Instant Pot Chickpea and Red Lentil Curry

Ingredients

• 2 cans / 506 g Canned chickpeas, drained
• 1 cup / 192 g Red lentils, dry
• 1 tsp / 3 g Ground turmeric
• 1 Tbsp / 6.3 g Mixed masala
• 1 Tbsp / 5.4 g Chilli powder
• 1 Tbsp / 16 g Ginger garlic paste
• 1 medium / 110 g Yellow onion, for the curry
• 2 medium / 246 g Tomatoes, for the curry
• 2 leaves / 1.2 g Bay leaves, for the curry
• 1 tsp / 2 g Mustard seeds
• not weighed Cinnamon pieces
• 1.5 cups / 355.2 g Water, for the curry
• not weighed Oil, for the pot
• not weighed Butter, for the pot
• not weighed Fresh cilantro, for finishing
• not weighed Lemon, for finishing
• not weighed Cream, for finishing

Method

1. Set the cooker to saute. When the pot is hot, add a little oil and a little butter. The comment says the onion is softened in a bit of oil and butter, and it does not weigh either one, so they are not in the count. Add 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds, 2 bay leaves, and 2 pieces of cinnamon. The comment says 2 pieces of cinnamon and does not weigh them, so the cinnamon is not in the count. A teaspoon of ground mustard seed is 2 g. Two bay leaves are 1.2 g. Toast the whole spices in the fat until they smell fragrant. The comment uses the lowest saute setting for the spices.
2. Add 1 onion, diced. The comment says 1 onion and does not give a size. A medium onion is 110 g. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft. The comment uses medium saute for the onion. Stir in 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric, 1 tablespoon of mixed masala, 1 tablespoon of chilli powder, and 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste. The turmeric is 3 g. The mixed masala is 6.3 g. The comment does not name a masala brand. This card does not. The chilli powder is 5.4 g. The comment spells it chilli and lists it beside the masala, so this card treats it as the hot chile, not a second blend. The ginger garlic paste is 16 g. Cook, stirring, until the ground spices smell fragrant.
3. Add 2 cans of chickpeas, drained, and 1 cup of dry red lentils, washed. Stir them into the spices. A later comment says the cans are 400 g net. That weight includes the brine. The drained solids from one USDA can are 253 g, so 2 cans are 506 g. The brine is poured off. A cup of dry red lentils is 192 g. The comment says drained chickpeas and washed lentils. It does not say to rinse the chickpeas.
4. Lay 2 grated tomatoes on top of the chickpeas and lentils, then add 1.5 cups of water. The comment says 2 tomatoes and does not give a size. A medium tomato is 123 g, so 2 are 246 g. The comment grates them and adds them last, on top, so the tomato does not sit on the bare pot. A cup of water is 236.8 g, so 1.5 cups are 355.2 g. The comment does not add salt. Do not add a pinch that was not in the list.
5. Close the lid. Cook 6 minutes at high pressure. Use a quick release. Do not open the cooker until the pin drops. If the curry is watery, turn saute to medium and cook, stirring, until it thickens a little. The comment did that.
6. Finish with cilantro, lemon, and a drizzle of cream if you want them. The comment says dhania, lemon, and a drizzle of cream for presentation, and it does not weigh them, so they are not in the count. The comment served the pot with store-bought garlic-butter naan. That bread is not in this pot and it is not in the count. The comment does not give a yield. Two drained cans and 1 cup of dry lentils is the pot. This card cuts 4 bowls. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for a few days. Reheat until the curry is hot in the center.

Nutrition

Kitchen estimate only, not lab-verified. Counted as 1 of 4 bowls. The comment does not give a yield. Two drained cans and 1 cup of dry lentils is the pot, so this card cuts 4. The chickpeas, the lentils, the turmeric, the mixed masala, the chilli powder, the ginger garlic paste, the onion, the tomatoes, the bay leaves, the mustard seeds, and the water are in the count. The cinnamon pieces, the oil, the butter, the cilantro, the lemon, and the cream are not weighed, so they are not in the count. The garlic-butter naan the comment served beside the pot is not in this count. The chickpeas are 2 cans, drained. A later comment says the cans are 400 g net. That net weight includes brine. The drained-can portion is 253 g, so 2 cans are 506 g. The row is canned drained solids, not rinsed, because the comment says drained and does not say rinsed. The lentils are 1 cup dry, 192 g. Cooked lentils are not the row. Total sugars are not on the lentil row, so lentil sugars are not in the count. The turmeric is 1 teaspoon, 3 g. The mixed masala is 1 tablespoon, 6.3 g. The comment does not name a brand. This card does not. SR Legacy has no mixed masala, so curry powder is the stand-in. The chilli powder is 1 tablespoon, 5.4 g. The comment spells it chilli and lists it beside the masala, so the cayenne row is the hot chile, not the seasoned chili-powder blend. The ginger garlic paste is 1 tablespoon, 16 g. The comment does not name a brand. This card does not. SR Legacy has no paste, so a jarred panel is the row, and that jar lists salt. A homemade paste without that salt would be lower in sodium. The onion is 1 medium, 110 g. The tomatoes are 2 medium, 246 g. The bay leaves are 2, 1.2 g. The mustard seeds are 1 teaspoon, 2 g, counted on the ground-seed spoon. The water is 1.5 cups, 355.2 g. Added sugars are 0. The card did not list a sweetener. About 8 g of sugars per bowl sit in the chickpeas, the vegetables, and the spices. The oil and the butter are not weighed, so this fat number does not include them. The canned chickpeas and the paste are the salty parts. One bowl is 455 mg sodium.

Guest diet / allergy swaps

Short kitchen notes for guests. A fuller gluten-free or dairy-free ingredient list, when we have one, is in the panels below.

• Dairy-free

  The butter in the pot and the cream at the end are not weighed. Leave both off and keep the oil. The chickpeas, the lentils, the vegetables, and the spices stay. The garlic-butter naan the comment served beside the pot is not in this count. Leave that bread off, or use a bread whose package does not list milk. This is a kitchen note, not a dairy-free certification.

  • United States: No butter and no cream. The oil stays. Leave the garlic-butter naan off, or use a bread whose package does not list milk.
  • United Kingdom: No butter and no cream. The oil stays. Leave the naan off, or use a bread with no milk.

• Gluten-free style

  Wheat, when it shows up, is in the mixed masala or the chilli powder. Use jars whose packages do not list wheat. The chickpeas, the lentils, the vegetables, and the ginger garlic paste stay. The butter, if you use it, stays, so this pot is not dairy-free. The naan beside the pot is wheat. Leave it off for this version. This is a kitchen note, not a gluten-free certification.

  • United States: Mixed masala and chilli powder whose packages do not list wheat. The butter stays, if you use it, so this pot is not dairy-free. Leave the naan off.
  • United Kingdom: Mixed masala and chilli powder marked gluten free. The butter stays, if you use it. Leave the naan off.

• No meat

  This pot is chickpeas and red lentils. It is not written with meat. A different protein would be a different pot.

  • United States: This pot is chickpeas and red lentils. It is not written with meat.
  • United Kingdom: The same note. This is a chickpea and lentil pot.