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Chana Saag served with rice and pickled onions
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4.60 from 72 votes

Instant Pot Chana Saag

A Vegan, chickpeas, and spinach dish cooked in onion, tomato-based tangy sauce and spiced with turmeric, cumin, and garam masala.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 3
Calories: 73kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz canned chickpeas rinsed and drained, **
  • 1 tablespoon ghee or oil for vegan
  • 1 small yellow onion finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon ginger grated
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder or paprika
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 medium tomato diced
  • cup water **
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ teaspoon aamchoor powder dry mango powder or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4-6 cups fresh baby spinach chopped

Pot in Pot Rice (Optional) **

Instructions

  • Turn Instant Pot to saute mode and heat ghee. Add onions and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes with a glass lid on.
  • Add ginger, garlic, cumin powder, turmeric, red chili powder, and salt. Mix well.
  • Add tomatoes and mix everything together. Add chickpeas and water. Mix well.

The following step to cook pot in pot rice is optional

  • Place a tall trivet. Add basmati rice, water, salt to a stainless steel pot. You can also add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Place a tall trivet in the Instant Pot and place the rice pot over it
  • Close Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing position. Pressure cook for 4 minutes.
  • Allow 5-minute natural pressure release or if you have time Natural Pressure Release works too. Open the Instant Pot and set it on Saute mode.
  • Add garam masala and dry mango powder. Add Spinach. Mix everything together and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Serve hot with rice or Parathas.

Video

Notes

Variations
  • To make vegan Chana Saag, simply substitute ghee with oil.
  • Substitute spinach with your favorite greens like finely chopped kale, swiss chard, or beet leaves.
  • For low carb options serve with cauliflower rice.
Using Dry Chickpeas **
  1. Soak 1 cup dry chickpeas in warm water overnight. Drain the water.
  2. Add an extra ½ cup of water and increase the pressure cook to 25 minutes followed by a 10-minute natural pressure release.
  3. You can also make pot-in-pot brown rice when using soaked chickpeas as they have a similar cook time to brown rice. Add 1 cup of rinsed and drained brown rice, 1.5 cups of water to a stainless steel pot, and place over the tall trivet.

Nutrition

Calories: 73kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 822mg | Potassium: 282mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3950IU | Vitamin C: 13.9mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1.8mg
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