Chana Saag is a delicious one-pot Indian curry. This vegan main course dish you can easily make in an instant pot. Be sure to watch the video!
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
- What is Chana Saag?
- Ingredients For Curry
- Watch Chana Saag Video
- Serving Suggestion
- Chana Saag Recipe
What is Chana Saag?
As the name suggests, it is a hearty Indian curry with chickpeas (chana) and spinach leaves (saag). Hence the name chana saag.
In India, it is common to cook various legumes, lentils, or beans with green leafy vegetables. I similarly make spinach egg curry , palak khichdi , or chana dal palak for everyday meals.
In the last few years, chana saag has become quite popular among the instant pot community and vegan food lovers. In my upcoming cookbook , you will find a lot of Indian curry recipes with seasonal green leafy vegetables.
Reasons To Try Chana Saag Recipe
- gluten-free
- one pot meal
- high protein
- vegan and vegetarian
- It takes only 30 minutes
- perfect for a family meal
- wholesome and nutritious
Ingredients For Curry
- Chickpeas: You can make it with both dried and canned chickpeas. In fact, with pre-cooked or canned chickpeas, the chana curry takes less than 20 minutes to get ready! I prefer using dried chickpeas (chana) and cooking them from scratch in the masala to make chana saag.
- Greens: My choice of saag for this curry recipe is spinach. You can use dill leaves, kale, fenugreek leaves, etc.
- Tomato Paste: It is a blend of fresh tomatoes, ginger, garlic, dried red chilies, and hot water .
- Spices: Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Garam Masala , Cumin Seeds, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Bay Leaf
- Coconut Milk: It gives a creamy texture to the curry. Use thick or first pressed coconut milk.
- Other Ingredients: Cooking Oil, Red Onion, Salt, Water
Watch Chana Saag Video
Serving Suggestion
Chana Saag is an Indian main course dish . You can serve it with plain basmati rice or jeera rice . It tastes delicious with chapati, paratha, or naan as well.
You can curate a complete Indian meal by accompanying the chana curry with rice, naan , kachumber salad , and refreshing mint raita .
Store the leftover curry in the refrigerator. It remains fresh for one week. Reheat in a microwave or stovetop before serving.
More Indian Instant Pot Recipes
- Dum Aloo
- Veg Pulao
- Matar Paneer
- Lobia Masala
- Masala Khichdi
- Matar Mushroom
- Mushroom Pulao
Ingredients
Ingredients For Tomato Paste
- ▢ 1 Cup tomato, chopped
- ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic cloves
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
- ▢ 4 Kashmiri red chilies
- ▢ ¼ Cup hot water
Other Ingredients
- ▢ 1 ¼ Cup dried chickpeas (kabuli chana)
- ▢ ⅛ Cup refined oil
- ▢ 4 green cardamom (elaichi)
- ▢ 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
- ▢ 1 bay leaf
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ▢ ½ Cup onion, finely chopped
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ▢ 1 ¼ Cup water
- ▢ ¼ Cup coconut milk
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Garam Masala ( see recipe )
- ▢ 2 Cup spinach leaves (palak)
Instructions
- Soak dried chickpeas for 5 – 6 hours in 2 cups of water. Skip this step if you are using canned or pre cooked chickpeas.
- Make a smooth blend or paste of fresh tomato, ginger, garlic, and dried red chilies using hot water. Keep it aside.
- Set the SAUTE mode of the instant pot for 5 minutes.
- Add oil to the inner pot. Once hot, add cardamom, bay leaf, and cumin. Saute for 40 – 50 seconds to release their aroma.
- Add chopped onion, and fry till light golden.
- Add the tomato paste prepared earlier, red chili powder, turmeric, corriander powder, and salt. Saute the masala for 3 – 4 minutes.
- Add soaked chana (chickpeas) and 1 ¼ Cups of water. Stir to combine. Close the lid of the instant pot. PRESSURE COOK for 20 minutes.
- Release the steam manually. Check chickpeas for doneness. Add garam masala, coconut milk, and spinach leaves. Stir to combine. Set the SAUTE Mode for 5 minutes to simmer the curry. Taste and if required, add more salt.
- Serve chana saag with rice.
Recipe Notes:
- If you are using canned or pre-cooked chickpeas, cook chickpeas and spinach together in pressure cook mode for 5 minutes only.
- The chickpeas (chana) take 3 – 4 whistles over low heat in a stovetop pressure cooker.
- This is a mild to medium spicy curry. Adjust the number of spices and chilies according to your taste preference.
- Kashmiri dried chilies are mildly spicy and give bright red color to the dish.
Nutrition
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Chana Saag Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Blender
Ingredients
Ingredients For Tomato Paste
- 1 Cup tomato, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
- 4 Kashmiri red chilies
- ¼ Cup hot water
Other Ingredients
- 1 ¼ Cup dried chickpeas (kabuli chana)
- ⅛ Cup refined oil
- 4 green cardamom (elaichi)
- 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ Cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 ¼ Cup water
- ¼ Cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala ( see recipe )
- 2 Cup spinach leaves (palak)
Instructions
- Soak dried chickpeas for 5 - 6 hours in 2 cups of water. Skip this step if you are using canned or pre cooked chickpeas.
- Make a smooth blend or paste of fresh tomato, ginger, garlic, and dried red chilies using hot water. Keep it aside.
- Set the SAUTE mode of the instant pot for 5 minutes.
- Add oil to the inner pot. Once hot, add cardamom, bay leaf, and cumin. Saute for 40 - 50 seconds to release their aroma.
- Add chopped onion, and fry till light golden.
- Add the tomato paste prepared earlier, red chili powder, turmeric, corriander powder, and salt. Saute the masala for 3 - 4 minutes.
- Add soaked chana (chickpeas) and 1 ¼ Cups of water. Stir to combine. Close the lid of the instant pot. PRESSURE COOK for 20 minutes.
- Release the steam manually. Check chickpeas for doneness. Add garam masala, coconut milk, and spinach leaves. Stir to combine. Set the SAUTE Mode for 5 minutes to simmer the curry. Taste and if required, add more salt.
- Serve chana saag with rice.
Video
Notes
- If you are using canned or pre-cooked chickpeas, cook chickpeas and spinach together in pressure cook mode for 5 minutes only.
- The chickpeas (chana) take 3 - 4 whistles over low heat in a stovetop pressure cooker.
- This is a mild to medium spicy curry. Adjust the number of spices and chilies according to your taste preference.
- Kashmiri dried chilies are mildly spicy and give bright red color to the dish.
Nutrition
Chai Masala is the secret ingredient to make the Indian style masala chai at home. Learn how to make traditional chai masala spice mix from scratch.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
- What is Masala Chai?
- About Chai Masala Mix
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Watch Chai Masala Video
- Storage Suggestion
- Chai Masala Recipe
What is Masala Chai?
Masala Chai is an Indian style hot milk tea flavoured with spices. It is a more fragrant and spiced version of English milk tea. Chai or tea isn’t just another beverage in the subcontinent. Instead, it’s an emotion and something that one can share memories, good weather, and gossip over.
Masala tea is unarguably delicious, but it also boasts of several benefits apart from the taste, which gives you one more reason to get another cuppa.
- Reduces inflammation – Ginger present in the tea masala is effective in reducing inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the underlying cause of most diseases
- Balances hormones – Cinnamon and cloves in the tea masala help women balance their hormones, promote insulin absorption and help balance blood sugars
- Better digestion – A hot cup of tea may help your food digest better and aid in reducing bloating and weight loss as well
- Clears the sinuses – For those with a blocked nose or annoyingly plugged masala passage, a steaming hot cup of masala chai may help hear out block sinuses and relieve discomfort
- Instant mood upliftment – Needless to say, tea instantly energises you a gives you fresh start regardless of what time of day you drink it
About Chai Masala Mix
Chai Masala is an Indian spice mix mainly used to flavour the milk tea (chai). This masala tea powder is a dry, ready-to-use, gluten-free, and vegan spice powder that can be stored for a year.
It is a blend of whole spices – green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, dry ginger powder, and nutmeg .
A dash of masala tea powder can be used in cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake , or gingerbread cake. Instead of opening different jars of spices, it is always easy to add a teaspoon of chai masala to flavour the dish.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Green Cardamom is known as ‘elaichi’ in Hindi. It adds aroma and sweet taste to the tea masala.
- Cloves are called ‘laung’ in Hindi. It has a sharp and earthy taste. It is a natural home remedy for dental pain or cold/cough.
- Cinnamon or ‘dal cheeni’ is the best companion of milk beverages. It is an antioxidant that helps in controlling diabetes, cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
- Black Peppercorns or ‘kali mirch’ gives a little spicy kick to the tea masala.
- Dry Ginger Powder is known as ‘saunth’ in Hindi. It is the powder of dried ginger roots. Usually, fresh ginger root is added separately in masala tea. But with ginger powder already in the spice mix no need to add fresh ginger root.
- Nutmeg or ‘jaiphal’ aids in digestion and strengthens the human immunity system.
Watch Chai Masala Video
Storage Suggestion
Store Chai Masala at room temperature in an airtight container. It remains fresh and aromatic for 6 months. Or you can store it in the refrigerator in an airtight jar to increase the shelf life.
I prefer storing tea masala powder in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid to retain its freshness, taste, and aroma.
More Indian Spice Mix Recipes
- Homemade Garam Masala
- Homemade Sambar Powder
- Homemade Curry Powder
- Homemade Pickle Masala
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Green Cardamon (Elaichi)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Dry Ginger Powder (Saunth)
- ▢ ½ tablespoon Cloves (Laung)
- ▢ ½ tablespoon Black Peppercorns (Kali mirch)
- ▢ ½ inch Cinnamon (Dal chini)
- ▢ ¼ tablespoon or half piece Nutmeg (Jayphal)
Instructions
- Dry roast all the spices except ginger powder over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Or you can roast the spices till their aroma is released. Turn off the heat. Allow the spices to cool down a bit
- Grind roasted spices to a fine or coarse powder. Use a strong blade dry mixing jar for the purpose
- Combine ginger powder in the chai masala and mix nicely
- Chai masala is ready. Store it in a air tight container for 6 months to 1 year
- Half a teaspoon of chai spice mix is sufficient for making two cups of tea. Or you can increase the quantity of chai masala as per taste preference.
Recipe Notes:
While roasting the spices make sure not to brown them or roast for too long. Else, they will turn bitter. No need to roast the dry ginger powder.
Use a strong blade, heavy duty mixer for grinding spices. Please do not use smoothie blenders for grinding whole spices.
You can store chai masala at room temperature for 6 months to 1 year. Make sure to use a clean and dry spoon to scoop the masala powder.
Homemade tea masala is strong in taste than the packaged one. So add in tea accordingly.
Add ½ teaspoon of chai masala . Let the spice powder boil for 10 – 20 seconds to flavour the water.
Don’t add too much of the tea leaves , it will only make your tea bitter.
Avoid boiling water for too long after adding tea leaves and sugar. Even for making iced tea , I avoid steeping tea for too long. It makes any kind of tea (hot or cold0 bitter. Another 10 – 20 seconds is enough. Stir once or twice with a spoon.
Don’t add too much milk – While milk aids in flavouring tea, too much of it makes the drink too thick and milky.
Allow the tea to simmer over low heat for a few seconds to get the excellent colour and taste.
Nutrition
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