Vegan Butter Chickpeas In The Instant Pot

I got my Instant Pot a few weeks ago, and I have become obsessed with it. I have used it almost daily since I got it, and I am blown away by how quickly I can whip up dinner. It has almost completely eliminated my family eating out, because we can have a gourmet meal in less time than it takes to pick up a pizza.

My favorite cuisine is Indian food, so I have been experimenting and adapting some of my favorite recipes to the Instant Pot. So far the favorite hands down has been butter chickpeas. This is a curry dish that is low on the spicy index, but full of rich, delicious flavor. The best part is this entire recipe has 8 minutes of cook time, including the rice. It takes a few minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure, and then release, but this is still on a plate in about 20 minutes.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, this recipe could be made on the stovetop as well, but thoroughly cooking the tofu and then adding in the rest of the ingredients. Its a little more effort than just throwing everything in the Instant Pot, but still a relatively quick and easy dinner.

A little tip on preparing the tofu – throw it in the freezer until it is fairly solid, then defrost it in the fridge for a couple of days. This takes some planning ahead, but it is so much easier to completely press the water out and makes for a better texture. I throw almost all of my tofu in the freezer as soon as I buy it so I have a rotating stock in the fridge as I like my tofu as dry as possible. 

Also a tip on the coconut milk. If you aren’t familiar with coconut milk from a can, often the fat separates from the liquid and you will have a solid mass in the top of the can. I like to give the can a few good shakes before I open it so it is a little more evenly mixed.

All of the ingredients in this recipe are readily available at my grocery store, so if I can get them in small-town Iowa, I’m guessing you can get them almost anywhere. But still, if you have any trouble locating tofu or garam masala, they are available on Amazon.

I generally make the butter chickpeas first, since it cooks faster, and leave any residual liquid in the Instant Pot to impart some flavor into the rice as it cooks. Remember, its not equal parts rice and water in the Instant Pot, you need at least 1/4 C more liquid per cup of rice.

 Everyone in my family loves this dish, and we have been having it at least once a week. I like that you can adjust the level of heat to your personal tastes, too.

Do you have an Instant Pot? Are you a fan of Indian food? I would love to hear what you think if you try this recipe out. It’s perfect for those nights when everyone is hungry and you are short on time! Check out some of my other tofu recipes for more inspiration.