This Punjabi chole recipe is a hearty vegan curry made with boiled chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and a medley of spices. It tastes divine with freshly made puri or bhatura (Indian breads), and even plain rice, white or brown. Easy as 1,2,3 in the instant pot!

When it comes to chickpeas, the two Indian dishes that probably come to everybody's mind are chole puri or chole bhature. Curried chickpeas are paired with either puri or bhatura (fried Indian breads) for a truly delicious meal that will leave you satiated. There is something magical that happens when curried chickpeas are paired with these breads. They taste SO GOOD. Don't believe me? Ask anyone familiar with north Indian food about chole puri or chole bhature and they will go into rhapsodies about how amazing they taste.

Here, I share with you an easy vegan chole recipe made in the instant pot.

If you want to know how to make puri or bhatura, check these posts out -

PURI RECIPE - a crisp, puffy Indian bread that is eaten in combination with a curry

BHATURA RECIPE - a thick, doughy bread especially made to go with chole

Anyhow, Punjabi chole or chana masala (as it is also known as) is a cinch to make in the instant pot. If you don't have an instant pot, you can use your stovetop pressure cooker too. And if you have neither, you can still make it in a saucepan, but it will take a lot more time for the chickpeas to soften.

Ingredients in this Punjabi chole recipe

2 cups chickpeas - cooked
1 cup red onion - diced
1 cup tomatoes - diced
1 teaspoon each ginger and garlic pastes - available in small jars in Indian grocery stores or even big supermarkets like Walmart. You can make the pastes at home too, and you don't have to make them separately either. Put equal quantities of peeled ginger and peeled garlic into a small blender along with a little water and whizz to get a smooth paste. Store this paste in a glass jar in the fridge for a few days and use as required.
⅓ cup cooking oil - I used a mix of canola and olive for this recipe.
2 tablespoons Everest Chole Masala - Everest is a good brand and is easily available in Indian stores. If you cannot find it, add a few more spices to compensate for the flavor - 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon garam masala and 1 teaspoon mango powder or amchur should do the trick.
1 tablespoon pomegranate powder (anardana) - also available in Indian stores. Pomegranate powder. like the fruit, has a sweet and sour taste that adds a lot of zing to the chole. Do try to get hold of this ingredient. If you absolutely can't, use 1 tablespoon tamarind paste.
1 teaspoon crushed or powdered red chilli
1 teaspoon each diced onions, tomatoes and green chilli - for garnishing
juice of half a lime - optional

How to make instant pot chana masala

Step 1 - Soak 2 cups chickpeas in 2 cups water overnight.

The chickpeas will swell as they absorb water. When ready to cook, drain the excess water and wash well. Soaking and washing the chickpeas will get rid of the the gas producing substances found to some extent in all beans and legumes. It will also reduce the cooking time to half.

Step 2 - Cook the soaked chickpeas in 4 cups water and salt in the instant pot.

Pressure cook for 30 minutes with 10 minutes NPR (Natural Pressure Release). Take out the boiled chickpeas along with any remaining liquid in a bowl and keep aside.

If you forgot to soak the chickpeas ahead of time, no worries! I have a detailed post on how to cook chickpeas in the instant pot with both soak and no-soak methods.

soaked and boiled chickpeas in the instant pot

Step 3 - Prepare the masala and add the boiled chickpeas

Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode. Add ⅓ cup cooking oil and add onions. Saute until pink and add ginger and garlic pastes, chopped tomatoes and all the powdered spices. Cook until the oil leaves the sides of the pot and the masala becomes shiny. Keep adding water little by little to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom of the pot (8-10 minutes).

Add the boiled chickpeas and saute again for 5 minutes.

Step 4 - Take out the chole in a bowl and garnish with diced onions, tomatoes and green chillies.

Squeeze half a lime over the chickpeas and Punjabi chole is ready to be eaten with some warm Indian bread or rice!

Easy, wasn't it?

A huge time saving tip (use canned chickpeas)

What if you are really, really strapped for time and want to make chole super-fast? Use 2 chickpea cans.

Here's what to do -

Ditch the first two steps mentioned in this recipe. Yes, you read this right! Don't soak the chickpeas and don't pressure cook them separately. Instead, start the recipe from the third step. Like this -

Prepare the masala - Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode. Add ⅓ cup cooking oil and add onions. Saute until pink and add ginger and garlic pastes, chopped tomatoes and all the powdered spices. Cook until the oil leaves the sides of the pot and the masala becomes shiny. Keep adding water little by little to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom of the pot (8-10 minutes).

Add 2 cans of chickpeas and pressure cook - Cancel the saute mode, add 1 cup of water and press the pressure cooking mode ('manual' in some models). Tip in the chickpeas and mix well with the masala. Make sure the vent is in sealing position and close the lid. Set the timer to 3 minutes and when it goes, do a QPR (Quick Pressure Release) after 5 minutes.

Garnish - Sprinkle some finely chopped green chilli, onions and tomatoes on top, followed by a little lime juice if you want.

Voila! Your dish is ready in about 20 minutes! How's that for convenience?

Notes:

Drain the liquid from the cans and rinse the chickpeas in cold water before adding them to the masala. All that extra sodium and froth will get washed away.

More Instant Pot Vegan Recipes for you

Mushroom Masala - Mushrooms in a delicious gravy made creamy with cashews.

Bombay Potatoes - Spiced baby potatoes that are simple, quick and big on taste.

Vegetable Pulao - Fluffy pulao rice with whole spices and a medley of veggies.

Lobia Masala (Black Eyed Peas Curry) - These beans taste yum in this Indian-style curry and can be enjoyed with roti (Indian bread) or rice for a complete meal.

Lauki Chana Dal - Bottle gourd and split chickpeas in a thick onion-tomato gravy.

📖 Recipe

chole (chickpeas) in a bowl with pooris (Indian bread) on the side

Punjabi Chole Recipe (Chickpea Curry Recipe)

Saima Zaidi

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 19

Cook Time 50

Total Time 50

Course Breakfast/Brunch

Cuisine Indian

Servings

Calories 373.2 kcal

Equipment

6-quart Instant Pot Duo

Ingredients

2 cups chickpeas soaked overnight in 2 cups water
⅓ cup cooking oil
1 cup red onion diced
1 cup tomatoes diced
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
2 tablespoon Everest chole masala
1 tablespoon pomegranate powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion for garnishing
1 teaspoon finely chopped tomato for garnishing
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilli for garnishing
juice of half a lime optional
salt to taste

Instructions

Drain the soaked chickpeas and put them in the inner pot of the Instant Pot along with 4 cups of water and salt. Close the lid and make sure the vent is in sealing position. Press the pressure cooking button and set the timer to 30 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes. Open the lid and take out the chickpeas along with any remaining liquid in a bowl and keep aside.
Cancel the pressure cooking mode and press saute mode. Add ⅓ cup cooking oil. Add onions and saute until pink. Tip in the ginger and garlic pastes, chopped tomatoes, and all the powdered spices. Cook until the oil leaves the sides of the pot and the masala becomes shiny. Keep adding water little by little to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom of the pot. (8-10 minutes)
Add the boiled chickpeas and saute again for 5 minutes.
Take them out in a bowl and garnish with the chopped onion, tomatoes and green chilli. Sprinkle some lime juice over the chole if you wish to.

Notes

If you don't have the time to soak and boil the chickpeas, simply use 2 chickpea cans. Follow the recipe from step 2 in the recipe card and add the canned chickpeas and 1 cup water after preparing the masala. Pressure cook for 3 minutes only with 5 minutes QPR (Quick Pressure Release).
Everest chole masala is readily available in Indian groceries, but you can make your own masala if you want to. Add 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon garam masala and 1 teaspoon mango powder or amchur in addition to the other powdered spices in the recipe.
Pomegranate powder tastes lovely in chole, but if you don't have it, use 1 tablespoon tamarind paste which is more readily available.

Nutrition

Calories: 373.2kcalCarbohydrates: 43.9gProtein: 9.2gFat: 18.9gSaturated Fat: 1.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 15.5gSodium: 464.1mgFiber: 8.9gSugar: 2.8g

Keyword chana masala, Indian chickpea curry, Punjabi chole

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