Use in Indian chickpea recipes.
HOMECOOKED INSTANT POT GARBANZO BEANS/CHICKPEAS?
There is no denying that grabbing canned or tinned chickpea from your local supermarket is easy and convenient when you’re pressed for time or need to quickly use chickpeas in a recipe. However, if planned in an advance, I urge you to opt for home-cooked chickpeas. Dried chickpeas are much cheaper to buy, so you can make a much larger batch for less money. If you’ve decided to go vegan/vegetarian or are trying to include more legumes in your diet, then a large batch of ready-cooked chickpeas is the best solution.
WHY MAKE INSTANT POT CHICKPEAS/GARBANZO BEANS?
Super quick and easy compare to cooking on a stove in a pan Budget-friendly, far cheaper than canned store-bought Better taste, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and sugar free Fresh and without any preservatives and extra salt Doesn’t require constant attention – meaning plenty of time to finish other chores
ALL ABOUT CHICKPEAS
Buying Chickpeas
Storing dried Chickpeas
WHY YOU SHOULD SOAK THE BEANS OR CHICKPEAS?
I’ve never seen my mum cooking any beans without soaking because my both Grandma never did. They followed this method because, apart from health reasons, soaked chickpeas take less energy to cook. Mind you, 60-70 years ago there were no pressure cookers available in India and Africa. I follow the same and if I need chickpeas quickly for a recipe, I’m more than happy to open a tin as tinned/canned chickpeas are soaked, blanched and pressure cooked. According to our elders and experts, beans should not be cooked prior to soaking for various health reasons. Chickpeas/beans without presoaking cause digestion, bloating, or IBS.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SOAK THE CHICKPEAS?
For the long soak method – 8 hours or more– ideally, you should soak the chickpeas or any other beans for at least 8-10 hours or overnight in several inches of lukewarm water and not cold water. Perfectly soaked chickpeas should double in size, and if you eat they should be easily chewed. For the quick soak method – 1 hour – if pressed for time soak the chickpeas for about an hour in boiling water. One cup of dried chickpea/garbanzo beans will make about two and a half cups of soaked chickpeas and three cups of cooked chickpeas. But hey, the good news is that you can cook dried chickpeas in less than an hour without soaking in the Instant Pot.
CAN YOU COOK DRIED CHICKPEAS WITHOUT SOAKING?
Yes, you can cook dried chickpeas without soaking in the Instant pot, regular pressure cooker, or stovetop. Cooking time depends on which cooking method you choose. It can take from 40 minutes to eight hours. But make sure chickpeas are not very old, which means they aren’t not sitting in your pantry for more than a few months. It is best to use dried chickpeas within 4-6 months of buying them, If they are very old, I would suggest that you soak them in boiling water for 8-10 hours before cooking. You may want to try Instant Pot Chickpea Coconut Curry without soaking the chickpeas.
CAN YOU ADD BAKING SODA TO COOK CHICKPEAS?
Yes, you can, add 1/2 tsp. baking soda for one cup of dried chickpeas. Let it soak for 8-10 hours. Rinse them before cooking. Or add 1/2 tsp. soda whilst cooking soaked chickpeas. Personally, we don’t like to add baking soda to cook chickpeas or any other beans, as they taste a little different and sometimes chickpeas turn dark/black in color.
FLAVOURED INSTANT POT CHICKPEAS
Add one sliced onion, a couple of garlic cloves, bay leaf, olive oil. carrots or celery. To make Indian-style AMRITSARI CHOLE add a tea bag, whole spices, garlic, and grated ginger.
WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH LEFTOVER COOKED CHICKPEA WATER?
If a chickpea recipe requires adding any extra water, such as Chana Masala use the same water. If not, DO NOT throw away this water but use it in making egg-free or vegan recipes like this Vegan Mango Mess. The cooked chickpea water is called Aquafaba.
INGREDIENTS
- Raw Chickpeas
- Tap Water
HOW TO COOK GARBANZO BEANS IN THE INSTANT POT?
You can cook chickpeas in the instant pot in less than an hour, depending on the method you use. It all comes down to either to soak the chickpea or Don’t soak chickpeas. At this stage decide if you want to soak chickpeas or not? If you have time on your hand, I would urge you to soak the chickpeas. There are plenty of benefits if you do, such as saving energy as soaked chickpeas will take less time to cook.
LET’S SEE HOW TO COOK CHICKPEAS IN THE INSTANT POT
- Rinse and Drain – check dried chickpeas before rinse, remove any chickpeas that are shriveled, have broken skin, small pebbles, or twigs. Always rinse dried beans or lentils in lukewarm running water until the water comes out clear to remove dirt, dust or any impurities they may have. Drain all the water. 2 SOAK– NOT SOAKING? go on to step 3 If soaking, take a big bowl, add drained chickpeas and lukewarm water, cover with the lid, and leave it to soak for at least 6-8 hours or overnight. Pressed for time? at least soak for 1 hour in boiling water.
- Add all the Ingredients – arrange the inner pot of the Instant pot, discard soaking water, add drained chickpeas in the pot. Add whatever ingredients you want and clean water. we like to cook our chickpeas without any flavors. 2 cups of water for 1 cup soaked chickpeas 3 cups of water for 1 cup dried chickpeas
- Pressure Cook High – Close the Instant Pot lid, secure the valve in the SEALING position, and PRESSURE COOK HIGH 20-50 minutes. Once done, allow the instant pot to release pressure naturally for 15-20 minutes and quick pressure release if any leftover. 15-20 minutes cook time for soaked chickpeas 50-55 minutes cook time for dried chickpeas
- Test – check if the chickpeas are cooked well, take a chickpea, and press between your index finger and thumb, if done it will be soft and tender. If you want chickpeas for hummus, you want your cooked chickpeas nice and soft. If you plan to add in salad, stew, or for garnishing a dish you may want them a little firmer side. To make a curry cook chickpeas till well done.
- Store – Once the cooked chickpeas cooled enough, drain the water (save this water to make aquafaba) and store it in the container and use it for later, cooked chickpeas are ready to use. If making a curry, do not discard the water, use this water to make gravy.
HOW TO STORE COOKED BEANS?
Refrigerate cooked chickpeas – remove all the liquid from the cooked chickpeas before you storing. Leftover chickpeas can be stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container or food-safe bag.
To freeze cooked chickpeas – store cooked chickpeas in an airtight container or ziplock food-safe bag and store for up to 3 months.
INSTANT POT CHICKPEAS STEP BY STEP
- Clean the dried chickpeas.
- Rinse the chickpeas and soak in hot water.
- Discard the water, add new water and cook in the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid and cook on HIGH PRESSURE.
- 20 minutes NPR then manually release the pressure if any left.
- Check the beans and use them in the recipe or store them for later use.
EASY CHICKPEA RECIPES
I absolutely love cooked chickpeas, they are great as healthy snacks. My mum never misses the chance of having a couple of tablespoons of freshly cooked chickpeas straight from the pressure cooker! Chole Masala (vegan chickpea curry or chole masala) Baby Potato Pulao-Lasaniya Bateta Pulao Sumac Hummus with Instant Lavash Mango and Chilli Hummus Sun-dried tomato, chickpea cakes with cashew and oats Roasted Carrot, Chickpea soup Ultimate Papdi Chaat Turkish Tadka Hummus One-pot Pumpkin Chickpea pasta Chickpea Salad with Avocado Dressing Samosa Chaat Recipe As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations! Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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