djrahu – The cooking time remains the same even if you increase the quantity of Kala Chana. I would say you can add add 5-10 minutes to the cooking time if the chana is old. Happy Ashtami!
i made it. I use kala chana from a can that is pre cooked. should I still leave it for 30 minutes? or will 5 minutes sufice?
Hi Krish – For precooked canned kala chana, I agree that 5 minutes will suffice. Hope you enjoy it!
Hi if I make it 1/2 cup would it be the same amount of time? (30 mins)?
Hi Dhara – yes, the pressure cooking time will remain the same even if you reduce the quantity. Hope you enjoy it!
Another winner. Made this tonight and it brought me back to childhood to kanjaks. I loved the puri and dry Chana! Thank you!!
This is our favorite with puri and halwa too. I love to give my daughter the Kanjak experience with this Kala Chana.
Wow, I just made this chana recipe and it has turned out so delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I can’t wait to try some of your others!
Hey Sara – Glad to hear you enjoyed the Kala Chana Masala. Thank you for sharing back your review!
It looks delicious.. i love chana recipes but yeah never tried in instant pot… Awesome share.. i found your blog on insta… So happy to found you…
Have a good day !
Glad to have found you as well. You have a wonderful blog! Instant Pot is the most used gadget in our house now.
Hello,
What is portion of water? Is it 2 cups of chana to 1 cup of water?
Thanks,
IS
Hey Indrani – For cooking I used 1 cup water for 2 cups of Chana, as I wanted to get a dry consistency. The chana was soaked for 4+ hours in ample water and then I drained that water before cooking. Hope you enjoy it!
Hi,
Just wanted to clarify – I hear from many people that soaking the dals/channa is not necessary as the pressure is good enough for it to cook easily. Is it true? have you tried to cook without soaking.
Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks.
Hey Pooja – Beans/Chickpeas can be cooked without soaking. However I have read that it is always better to soak and drain off the soaking water. In a pinch when I have to make something and forgot to soak, I do cook them without soaking. For this recipe, cook 45 mins on high pressure if using unsealed chana. For days, I typically cook without soaking. Hope that helps!
I ate this many times before, but I never cooked it.. it is very delicious..
Thank you!
Thanks – love all your recipes. This turned out great but the beans were not as soft as I’ve had before hen others make despite soaking overnight and pressure cooking in pot 40 minutes. Thoughts?
Hi Amisha – Sometimes the black chickpeas (or beans) can take longer to cook, if they are old. It is hard to know how old chickpeas are as they are probably in stores before we buy them. In such cases, I note if a batch of chickpeas is taking longer to cook, and then adjust the cooking time accordingly. So glad to hear you have been enjoying the recipes.