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Instant Pot Chana Saag – Chickpea Spinach Curry. Easy 1 Pot Chickpea Curry. Saucepan option. Chana Palak /Palak Chole Vegan Gluten-free Nut-free Recipe. Jump to Recipe
Chana Saag is a simple chickpea curry or chole with greens added in. Saag means any kind of cooked greens. Chana, Chana masala, Choley is chickpea curry. Use any of your favorite greens in this recipe.
Chana Saag can be made in various ways. If you use pre-cooked or canned chickpeas, you can simmer them for 15 minutes in this super easy palak sauce. In this version, I use dried chickpeas that are cooked in a pressure cooker/Instant pot. Fresh chickpeas made from scratch taste so much better and smell better too. They are also easier to digest compared to canned chickpeas.
For the Greens, you can add chopped greens towards the end, or add half chopped and half pureed for a greener sauce. Make it creamier with cashew milk or by blending up a portion of the cooked mixture. Blended chickpeas will thicken the sauce.
Make this Easy Stew and let me know how it turned out! Add hearty vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, cauliflower, peppers etc for variation. Serve with rice/quinoa or Naan/Roti/other flatbread.
More Instant Pot Recipes from the blog. All Soy-free, and can be nut-free.
- Lentil Veggie Dhansak – Lentil Veggie Stew in IP. GF
- Kohlapuri Veggies – Veggies in sesame coconut sauce GF
- Mushroom Matar Masala GF
- Bombay Potato and Peas GF
- Aloo Palak Dal- Potato Spinach Lentils in IP. GF
There are many Instant Pot Recipes on the blog! I have been pressure cooking before IP got so popular. Find all of the IP recipes here
Make this in an Instant Pot or a saucepan.
Let me know how it turned out in the comments and also rate the recipe. Also tag me on Instagram!
Video:
Instant Pot Chana Saag - Chickpea Spinach Curry Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dried chickpeas, soaked for atleast 4 hours in warm water
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 hot green chile, finely chopped
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp each ground cumin, garam masala, paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 15 oz can tomatoes , or 2 large tomatoes diced
- 1.5 cups water, ,1 cup for less stewy dish
- 3/4 tsp or more salt
- 2-3 packed cups chopped spinach, ,chard or combination greens (8 to 12 oz), use amount to preference
- 1 cup non dairy milk, thicker milks do better like coconut milk or cashew milk or soy milk, or use almond milk blended with 2-3 tbsp cashews
- 1 tbsp or more lemon juice
- cayenne and garam masala for garnish
Instructions
- Drain the soaked chickpeaas, wash well, drain and set aside.
- Press Saute on the Instant pot. Let the pot get hot for 2 mins. Add oil and spread using a spatula.
- Meanwhile. Mince and mix together or process the onion, ginger, garlic and hot chile. Add to the hot oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the spices(cumin garam masala, paprika, coriander) and mix in. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Mash the larger pieces.
- Add washed and drained chickpeas, salt and water. Close the lid and put the knob on sealing.
- Pressure Cook for 25 to 30 minutes. I usually cook for 30 minutes to be on the safe side as older chickpeas take a bit longer to cook.
- Quick release after 10 mins. Press saute. Fold in the greens and non dairy milk.. Taste and adjust salt. Cook for 2 to 4 mins to wilt the greens.
- Add cayenne and lemon juice and mix in. Serve hot over rice or with roti or naan.
Video
Notes
Use other spice blends such as berbere, cajun, chili powder blend or Jamaican curry powder instead of the spices (cumin, garam masala). For creamier result, use 3/4 cup coconut milk or non dairy milk + 3/4 cup water instead of 1.5 cups water to cook. Or use an immersion blender to blend some of the cooked mixture. The blended chickpeas will thicken it up.
Saucepan: Follow steps 1 to 4 in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 15 oz can chickpeas(drained), or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, salt and 1/2 cup nondairy milk. Cook for 10 minutes. Fold in the greens, and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add cayenne and lemon. With soaked chickpeas, add 1.5 cups water and 1/2 cup non dairy milk and cook partially covered for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender to preference. Then fold in the greens. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love the idea of adding amchur: should I add it together with the other spices when cooking, or only at the end? If at the end, should I sprinkle on top or mix it? Thank you
Mix it in with the tomatoes
This was delicious! We only cooked it manual high pressure for 15 min and did use soaked dried chickpeas. I was afraid to cook for 25 min since we make other soups with soaked chickpeas that cook time is as low as 10 min! I was confused by that. We used fresh tomatoes and added lots of spinach at the end. Oh also used veggie broth instead of water and my husband, by mistake, added the coconut milk before it was cooked. We used one jalapeno and this had some heat…but delicious!
Yes they will “cook” in 10 mins but depending on the cuisine, dish the expectation is different and times can also vary based on ingredients such as tomatoes which add time. Indian recipes generally expect chickpeas to be overcooked so they are soft and melt in the mouth rather than just about done. Hence time variations
Oh, interesting! Thanks for the info! We will definitely try cooking it longer the next time to see which way we prefer…sound yummy to have them melt in your mouth. I forgot to mention that we did add carrots in the beginning and they were good. Have you ever added potatoes as you suggest?
Hi!
I would love clarification on the following, please:
Quick release after 10 mins. Press saute. Fold in the greens and non dairy milk.. Taste and adjust salt. Cook for 2 to 4 mins to wilt the greens.
Does this mean after the 30 minutes, let it naturally release for 10, press sauté, fold in the greens/milk, and cook for additional 2-4 on sauté?
Thank you in advance! I can’t wait to try this!! ❤️
yes after 10 mins, release any pressure if left thn open the lid and then press saute
Thank you so much for your quick response!! ❤️
Is it possible to make this without soaking the chickpeas?
yes, cook 5 minutes longer
Thank you for your quick response!! ❤️
Just wanted to comment on here and say how absolutely amazing this recipe is! We are a vegetarian family and my 4 and 2 year old daughters are obsessed with this recipe! My husband will eat meat outside of the house- and even he gets excited for this recipe over rice. This recipe is really flavorful- but not too spicy. It’s perfect for the whole family. I just cut the water down and it’s perfect. Thank you so much for this staple in our household (we make it almost once per week).
yay!
This didn’t have enough liquid to make my instant pot seal and it burned in the bottom of the pot. Normally I like your recipes, but this was so disappointing..
hmm people usually have extra liquid problem in this one. that its too stewy. Did you use dried chickpeas or cooked?
I think the lid might not have sealed. that can happen if the seal isnt sitting properly in the lid or there is a fold in it. Then the pot will not seal and the cooking will continue to evaporate the liquid and eventually it burns.
Usually, I just tolerate greens because I know they’re healthy, but this recipe actually made me CRAVE a dish with greens in it! Even better, this made me like collard greens which I never could stand before. Thank you, Richa!
Side note: Using homemade cashew milk (which is easy to make with no straining necessary) in the recipe makes this dish even better!
awesome!
Oh, like the idea of using homemade cashew milk! Thanks!!
Delicious dish! My vegetarian husband enjoyed it also. Thank you!
Delicious! Fast! Easy!! Hits all the must-haves for working parents with a toddler and infant. Very pleased with the results, can’t believe it was so quick to whip up!! Followed your suggestion for swapping coconut milk for some of the water, luscious results! Thank you Richa!!!
awesome!
I borrowed my daughter-in-law’s instant pot so I could find out what all the buzz is about. This is the first recipe I made in the IP. I’m so impressed. After soaking dried chickpeas for just 4 hours, they were perfectly cooked, soft and creamy, in 30 minutes. This dish is perfectly balanced and totally delicious served over brown basmati rice. Definitely a keeper! Oh, I highly recommend pairing this with a glass of Portuguese CRASTO DOURO.
awesome!