Chickpea Coconut Curry with Potatoes in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker

Our family-owned a big coconut groove back in my place which used to be bountiful. I remember the days my mom used to take me there every weekend promising to get me tender coconuts. While my mother watered and fertilized the groove with helpers, I will be lying down under a tree, and counting how many coconuts are there in each tree. She also had some planted around our house when I and my brother were born. She used to age them along with us as we grow. So we always had plenty of coconuts. My mother's dishes had coconut in them in some form. (grated, pasted, etc. ). Those are all distant dream now.

Chickpea curry( Channa masala as we call it ) is one of the protein-rich curries which is loved by most. This is not only healthy but also tastes good and hence very popular amongst vegan dieters.
Now wherever you go, be it the roadside truck or a fancy restaurant, the chickpea curry they serve is with onion, tomato, and masalas. However, my mom used to make a light version of the curry with coconut and potatoes, which is what I am going to share today. This is usually done by cooking chickpeas separately and simmering it in the curry later. I do not have the luxury of time to toil in the kitchen for hours. I tried making them in a pressure cooker and instant pot and they were a hit.

This recipe calls for a little planning. If you are planning to make it for breakfast, soak the chickpea overnight. If you are planning for dinner, soak it early in the morning. This chickpea curry pairs well with rice, roti(flatbread), poori (flatbread fried), idiyappam(a type of rice noodles), etc..
This is can be made easily in less than 30 mins(15 mins prep and 15 mins cook time). If you are planning to have rice with this curry, I would PIP(Pot in Pot) the rice in the same cooker.

Ingredients :

Chickpea - 1/2 cup soaked(soak it for 8 hours min)
Potato - 1 medium-sized
Cilantro - For garnishing
Salt - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Onion - 1 medium-sized
Tomato -1 big
Fennel seeds/bay leaves/cinnamon - 1 tsp/1/1 small stick for tempering (optional)

For curry Paste :

Coconut - 1/2 cup grated
Ginger - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 5-6 cloves
Cinnamon -1 small piece
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp (optional)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green chili - 2 small Thai chili
Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped

Instead of making your own masala as above, Thai curry paste and coconut milk can be used as preferred.

Instructions :

Cut the onions and tomatoes into big chunks. We are not gonna cook them until they turn mushy/cooked. Instead, we only want to saute them for a quick minute and let it cook along with other vegetables. The reason why we do this, is we are going to get the curry base from the coconut paste, whereas few curries get their consistency and base only if the onion and tomato turn mushy into a paste. So big chunks work well. I used Thai chilies which are very spicy and hence I used only 2. Vary the number of chilies as per the type and your liking.
Cut the potatoes into big chunks as well.
Grind the ingredients mentioned under curry paste together in a blender or a mixer jar into a fine paste and keep it ready
Turn on the instant pot in saute mode with the pot inside.
Once the pot is hot enough and is not wet, add 2 tbsp oil
Add items mentioned for tempering which is optional.
As they turn into golden brown in color, add the onions and saute it for a quick minute.
Once they start to turn transparent, add tomatoes and saute them for a minute.
Now add turmeric and salt as preferred.
Add the potatoes and soaked chickpeas next and give them all a mix.
Add the blended paste and 1 cup of water.
Close the cooker and make sure the valve is in the sealed position.
Turn the cooker to manual and set the timer for 15 minutes and let it cook.
If your chickpea is not soaked well, you can increase the cooking time.
You can basically increase/decrease the cooking time depending upon your preference.
I don't prefer overcooked curry, and hence 15 mins work well for me.
Sometimes, I soak the chickpea for 24 hours, in which case I let it cook for 10 mins only.
Let NPR and garnish with cilantro.
You can also add a bit of lemon juice, to give it a little bit of sourness, since we are not fully cooking the tomato.
If you are using a pressure cooker, let it cook for 5-6 whistles.
Switch off the heat source and let the pressure release naturally.
Garnish with cilantro and lime as mentioned and enjoy.