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Curried Chickpea stuffed Acorn Squash, all made in a Pressure cooker. One Pot meal! Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free.
You know whats the fun part of using a pressure cooker? Everything is faster and energy efficient. As an Indian, I have my requisite set of stove top pressure cookers (read 4 or 5 per Indian household).
Pressure cookers have come a long way from the just the manual control and stove top, to highly programmable, safe, blue tooth controllable, electric, multi-functional, multi pressure Instant Pot!.Instant Pot is fast becoming a household name with innumerable options and ease. If you haven’t tried pressure cooking, let 2015 be the year to add that to the to do list!
Today, I cook up chickpeas and brown rice stew in a pressure cooker and also throw in the acorn squash in a steamer basket. So everything gets cooked up together and is ready in 25 minutes! The squash cooks up perfectly in the pressure cooker. No hours of baking needed. Stuff the squash with the cooked chickpea and brown rice stew and serve! One Pot meal with chickpeas, brown rice, greens and squash!
More pressure cooker recipes from the blog.
- Dal Makhani- Black Gram Lentils Soup
- Dal Baati – Pigeon Pea Soup with Stuffed Pastries.
- Bisi Bele Bath Pressure Cooker Split Pea Brown Rice Soup
- Sprouted Mung Bean Dal Soup. Sabut Hari Moong Dahl. Vegan…
- Chana Masala – Chickpea Curry with Red Bell Pepper
- Black Eyed Pea and Lentil Soup with Sriracha Tadka
If using cooked chickpeas cook the stew for 12 to 14 minutes. You can also chop up the squash into chunks and cook with the stew.
The chickpeas need to be soaked because I am adjusting the cooking time depending on the squash and brown rice. If you use unsoaked chickpeas, the squash will become a mush in the 35 minute cooking time :).
I generally cook my beans and split peas in a Pressure cooker. It takes the guess work out of the time needed. Freshly cooked beans also produce less gas, if you know what I mean 🙂
Any of the split peas or chickpeas also do well in pressure cooker. Split peas are notorious for taking 3 to 4 times the cooking time mentioned for a saucepan, if they are old!
Pressure Cooker Curried Chickpea stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dry chickpeas, about 1 3/4 cup when soaked
- 1/4 cup brown rice, washed and soaked for half an hour
- 2 cups water
- 1 small acorn squash, halved and seeds removed
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 inch ginger, minced
- 1 green chili, minced
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp dry mango powder, amchur or use 1/2 tsp more lime juice
- 2 small tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1 cup loosely packed chopped greens , like rainbow chard or spinach
- 1/2 tsp or more salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
- cilantro, paprika and black pepper for garnish
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas overnight, soak the brown rice for atleast half an hour(about the time needed to prep).
- In a pressure cooker, add oil and heat over medium heat.
- Add cumin seeds and cook until they change color and get fragrant. about a minute.
- Add onions, garlic, ginger and chili and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes or until translucent.
- Add spices and mix well for a few seconds. Add tomato, lime juice, and greens, cook until the tomatoes are saucy. 4 to 5 minutes. Add a splash of water to deglaze if needed in between. Add in salt, cayenne, chickpeas, rice and 2 cups water. Mix well.
- Depending on the size of the pressure cooker and squash, you can add one half or both halves of the squash to the cooker. Place squash in a steamer basket or steamer plate (or any kind of holder which has space to allow the steam to circulate) over the chickpea mixture. Close the lid and cook over medium high heat until the (high) pressure is reached. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid, Carefully remove the steamer basket. Taste and adjust the chickpea rice stew. Taste and adjust salt and spice. Generously fill the squash with the chickpea rice mixture, garnish with cilantro and black pepper and serve.
- Note: If the chickpeas are not cooked to preference. Cover the cooker (dont lock the lid) and cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
Notes
Bake the squash: Spray the squash halfs with oil. sprinkle with salt, pepper and garam masala and Bake at 400 degrees F for about an hour. Serve stuffed with chickpea stew. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I prefer stovetop cooking to pressure cooking because the pressure cooker needs monitoring and is so heavy. The Instant Pot is appealing because it’d be great to be able to spend less time cooking!
I’ve been interested in this cooker ever since I read about it on the Healthy Librarian’s site — and I found out about Vegan Richa’s recipes there, too! I’ve been looking for a yogurt maker (to make yogurt making easier) and this is one of two finalists.
I would love a pressure cooker. Mostly because I’ve heard it’s wonderful for making beans!! But seeing you can make a complete meal in it is wonderful. And this pressure cooker has so many functions:)
Also, I’m so excited about your cookbook, i see you have a recipe for gf naan!!
I am trying to find ways to make plant strong vegan fast food so I am not tempted to go astray! I joined an InstantPot group on FB and the recipes make me drool! I am very interested in your book, Richa and I’m dying to get an InstantPot!
For years I have wanted to know about Pressure Cooking…..starting today, through the best web-chef out there “VEGAN RICHA”
Love you Richa! And live pressure cooking for health and efficiency. You can make an amazing meal this way. These chickpeas look great and I plan to try them this weekend.
I have never used a pressure cooker, but I really want one! I mainly eat vegan food which means beans are a big part of my diet. I would love to be able to quickly cook dry beans and other foods that take a long time using other methods. My workdays including my commute are usually 10 – 12 hours, which means I need simple and quick recipes and devices. Also, Indian cuisine is my favorite and I would love to cook more regional dishes at home. A pressure cooker seems like the perfect fit for my life.
I’ve never tried cooking with a pressure cooker but imagine it would be incredibly convenient! The recipe looks absolutely delicious & so healthy!
Yes, a great time-saving device. I do use for soups, chili, stews—but this one is really multifunctional
My mom used to cook with a pressure cooker and they scared me to death, so I never used one. I would love to make healthy recipes with an Instant Pot – so easy (and not scary)!