Pressure Cooked Chickpea Curry with Brown Rice (one pot meal)


Brown rice can be pressure cooked to fluffy perfection by steaming it in a heat-proof dish.  This leaves the base of the cooker free to cook a second dish – like a spicy chickpea curry!

pressure cooked chana masala close-up

Though the cooking time of rice pressure cooked bain marie is unchanged, the water to grain ratio is reduced (so pay careful attention to the measurements in this recipe). The vapor from the food cooking (or water boiling) below assist in cooking the rice.

Chana masala is a spice mix used to cook chickpeas (chana). You can pick-up a package at your local India import store. If you don’t have one nearby, you can make your own for this recipe by adding 1/4 teaspoon of as many of these spices as you have on hand: coriander, mango powder, Pomegranate seeds, hot pepper powder, cumin, musk melon, black pepper, fenugreek leaves, cloves, mint, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, caraway, mace and a bay leaf.

This spice mix is both spicy and tangy – with quite a bit of heat.  Though our recipe calls for two tablespoons of this mix, the box recommends almost four for the same amount of chickpeas. So this is SPICY!  Increase the quantity at your own risk!

Pressure Cooker Accessories Pr. Cook Time Pr. Level Open
6 L or larger steamer basket, heat-proof dish    18-20 min.    High(2)  Natural
Chickpea Curry with Brown Rice – pressure cooker one pot meal
Author: 
Recipe type: pressure cooker recipe
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

For a smaller pressure cooker these quantities can easily be halved – and a smaller heat-proof dish can be used to cook the rice. When doubling the recipe, do not exceed half the pressure cooker’s capacity with the chickpeas and their cooking liquid.
INGREDIENTS
For Bain Marie Brown Rice:
  • 1½ cups brown rice
  • 2¼ cups water
For Chickpea Curry:
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chana masala (or see description, above)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight or quick-soaked
  • 2 tablespoons tomato concentrate (or large handful of whole cherry tomatoes)
  • 1 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. In a 4-cup capacity heat proof container add the rice, and water. If the container does not have a handle, construct an aluminum foil sling to lower and raise it out of the pressure cooker. Set aside.
  2. In the pre-heated pressure cooker, on medium heat without the lid, add the oil and onion and saute’ until it is just starting to caramelize (about 7 minutes). Next add the chana masala powder garlic and ginger and saute’ for about 30 more seconds until the garlic begins to cook.
  3. Next, pour in the water, chickpeas and tomato concentrate into the pressure cooker.
  4. Lower the steamer basket (or trivet) into the pressure cooker into the chickpea curry. Now, lower the uncovered heat-proof container into the pressure cooker onto the steamer basket.
  5. Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker reaches pressure, lower to the heat to the minimum required by the cooker to maintain pressure. Cook for 18-20 minutes at high pressure.
  6. When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Natural release method – move the cooker off the burner and wait for the pressure to come down on its own (about 10 minutes). For electric pressure cookers, disengage the “keep warm” mode or unplug the cooker and begin counting 10 minutes of natural open time. Then, release the rest of the pressure using the valve.
  7. Carefully lift out the heat-proof container and fluff the rice and serve on individual dishes. Mix-in the salt with the curry in the base of the cooker, and spoon it out and serve with an optional dollop of low-fat yogurt.

fagor futuro lidfagor pressure cooker with one pot meal of chickpea curry and brown rice step-by-step photos