Chickpeas and rice

COURSE Main Course CUISINE Global, Indian

SERVINGS 4 CALORIES 512 kcal

INGREDIENTS

1 cup basmati rice raw rice
2 cups chickpeas cooked
1 cup coconut milk optional, replace it with water or vegetable broth
½ cup water Use 1 cup for stovetop method
½ cup onions sliced
½ cup tomatoes chopped
1 cup veggies chopped, I used carrots
1.5 tablespoon oil
Spices
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon cumin
5 green cardamom optional
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon garam masala powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1.5 teaspoon salt adjust as per your taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep work

  • Wash the basmati rice a couple of times and soak it for up to 30 minutes in a cup of water.
  • Chop the veggies, slice the onions and keep them aside.
  • If cooking chickpeas at home, cook them and keep them aside. If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them well to remove excess salt.

Stovetop Instructions

  • Heat a deep-bottomed pan or dutch oven.
  • Once it is hot, add oil, cumin, bay leaf, and cardamom. Let the cumin seeds splutter a little bit.
  • Now add sliced onions and let them brown. It will take around 7 to 8 minutes. To speed up the process, you can add a pinch of salt to the onions.
  • Add chopped veggies and finely chopped tomato and stir it once.
  • Then goes all spice powders one by one – turmeric powder, ground cumin, red chili powder, garam masala, and salt. Mix everything well.
  • Add cooked chickpeas and stir it once.
  • If using coconut milk, add it now. Or add water or vegetable broth and taste check the salt. For every cup of rice, I use 2 cups of water or coconut milk. 
  • Close the pan with a lid and cook the rice over medium heat. It will take around 10 to 15 minutes. If required, use half a cup of water. Water quantity depends on the age of the rice and the heat level of the stove.
  • Once the rice absorbs all the water and the rice is cooked as per your liking, switch off the flame. Let it sit aside for around 5 to 10 minutes. The residual heat will cook it more and fluff the rice with a fork.
  • Easy, healthy, and delicious rice with chickpeas and veggies is ready to serve!

Instant pot Instructions

  • Start the Instant pot in saute mode. Once it is hot, add oil, cumin seeds, bay leaf, and cardamom.
  • Add sliced onions to the Instant pot inner pot and let them brown a little bit.
  • I fried the onions for about 4 to 5 minutes by stirring them a couple of times.
  • Then goes chopped veggies and chopped tomato.
  • Add all the spice powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, and salt to this veggies mixture. Mix everything well so that spice powders get coated well with the veggies.
  • Now add cooked chickpeas and stir it once.
  • Add coconut milk (if using) and water to the Instant pot and taste check the salt. If required, you can add more salt. For every cup of rice, I use 1.5 cups of water or coconut milk. If you like grainy rice, use only 1.25 cups of water or coconut milk.
  • Drain the water completely from the rice and add it to the Instant Pot.
  • Close the Instant pot with its lid and seal the vent. Stop the saute mode and start it again in manual or pressure cook mode. Cook it for 5 minutes on high pressure.
  • Once the Instant pot finishes cooking, wait for 5 minutes and manually release the pressure. 
  • Take the inner pot out of the instant pot and fluff the rice with the fork. Cover the chickpeas rice with the lid and let it stand for about 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish the rice with cilantro or mint leaves, and the delicious and healthy Instant pot rice with chickpeas is ready to serve!

NOTES

Nutrition values are my rough estimates. Please feel free to use your calculator if you rely on them for your diet.

NUTRITION

Calories: 512kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 14gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 917mgPotassium: 631mgFiber: 10gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2572IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 6mg