Vegan Saag Chana - Instant Pot Chickpea Spinach Curry
Easy, healthy Indian-inspired curry recipe with chickpeas! This plant-based, oil-free version of saag chana with chickpeas, spinach, spices and cashew cream is rich and creamy. Perfect served with basmati rice and better than takeout.
In a stockpot or pan over medium heat, dry roast cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant, stirring frequently so they do not burn.
Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 5 minutes.
Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan.
Stir in spinach and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. At this point, you can pureé some or all of your curry in a blender or using an immersion blender, so that the spinach is in smaller pieces. This is optional, but highly recommended and up to your personal tastes. I usually blend/puree it just a bit with an immersion blender, but leave some texture. I do not blend it completely into a smooth sauce.
After blending (if you chose to do so), add cashew cream, chickpeas, salt and pepper and continue to simmer/heat for 5 minutes.
Serve over cooked basmati rice.
Instant Pot Instructions:
Turn on "Saute" function on Instant Pot. Add cumin seeds and dry roast 1-2 minutes, until fragrant, stirring frequently, so they do not burn.
Add onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes.
Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan. Add spinach and stir together.
Turn off saute function by pressing "Cancel". Lock lid in place, with vent closed (set to "Sealing). Cook on Manual Pressure for 5 minutes.
Quick release pressure by carefully turning vent with a wooden spoon to "Venting". The steam is very hot, so be careful not to touch it with your hands.
At this point, you can pureé some or all of your curry in a blender or using an immersion blender, so that the spinach is in smaller pieces. This is optional, but highly recommended and up to your personal tastes. I usually blend/puree it just a bit (but NOT completely smooth) with an immersion blender. I like it with still a bit of texture.
After blending (if you chose to do so), add cashew cream, chickpeas, salt and pepper and continue to simmer/heat for 5 minutes.
Serve over cooked basmati rice.
Video
Notes
Substitution Options:
Cashew Cream:cashew cream is the best tasting option to add thick creaminess to this recipe. If you can, use it. If you don't have prepared cashew cream, then you can use: 1 can full-fat coconut milk (omit almond milk if using this option), vegan sour cream, plain vegan yogurt or silken tofu that has been blended until smooth.
Frozen chopped spinach: sub with 2 pounds (32 ounces) fresh chopped spinach. You'll need to crank the heat up, add in little bits at a time, stir to cook it down and add more. Keep doing this until all the spinach is in the pot cooking away. You can also sub with a combination of methi/fenugreek leaves, kale, swiss chard, mustard greens or any cooking greens you like.
Almond Milk: sub with other plain, unsweetened plant-based milk
Chickpeas: sub with baked or air fryer tofu cubes for vegan saag paneer