Punjabi Chole Masala / Chana Masala / Chickpeas Curry is a favorite Indian dish. This one-pot recipe for the authentic Chana Masala can be made in the Instant Pot or stovetop Pressure Cooker. A healthy protein-rich vegan and gluten free chickpea recipe.
Chole with bhatura or naan was a favorite weekend meal growing up. This restaurant style Chana Masala is such a delicious and healthy dish. Chickpeas take very long to cook, hence they are perfect for pressure cooking.
Usually chole is pressure cooked separately and then mixed in the onion-tomato gravy. However to make this a true one-pot one-shot recipe, I first made the onion-tomato gravy in the pot and then added soaked chickpeas and cooked them along with the gravy. They come out perfectly. With the instant pot, the best part is that you can set it on a timer to pressure cook and forget. This is one of the most popular Instant Pot Indian Recipe.
If you like indian food, check out this amazing list of 29 Instant Pot Indian Vegetarian Recipes. If you are new to the instant pot, check out my Instant Pot Beginners Manual.
Watch How to Make Chana Masala
Chole Masala Powder
One of the most important ingredients is Chole Masala powder. I have used simple ingredients easily available. Traditionally, amla or dried Indian gooseberry is added to get the color and tangy flavor. People also use teabags to get the dark color. However, I have skipped both of them and just added dry mango powder to get the tangy flavor. I use the Everest brand Chole Masala to prepare chole. If using store-bought chole masala, I recommend always using “Chole Masala” and not chana masala. They taste very different. In a crunch, you could still use the chana masala you have at hand. If you don’t have chole masala, you can also replace it with a blend of the following ingredients. Just grind them in a spice grinder to a powder and use them in this recipe.
- 2 black cardamom
- 5 cloves (or Laung)
- 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne or Red Chili powder
Curious about Indian Spices? Check out my detailed guide for Indian Spices & Herbs.
How to make Chana Masala in Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot?
Let’s go through the step-by-step recipe to make Chole in a pressure cooker. It is important to start with soaking the chickpeas overnight or at least for 4+ hours. After the soaking time is complete, drain the water from the chickpeas and set them aside. (See frequently asked questions if you forgot to soak chickpeas)
- When you are ready to cook the chole, start the Instant Pot in sauté mode. Add in the whole spices – cumin seeds, bay leaves, black peppercorns – and ginger, garlic, and green chili.
- When the ginger garlic turns golden brown, add chopped onions and sauté for about 3 minutes. Then add the tomato and spices. Stir in the chickpeas and add 1.5 cups of water.
- Change the Instant Pot setting to manual mode for 35 minutes with the vent in sealing position. When the Instant Pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. If the pressure does not release in 20 minutes, you can manually release the pressure.
- If you like a thicker gravy, use a hand masher to mash the chole a bit. Now add the dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and dry mango powder (amchur). If you don’t have dry mango powder, replace it with lemon juice.
- Garnish with cilantro. Serve this delicious Punjabi chole with naan, bhatura, or parathas. They also taste great with plain or jeera rice.
How to make set-and-forget Chana Masala?
Lately, I have been trying to make Chana Masala by just adding all the ingredients to the pot and pressure cooking (often called the dump-and-go method). You will be surprised that it works like a charm. The chole are cooked really well and have almost the same taste as when onions and tomatoes are sautéed to make the curry.
If you are short on time and want to skip the effort to saute, give this method a try!
This method works great for Rajma, Chickpea Spinach Curry and Coconut Chickpea Curry too.
Frequently Asked Questions for Pressure Cooker Chana Masala
In an ideal world, you want to soak chickpeas for 4+ hours or overnight, which makes them absorb water and easy to cook. However, if you forget, the first option is to cook them in the pressure cooker for longer, about 50 minutes at high pressure.
Another trick is to soak the chickpeas in hot water for about an hour. Then use them in the recipe.
Yes, canned chickpeas can work well in this recipe. 1 cup of dry chickpeas is about 2.5-3 cups cooked, hence I suggest using two 15-oz cans of chickpeas. Drain the canned chickpeas and rinse them before using. Reduce the amount of water you add while cooking to one cup. Pressure cook for only 10 minutes in the Instant Pot and for 2 whistles in a stovetop pressure cooker.
No, the same cooking time works even if you half or double the quantity.
You can skip the green chili pepper and cayenne. To reduce heat further, you can reduce the quantity of chole masala blend.
Yes! Brown rice takes about 25-35 minutes to cook pot-in-pot, so it would work perfectly when cooking Chana Masala in a pressure cooker. See my Dal Makhani with Rice recipe for detailed instructions.
Other recipes for you to try in your Instant Pot:
Instant Pot Chana Masala / Punjabi Chole Masala Recipe in Pressure Cooker
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chickpeas (Chole/Garbanzo beans), washed (250 ml)
- 3 cups Water, for soaking
- 1.5 cups Water, for cooking
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 Green Chili Pepper, chopped (optional)
- 5 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1″ inch Ginger, grated
- 1.5 cups Onion, diced
- 3/4 cup Tomatoes, chopped or 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Dried Fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi)
- Cilantro, to garnish
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne or Red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1 tablespoon Chole Masala
- 1 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Dry Mango powder (Amchur)
Whole Spices
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 2 leaves Bay leaf (Tej Patta)
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
- 1 inch Cinnamon (Dalchini)
Instructions
- Wash and soak chickpeas in 3 cups of water overnight or at least for 4+ hours.
For Instant Pot Chana Masala:
- Start instant pot in sauté mode. Add oil, whole spices (cumin seeds, bay leaves, black peppercorn, cinnamon), ginger, garlic and green chili.
- When the ginger and garlic turn golden brown, add onions and sauté for 3 minutes
- Add tomato and all spices except dry mango powder. Drain the chickpeas soaking water. Add chickpeas and water for cooking. Stir well.
- Change the instant pot setting to bean/chili mode for 35 minutes with vent in sealing position. (This is the same as pressure cook on high pressure for 35 minutes)
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. If the pin does not drop in 20 minutes, you can release the pressure and open the instant pot.
- If you like a thicker gravy, use a hand masher or the back of your ladle to mash the chole a bit. Add the dried fenugreek leaves and dry mango powder. Change the instant pot setting to sauté mode and let it boil for 2 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro. Chole Masala is ready to be served with naan or bhatura.
For Stovetop Pressure Cooker Chana Masala
- Heat oil in the pressure cooker on medium-high heat. Add whole spices (cumin seeds, bay leaves, black peppercorn, cinnamon), ginger, garlic and green chili.
- When the ginger and garlic turn golden brown, add onions and sauté for 3 minutes
- Add tomato and all spices except dry mango powder. Drain the chickpeas soaking water. Add chickpeas and water for cooking. Stir well.
- Pressure cook for 6-7 whistles or till the chana can be broken easily between two fingers. Let the pressure release naturally.
- If you like a thicker gravy, use a hand masher or the back of your ladle to mash the chole a bit. Add the dried fenugreek leaves and dry mango powder.
- Adjust water if chole are too thick. Adjust salt to taste. Bring to a quick boil if you add more water.
- Garnish with cilantro. Chole Masala is ready to be served with naan or bhatura.
Notes
- 2 black cardamom
- 5 cloves
- 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne or Red Chili powder
Best recipe I ever tried for Chana masala !
Hey Ramya – Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for sharing your review!
Thank you. I have been searching for a chana masala instant pot recipe for a long time. I made it and it’s delicious.
Hey Sean – Glad to hear you enjoyed the chana masala. Thank you for sharing your review!
Hi Meeta,
Can I omit the fenugreek leaves in this recipe? Currently don’t have any on hand.
Thanks,
Hey Kiara – yes, it is absolutely okay to omit the fenugreek leaves. Hope you enjoy it!
It turned out pretty well 🙂 except it was a little spicy. Any suggestions as to how I could reduce the spice level for next time? Also, I added Badshah Chana masala because I didn’t have chicken masala.
oops, I meant chole masala.
Glad to hear they turned out well. You can skip the cayenne and if needed reduce chole masala a bit to make this less spicy.
Hello,
I bought some chole masala powder from the store but it was too spicy for the kids. I am going to use the spice blend you recommended but I have a question. Do you roast the chole masala blend together first and then grind or do you do everything in the instant pot at the same time as the other steps?
Thanks!
Hello Casey – You can dry roast the whole spices (cardamom, cinnamon and cloves) and then grind them, or even just directly grinding them will work too. Also, feel free to skip the red chili powder initially, and add it later to taste so it does not get spicy for the kids. Another option is you could also just use less quantity of the chole masala you got from the store. I do that too when cooking for my daughter. Hope your family enjoys the chole!
Hi Meeta,
Great recipe. One minor confusion here – the cooking time with manual time is set as 35 minutes (IP has high pressure setting). But in comments, you have recommended 10 minutes in High Pressure setting. What is the pressure setting for 35 mins cooking? Should it be low or high?
Hello JP – Sorry for the confusion. The 10 minutes of high pressure suggestion in comments is for canned chickpeas. If you are using dry chickpeas as in the main recipe, the recommendation is 35 minutes of high pressure. Hope you enjoy the Chole!
🙂 Thanks for the response! I cooked in HP anyway and it tasted well. I didn’t have chickpeas, instead used Kala Channa. That tasted very well with Kerala Puttu.
JP – So happy to hear that you enjoyed the chole recipe. Variations are always great, the recipes are just guidelines 🙂
Followed the recipe using canned garbanzo beans( 2 cans) and did 8 minutes high pressure with quick release. Also did not use channa masala (too spicy/rich for the little ones)-used alternative in recipe notes (minus the red chilli powder) to supplement and it came out beautifully.
Hey Nayomi – Glad you enjoyed the chole. I agree that the chana masala powder can be spicy for little one’s.
If using store bought Chole Masala, how much should we use and does that mean we don’t use the other spices?
Hey – I do use store bought Chole Masala in this recipe (1 tbsp) and still include some coriander and red chili powder. Please do adjust spice level to your taste. I hope you enjoy it!
What is the difference between chana masala and chholey masala?
Hey Radhika – It is a great question. Chole and Chana both mean chickpeas. So in my mind, chole masala and chana masala are the same thing. However you will find countless recipes with slight variations. This recipe is more of a simple punjabi style, where chickpeas are prepared in a onion based gravy. There is some tomato, but it is more heavy on the onions. I have seen preparations in west India, where much more tomatoes are used in the curry, which gives a very different taste. Hope that helps 🙂
Great recipe! I used the tomato paste instead of the fresh tomato and the dish was really tasty. I thought 2 tsp of salt would be too much but it really wasn’t. Everyone in my family enjoyed it. Thank you!
Hey Anaya – Glad to hear your family enjoyed the chole recipe 🙂
This looks delicious! I have about 3 cups of canned garbanzo. Do I triple the recipe? And how many cups of water do I use for cooking? Does the cooking time remain the same of 10 minutes and natural release?
Hey Ash – Usually 1 cup dry chickpeas become 3 cups after being cooked. So I suggest to use the measurements in the recipe (not triple). Try cooking for 10 minutes on manual high pressure with NPR. Hope you enjoy it!