The chickpeas really added a rich, wholesome flavor to the broth.
I’m really liking the Philips electric pressure cooker I bought recently, and I’d really like for it to not be a white elephant, like what almost happened to my air fryer (glad it didn’t, though!). So I looked around for easy pressure cooker recipes that don’t involve unusual/expensive ingredients or require too much work. This recipe based on the one by SeriousEats was my first shot at Northern Indian cuisine, and was yummy.
The recipe did turn out a little watery and took a while to reduce, so I might reduce the amount of spinach next time and see if that resolves the issue. I also wonder if I put in too much lemon juice, so I’ll be adjusting that as well. Definitely something I’d make again. Yums!
Pressure Cooker Chicken & Chickpea Masala
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin (jintan putih)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander (ketumbar)
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (411-gram) can whole tomatoes, crushed with fork
- 400 grams fresh spinach leaves, trimmed (about 2 ikat)
- 1/4 cup fresh juice from 1 to 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (daun ketumbar)
- 1.5 kg chicken drumsticks and thighs (4 to 6 of each)
- 1/2 a chicken stock cube, diluted in 1/2 cup water
- 2 (400-gram) cans chickpeas, drained
- 200 ml whipping cream
- Salt
Directions
Heat butter in a large pot over medium-high heat (or you can use the pressure cooker pot depending on type) until foaming subsides. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until pale brown, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and spinach. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
Add half of cilantro, chicken stock, and chicken pieces. Stir to combine. Seal pressure cooker and heat to high pressure. Once high pressure is reached, cook for 15 minutes. I used my electric pressure cooker, so I set the “Chicken/Duck” option to 15 minutes.
Allow to cool, release pressure, and remove the lid. You should expect a lot of liquid from the chicken and the spinach leaves. Add the heavy cream, drained chickpeas, half the lemon juice, and simmer, gently stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened. Stir in remaining lemon juice and season to taste with salt. Serve immediately with steaming hot white rice, garnished with remaining cilantro leaves.