In this house we LOVE Indian food! We love the delicious complex spice combinations and rich comforting sauces. This is why (since my husband introduced me to the amazingness that is Nepalese & Punjabi cooking), I have been working on learning to make these dishes at home. After all – while most of us love going out to eat, it isn’t always convenient or wallet friendly! Plus learning to make these at home means you can control the quality of ingredients!

As it would happen – not only do my husband and I love good Indian cuisine – my two wee lairds are crazy for it too! If I am ever concerned about their eating I simply make or pick up Indian and they are sure to eat their way through an adult size portion in minutes! Win/win! They get a favorite comfort food and I feel good about getting in good nutrition.

This particular recipe is one I found while my husband and I were trying to incorporate more whole food plant based recipes into our regular diet. This can be made totally vegan and is naturally gluten free! Not to mention it is packed with amazing proteins, vitamins, minerals, and oh have I mentioned the amazing flavor! Orignially I found the recipe on the blog My Heart Beets (the author of that blog and I don’t know one another and this isn’t solicited – I just happened to love her blog and encourage you to check it out! https://myheartbeets.com/instant-pot-chana-masala-punjabi-chole-spiced-chickpea-curry/ )

Since our first attempt at making this we have made a few changes and modifications. Some because of access to certain spices – others because we love to play with recipes and add more and more things we love to them – I just can’t leave well enough alone sometimes.

So, after almost a year of making this (sometimes weekly at the request of the two wee lairds), here is our version prepared by Lion – with a little help from Mama. He simply calls it Chana. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Happy Cooking – with love from the Wee Lairds Kitchen!

Lion’s Chana Aloo Masala

Feeds a family of 4 with leftovers that freeze well for a future meal or hold up well in the fridge a few days for lunch. I have also put leftovers in canning jars (fills about 3-4 jars) and given them to friends and family – the reviews were overwhelmingly positive!

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas (if you are using dried – follow bag instructions and soak overnight)
• 1 medium/large onion diced
• 2 large potatoes peeled and diced or a small bag of fingerling potatoes diced
• 2-4 tomatoes diced or a container of compare tomatoes diced (Or whatever tomatoes you have on hand! If all you have is a can of diced tomatoes in the cupboard go ahead and use that! I’ve done this in a pinch and it works great.)
• 1 bag frozen green peas (I don’t recommend canned for this step – they don’t hold up as well and they change the flavor)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated/diced ginger
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbl of oil (small tablespoons of water as needed for sauteing the onion if going fully vegan)
• 32 fluid ounces or vegetable stock, chicken broth, or water (or enough to cover the rest of the ingredients)

Spices

• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1-2 teaspoons Penzy’s ‘Curry Now’ blend (or whatever curry blend you can find at your local market)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (I have also used a tandori masala spice mix in a pinch – works!)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ – ½ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 dash cardamom or 1 black cardamom pod (if you can find it)

Press the saute button on your Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker). Saute the entire diced onion until soft and slightly caramelized. Add the bay leaf, garlic, ginger, and spices and saute another minute(ish) until soft and fragrant. Add tomatoes and stir for 30-60 sec using the juices of the tomatoes to de-glaze the bottom of the pot -then turn off the saute function.

Add drained and rinsed chickpeas, diced potatoes, peas**, and enough stock or water to cover everything. Stir to combine. Place lid onto Instant Pot and set it for 7 minutes on regular pressure. It will take a few minutes to come up to temp before it starts counting down. Then once finished (if you have the time) allow the pressure to naturally release over 15-30 min. If you don’t have time – don’t worry – everything is cooked through and will still be tasty. The extra time just gives flavors a little more time to continue to develop and deepen.

Once you have removed the lid of your Instant Pot remove the bay leaf and attack 1/4-1/2 of the Chana with a potato masher. Then stir the whole thing again. This will make it creamy and delightfully thick. Finally, serve hot over rice (we like brown rice and/or jasmine rice with this recipe) with warmed naan bread.

**As a side if you like your peas to be more al dente and hold a nice bright green color you can add them at the end. Simply stir them in after mashing part of the Chana. Then replace the lid on the instant pot while you get the rice and naan ready on plates. The residual heat in the pot will cook the frozen peas in a matter of minutes. Then serve over rice and enjoy as before!