Kalay Chanay in an Instant Pot

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It is Day 3 of Fasting guys. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept, in the month of Ramadan, a month in the lunar Muslim calendar, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. In Canada that means a whopping 17 hour fast. No food, no water. For those of you familiar with fasts and keeping them, I hope yours are going well. This is my first year of Ramzan in a long time where both kids are in school and I have decided to take advantage of that to alter my regular schedule to include a nap. It is going a long way to compensate for the sleep I lose at night when I wake up for Sehri/Suhoor (the predawn meal). Fingers crossed that the rest of the fasts go as these have. 

Speaking of changes, I have also recently started really enjoying Kalay Chanay, a black chickpea variety readily available in South Asian stores. Kalay Chanay + Dahi Baray are pretty much my dream combo and if I have those two then I am set. I like them for lunch as much as for breaking my fast. They have a deeper flavour than regular chickpeas and the texture is also such that they retain their shape and never become mushy. 

They do take AGES to cook though which is why they are a natural fit for an Instant Pot or a pressure cooker. I soak mine overnight out of habit. If you can’t soak for a few hours and add eight minutes extra of time. 

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Kalay Chanay

A black chickpea dish that is a Pakistani classic, perfect for iftar during Ramadan or really any time of the year 🙂

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Pakistani

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups black chickpeas or kalay chanay
• 1 onion, diced
• 3/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1.5 tsp ginger paste
• 1.5 tsp garlic paste
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1-2 diced tomatoes (I prefer one)
• 2-3 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 1 tsp Garam Masala powder

Garnish

• Cilantro
• Green Chillies

Instructions

1. Soak your black chickpeas overnight, rinse the water off.

2. Heat oil in your IP/Pressure Cooker. For IP Saute on Medium.

3. Saute cumin seeds till you can really smell them sizzling and then add the diced onions

4. Cook stirring occasionally till slightly golden then add the ginger and garlic pastes and saute for a minute

5. Then add the Salt, Red Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Turmeric, and stir fry for a minute

6. Add the diced tomato and saute until it's cooked to a rich paste

7. Add the black chickpeas, stir to cook and then add 2 1/2 cups of hot water to your Instant Pot and set it on Manual for 25 minutes . Let it release naturally

8. Check the consistency, saute to reduce water or add water and bring to a boil according to your personal preference

9. Then add the tamarind pulp and garam masala, let simmer for 2-3 minutes then garnish with desired toppings. 

Recipe Notes

Please note I use measuring spoons for blog recipes so two tsp of salt does not mean the teaspoon in your cutlery drawer. If you are using that then start with one 🙂

Looking for more Ramadan classics? Jump back to my last post and check them out!