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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.
Wow is this ever good!! I bet the leftovers will be even better., Glad we made a double batch. Thanks Richa!
🙂
This is my favorite Indian recipe. I always want to try your other recipes but I can’t get past this one. I use coconut milk bc I never have cashews or remember to buy them. I use canned chickpeas with less water (again forget to soak the dry ones I have) and cook it in the instant pot for 12 minutes. I usually bake tofu and Cauliflower or zucchini on the side and it’s the best meal ever. I’ve never been able to recreate the chana saag I used to get in curry hill (NYC) but this is just as good, if not better. Thanks for your amazing recipe. I’d love suggestions on what to try next.
this is so kind, thank you! glad you love it! check out the Indian recipe tab – you will love it all. try the chana pulao and the instant pot version of the chana saag!
Delicious, easy and fast with the Instant Pot. Love all of your recipes, thank you so much for all of your postings. I have your first cookbook and use it all the time. Thank you:)
❤️❤️
Great recipe thank you! I just read the part about blending some of the chickpeas in – I’ll try that next time!