In an effort to eat less meat in 2020, I made one of my favorite dishes not only vegetarian, but I did it in the Instant Pot! I love the combination of chickpeas, cauliflower, potatoes, and peas in my Instant Pot Indian Butter Chickpeas and Vegetables. I have a million curry recipes on this blog, and I’ve been honing in on how to make the best curry sauce for a long time. It’s hard to get the right consistency and also the right flavor. But this recipe knocks all of them out of the park. With the addition of yogurt at the end for tanginess and richness, we can make the perfect rich curry gravy. Plus it’s mostly plant based!
This month I’m also on a spending freeze. I’ve set up a bunch of rules for myself, but number one is that I can only eat out once a week. For most people this may seem spartan, but for me it’s fairly normal. I love cooking! But the biggest thing I’m missing is eating out at my favorite Indian restaurant. This butter chickpeas and vegetables definitely fills that void. I adapted this recipe from Sarah Waldman’s Slow Cooker Butter Chicken, and it worked swimmingly!
For all you instant pot lovers, there are some things you should know about making curry in the Instant Pot. First things first, curry is a really rich sauce, so sometimes the Instant Pot doesn’t want to pressurize since the liquid feels too much like a solid. I accounted for this in my recipe, so even if it doesn’t come to pressure right when the timer starts, everything will cook perfectly in the 16 minutes. Another tip to get it to pressurize is to (carefully so you don’t burn yourself) lean on the handle of the Instant Pot a little with your body weight. You’ll hear the pressurizing nozzle hiss a bit before it pops up. Sometimes these things just need a little coaxing.
If you want to make this on the stove, simply use a dutch oven, saute the onion, garlic, and chiles first. Add the spices. Then add your vegetables, tomato paste, coconut milk, and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Then add your yogurt and peas just like you would would in the instant pot instructions.
If you want to get wild with the toppings I love to use slivered almonds and cilantro leaves, or maybe a dollop of greek yogurt! Serve this over basmati, or make my recipe for Indian Pilaf to go with it. See the full recipe below.
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch pice of ginger, peeled and minced
- 3 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 4 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
- ½ cauliflower head, cut into 1 inch florets
- 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 13.5 oz coconut milk
- 1¼ cups water
- 3 tbsp greek yogurt
- 1½ cups frozen peas
- cooked basmati or long grain rice for serving
- Set your instant pot to sauté and add 1 tbsp of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown around the edges. Add the curry powder, cinnamon, cumin, and salt, and cook for another 30 seconds. If the bottom of the pot seems dry, add ¼ cup water and scrape the dark bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon.
- Add the potatoes, cauliflower, garbanzo beans, tomato paste, and coconut milk, and stir until everything is coated. Add the remaining 1 cup of water and stir again.
- Place the lid on the instant pot and set the nozzle to sealing. Pressure cook on normal for 16 minutes. Because the curry is so thick, the instant pot may not completely pressurize. If this happens, simply place your weight on the handle to add pressure and it will pressurize again.
- Once the timer goes off, release the pressure manually, gently covering the nozzle with a towel. Then remove the lid and stir. Add the greek yogurt to a cereal bowl. Spoon a little hot curry gravy at a time into the yogurt, stirring between additions, until the yogurt is hot. Add the yogurt mixture to the curry and stir to coat. Add the frozen peas and let them defrost in the bubbling sauce for two minutes until they are defrosted and tender. Taste for salt and add if needed. Serve over cooked basmati rice.
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