This Chickpea Coconut Curry is a super flavorful, hearty, healthy vegan curry prepared with chickpeas, coconut milk & a few spices in an Instant pot pressure cooker or stovetop for just under 30 minutes for busy weeknights.
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Ingredients
- Chickpeas: Have soaked dried chickpeas overnight and cooked in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. However you can also use low sodium canned chickpeas (Make sure to drain and rinse).
- Coconut Milk: I like Chaokoh Coconut Milk brand. Full fat works best as it contains the creamiest flavors, but low-fat coconut milk works, too.
- Onion, garlic, and ginger: I have used finely chopped onions and minced garlic, and ginger.
- Tomato: You can use canned crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. Or you can use 2 medium Roma tomatoes and puree it in a blender.
- Oil: use any cooking oil suitable for sautéing.
- Spices: I have used turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala as dry spices. Used cumin seeds and bay leaf for whole spices.
- Spinach: I have used baby spinach in the end. You may also use kale.
How to Make Chickpea Coconut Curry in Instant Pot
Firstly, press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Next, add oil to the POT. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, and let cumins splutter.
Then add onions, ginger-garlic paste, and saute until onions turn light brown for 3-4 minutes.
Next, add the crushed tomatoes along with the juice or tomato puree, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, and cook for 2 minutes.
Ensure to Deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits.
Lastly, add canned or cooked chickpeas, coconut milk, and salt. Stir well.
If you think the mixture is too thick, add ½ cup of water.
Furthermore, close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and the timer to 3 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, do a 5-minute NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE (NPR) and then release the remaining pressure manually.
While the curry is still warm, add the spinach and fresh lemon juice and mix until spinach has fully wilted.
Don't worry if the curry is a very liquid consistency. Turn on SAUTE mode again and boil the curry for 2-3 minutes or until you get the desired consistency.
Instant pot Pressure Cooker Chickpea Coconut Milk Curry is ready. Serve hot with Basmati rice, jeera rice, or quinoa along with Mango Lassi.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- Follow the same steps as above. Cook the chickpeas coconut curry on the stovetop pressure cooker for 1 whistle on medium heat. Chickpea Coconut Curry is ready, serve hot with Basmati rice or quinoa.
Stovetop Pot Method
- Take ¾ cup of dried chickpeas soak overnight and pressure cook on a stovetop pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles on high heat. Let the pressure release naturally or Use canned chickpeas for this recipe.
- Heat oil in a pot, Once the oil, is hot add cumin seeds, bay leaf, and let cumins splutter.
- Then add onions, ginger-garlic paste, and saute until onions turn light brown for 3-4 minutes.
- Next add the crushed tomatoes along with the juice or tomato puree and the spices like red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder and cook for 2 minutes.
- Lastly add canned or cooked chickpeas, coconut milk, and salt. Stir well. If you think the mixture is too thick then add ½ cup of water to this. Close the lid and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- While the curry is still warm, add in the spinach and fresh lemon juice and mix until spinach has fully wilted.
- Chickpea Coconut Curry is ready, serve hot with Basmati rice or quinoa.
Variations & Tips
- You can add hearty veggies of your choice like carrots, sweet potatoes, bell pepper, squash, and green leafy veggies like kale instead of spinach.
- If you don't have dry spices mentioned in this recipe, you can replace them with 1.5 tablespoons of curry powder instead.
- You can skip tomatoes in this coconut chickpea curry recipe as well.
Tips
- Make sure to deglaze the bottom of the pot with the juice from the tomatoes. There are chances of onion and ginger garlic bits sticking to the bottom, so gently scrape the pot with some liquid to prevent possible BURN notice.
Recipe FAQs
I would not recommend adding dried chickpeas in place of canned because it would take a longer time to cook, i.e., about 35-40 minutes in the Instant Pot, and drastically overcook the tomatoes.
Instead, you can soak ¾ cup of dried chickpeas overnight or at least 4 hours in hot water and Cook on "MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK" on high for 15 minutes in the Instant Pot to get the same results.
You sure can! Separate it into freezer containers with some rice and pop them in your freezer for a quick and easy meal. Just add some fresh cilantro/coriander leaves before serving.
Yes! This chickpea coconut curry is Vegan.
I personally like Chaokoh, Thai Kitchen Organic, Aroy-D, 365 Everyday Value Organic Coconut Milk brands.
More Chickpea Recipes
More Vegan Instant Pot Curry Recipes
- Rajma Masala
- Black Eye Pea Curry(Lobia curry)
- Lauki(Bottle gourd) Sabji
- Whole green moong dal
- Green Lentil Soup
If you love Lentils & Beans and looking for more Instant Pot Indian recipes? Then here are my 22+ Instant Pot lentils & Beans Recipes you must try.
Instant Pot Chickpea Coconut Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250ml
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic minced
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
- 1 can (15 oz each) chickpeas rinsed and drained (about 1.5-2 cups cooked chickpeas)
- 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk (about 1.5 cups)
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2-3 cups baby spinach
Dry Spices:
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Press SAUTE mode on Instant Pot. Next, add oil to the POT. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, and let cumins splutter.
- Then add onions, ginger-garlic paste, and saute until onions turn light brown for 3-4 minutes.
- Next, add the crushed tomatoes along with the juice or tomato puree, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, and cook for 2 minutes.Ensure to Deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits.
- Add canned or cooked chickpeas, coconut milk, and salt. Stir well.If you think the mixture is too thick, add ½ cup of water.
- Close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and the timer to 3 minutes.
- Once the pot beeps, do a 5-minute NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE (NPR) and then release the remaining pressure manually.
- While the curry is still warm, add the spinach and fresh lemon juice and mix until spinach has fully wilted.Don't worry if the curry is a very liquid consistency. Turn on SAUTE mode again and boil the curry for 2-3 minutes or until you get the desired consistency.
- Chickpea Coconut Curry is ready, serve hot with basmati rice or quinoa.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:
- Follow the same steps as above. Cook the chickpeas coconut curry on the stovetop pressure cooker for 1 whistle on medium heat. Chickpea Coconut Curry is ready, serve hot with Basmati rice or quinoa.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- Take ¾ cup of dried chickpeas soak overnight and pressure cook on a stovetop pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles on high heat. Let the pressure release naturally or Use canned chickpeas for this recipe.
- Heat oil in a pot, Once the oil, is hot add cumin seeds, bay leaf, and let cumins splutter.
- Then add onions, ginger-garlic paste, and saute until onions turn light brown for 3-4 minutes.
- Next add the crushed tomatoes along with the juice or tomato puree and the spices like red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder and cook for 2 minutes.
- Lastly add canned or cooked chickpeas, coconut milk, and salt. Stir well. If you think the mixture is too thick then add ½ cup of water to this. Close the lid and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- While the curry is still warm, add in the spinach and fresh lemon juice and mix until spinach has fully wilted.
- Chickpea Coconut Curry is ready, serve hot with Basmati rice or quinoa.
Video
Notes
Variations:
- You can add hearty veggies of your choice like carrots, sweet potatoes, bell pepper, squash, and green leafy veggies like kale instead of spinach.
- If you don't have dry spices mentioned in this recipe, you can replace them with 1.5 tablespoons of curry powder instead.
- You can skip tomatoes in this coconut chickpea curry recipe as well.
Tips:
- Make sure to deglaze the bottom of the pot with the juice from the tomatoes. There are chances of onion and ginger garlic bits sticking to the bottom, so gently scrape the pot with some liquid to prevent possible BURN notice.
Nutrition
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Anonymous says
yummy
Leslie boyle-milroy says
This curry was delicious! Thank you so much!
Bhavana Patil says
Thank you Leslie, glad you liked the recipe, you may also add butternut squash or sweet potatoes in this recipe
Ruth Cooper says
This was delicious! Made it for friends, and everyone loved it!
Bhavana Patil says
Hi Ruth, glad you & your friends liked the recipe, you may also add butternut squash or sweet potatoes to this recipe. Have a nice day.
Patty says
EXCELLENT recipe!!! Added 2small zucchini & 1lg. Sweet potato. Used full fat coconut milk. Will DEFINITELY be making again & again!!!
Bhavana Patil says
That's awesome Patty, thanks for sharing your feedback.