Vegan Saag Chana - Instant Pot Chickpea Spinach Curry
Craving Indian food? Make this rich and creamy vegan saag chana recipe with easy to follow instructions for the Instant Pot or cooking it on the stovetop. This Indian-inspired curry with chickpeas is whole food plant-based, dairy-free and oil-free.
Servings: 6
Calories: 167kcal
Cost: $6
Equipment
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- Immersion blender or blender/food processor, optional
Ingredients
To make the cashew sour cream
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked
- 1 cup boiling water for soaking cashews, this water will be throw away
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅔ cup cool water to add to the blender
To make the rest of the curry
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds whole
- 1 onion diced (about 270g)
- 2 roma tomatoes diced (about 240g)
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper omit or use less for a mild curry
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened, plain
- 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach thawed
- 15 ounces canned chickpeas drained and rinsed (or about 1 ½ cups of homemade chickpeas)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Cashew Cream:
- Place cashews in a heat-proof bowl or glass measuring cup. Pour boiling water over cashews so they are covered. Let the cashews soak on the counter for at least 20 minutes, but up to 2 hours. Then, drain and rinse.1 cup raw cashews, 1 cup boiling water
- Then add cashews to a high speed blender, along with cool water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 60 seconds. Stop blender and scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, as needed. You may need to blend longer, if you still have pieces of cashew in the blender. Blend until it is completely smooth and no little chunks of cashew are present.2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ⅔ cup cool water
Make the Curry - Stovetop Instructions:
- 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.1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.1 onion
- Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 5 minutes.2 roma tomatoes, 6 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons garam masala, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan.1 cup almond milk
- 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.20 ounces frozen chopped spinach
- After blending (if you chose to do so), add half of the cashew cream (reserve the rest for garnish or other recipes), chickpeas, salt and pepper and continue to simmer/heat for 5 minutes.15 ounces canned chickpeas, salt and pepper
- Serve over cooked basmati rice or with flatbread.
Make the Curry - 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.1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Add onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.1 onion
- Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes.2 roma tomatoes, 6 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons garam masala, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan. Add spinach and stir together.1 cup almond milk
- 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 half of the cashew cream (reserve the rest for garnish or other recipes), chickpeas, salt and pepper and continue to simmer/heat for 5 minutes.15 ounces canned chickpeas, salt and pepper
- Serve over cooked basmati rice or with flatbread.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1portion | Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 533mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 11338IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 187mg | Iron: 3mg
