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 to always use “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 below ingredients. Just grind them in a spice grinder to a powder and use 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 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 peppercorn – 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 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 dont have dry mango powder, replace 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 making Chana Masala my just adding all the ingredients to the pot and pressure cooking (often called dump-and-go method). You will be surprised, that 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. The only changes would be to pressure cook for only 10 minutes in the instant pot and for 2 whistles in a stovetop pressure cooker. Drain the canned chickpeas and rinse them before using. Reduce the amount of water you add while cooking to one cup.
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 take about 25-35 minutes to cook pot-in-p0t, so they 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
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.
Video
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
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I have tried your other instapot recipes like Khichri and pulao that come out perfectly. The chana recipe is also great, however I followed the time carefully and had my chana soaked overnight, but it was still a bit under done after 35 min of pressure and 20 min of NPR plus 5 min of extra saute.
Maybe the recipe still can still improve on timing. The taste however was perfect.
Hi Sandeep – Glad to hear you have been enjoying the recipes. So sorry you felt the cooking time was not perfect in this recipe. With chickpeas and red kidney beans, sometimes they can be old which can alter the cooking time a lot. It is hard to figure out the age of the beans for anyone as we don’t know how long they have been in the store. I would suggest to add 10 minutes to the pressure cooking time with the current bag of chickpeas you are using. Thank you for sharing back your experience, it is always helpful for other readers and me to hear feedback.
Hi,
Your recipe was very easy to follow. The instapot just beeped. This is the first time I am using the instapot. Should I turn it off and then let the starm vent or leave it on keep warm mode for the steam to vent.
Thanks in advance
Hi Ami – Thank you! Congratulations on you new instant pot. You can leave it on keep warm or cancel. For most recipes it does not matter. When I am cooking rice or veggies that can easily overcook, then I turn off the keep warm and also take out the inner steel insert after the cooking is done to make sure there is no overcooking due to residual heat. Let me know if you are any other questions as you use your new instant pot.
Trying it now – fingers crossed – is it truly 35 minutes of pressure cooking? seems long, worried i might burn it.. will keep an eye
Hi Ananth – Chickpeas take a long time to get soft. Hope it turned out well 🙂
Hi,
I was wondering if it is possible to add extra vegetables to the masala and if it can be cooked in a regular pot on the stove.
Hi Kiara – You can definitely add veggies to this chana masala. I would add the veggies after the chickpeas are cooked, as otherwise the veggies will get overcooked. If using dry chickpeas, it will take quite long on the stovetop. Slow cooker or pressure cooking might be best for chickpeas. If you are using canned chickpeas, then you can make easily on stovetop in a regular pot and also add veggies along. Some ideas for veggies that could go well – potato, sweet potato, spinach, kale, carrots.
I love it! I did it last weekend my husband was even delighted !! I recommend you try it. Heaven in mouth!
I love your recipes. They are so easy to follow especially rajma. Thats my favorite. I make it frequently. I do have a question. Why do we have to drain the water from canned beans? My mom always poured it in.
Hi Krishna – Happy to hear you enjoy the Rajma. This is what I have read – removing the soaking water helps with reducing the gassiness that beans can cause to some people. Here I found a good answer for this question.
Can i add frozen spinach to it so i can get some greens
Hi Krishna – Yes, you can add spinach. I would suggest to thaw the spinach and add it after pressure cooking. Hope you enjoy the curry!
This is SO delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. I can’t believe we mere mortals can make this. 🙂 I couldn’t find mango powder, so I cut up some dried mango and threw it it. I also didn’t have fenugreek leaves, so I used dried fenugreek. I’m sure it would be even better with the “right” ingredients, but it is delicious anyway. Thanks again.
Hi R. P. – I am glad you enjoyed the Chana Masala. Sharing my suggestions for substitutions – Add lime juice in place of dry mango powder to taste and skip the fenugreek leaves. The fenugreek seeds and leaves are very different, so they cannot be substituted for each other. I hope you make this again 🙂
Absolutely horrible instructions.
Hi Aruna – Okay! Please share more details of what you are looking for in the instructions. With 50+ positive reviews, I feel most readers were able to understand the instructions and successfully make the Chana Masala. Looking forward to hear more details!
This was Amazing! The flavors and texture was perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your Delicious recipe. It taste better than restaurants. I have a Question. If I want to double the recipe do I double all the ingredients above and just cook it at the time you suggested? This is so delicious that I don’t want to mess up any of the flavor if I double it and Will the taste be the same when doubling the spices and water?
Thank you again for an AMAZING recipe and I’m excited to try your other recipes.
Hi Sherri – So happy to hear you enjoyed the Chana Masala. If doubling the recipe, I would suggest to add a total of 3 cups of water when cooking. You can always adjust the consistency after pressure cooking to be thinner. The pressure cooking time will remain the same.