Vegetarian (or Vegan) Chili with Kala Chana and Black Beans

04 Feb Vegetarian (or Vegan) Chili with Kala Chana and Black Beans

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So clearly I’m bad at blogging considering this post is my first one since November… But, with the weather getting ass cold and I can’t pretend NY is New Orleans by sidewalk-drinking anymore, I’m ready to attempt blogging again. We’re all getting ready for our day of gluttony with the Super Bowl just around the corner, and there’s nothing better than eating a warm, spicy, flavorful bowl of homemade chili. I’ve made all kinds of chili in the past using a slow cooker, but I recently purchased an instapot because it was about time. All my Indian aunties would always say, “Hey Vikki (pronounced Wikki), you like to cook yah.. go get an Instapot beta.” It took me a while, but I saw a deal on Amazon, and caved.

Vegetarian chili can be great (if you know how to work with spices)

With chili, don’t be scared to go heavy handed on the spices. I always gravitate towards a Mexican-inspired chili because Mexican food is just so damn good. So pull out some cumin, cayenne, chili powder, turmeric, paprika and if you have some chipotle sauce cans from a random purchase from a bodega, use that too. Every great chili uses a combination of tomatoes and some vegetables. In this case, I used fresh cherry tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce, along with a white onion, green and yellow bell peppers, and a lot of fresh garlic. I also had some vegetable stock on hand to provide extra flavor. The protein I used was a combination of black beans, and kala chana (small Indian brown chickpea). I used the kala chana because I had soaked it a couple days earlier for another dish.. and didn’t know what to do with the rest. And it turned out to be a perfect satisfying addition to this vegetarian chili.

Instant Pot your Chili so you don’t have to Wait 8 hours!

I had never really played with an Instant Pot before I purchased mine, and I was so impressed with all the different settings. I’m still not really sure how to use it.. but this chili turned out great, so I must be doing something right! I started by turning it on in Sauté mode to cook down the onions followed by the garlic. After 5 minutes or so, I added the diced veggies, then the black beans and kala chana.

Keep building flavor by layering in more ingredients

After you’ve stirred the bean and vegetable mixture together, start adding in your sliced tomatoes, as well as your cans of tomato sauce and chipotle sauce. Then just start dumping your spices into the pot. And let me reiterate. Dump. Lots. Of. Spices. Just keep shaking those spices directly in the pot. Maybe not a crazy amount of turmeric or cayenne.. But the rest? Just dump it in. Then stir it all together, and switch the mode of the Instant Pot to Bean/Chili, and let her rip.

Admire the chili. Enjoy the chili.

There will be some kind of timer on the pot (I think it said 30 min) but that wasn’t even accurate, because then there’s a 2nd timer. Once the 2nd timer goes off, release the steam valve thingy on the top, and open the lid. Voila.. Beautiful, luscious, spicy, satisfying kala chana chili. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice in there and stir again. With any chili, get creative with your dressings. I used shredded cotija cheese to stay with the Mexican theme, some shredded cabbage, and sliced avocado. But feel free to dress it differently everyday because you might be eating this stuff for a week. Try it!

Recipe

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
– 1 cup dry kala chana seeds
– 1 cup dry black beans
– 1 white onion
– 3-5 cloves of garlic
– 1 TBSP Cumin
– 1/2 TSP Cayenne
– 1 TBSP Chili powder
– 1/2 TSP Turmeric
– 1 TSP paprika
– One package of cherry tomatoes
– One can of tomato sauce
– One can of chipotle sauce
– Salt to taste
– Bell peppers (use a combination of 2 adult sized peppers or
– 1/2 Carton of vegetable stock
– 1 lemon

For dressings:
– Sliced avocado
– Sliced spinach
– Shredded cotija cheese

1. Soak the dry kala chana and black beans overnight. Immerse them in water so that there is an inch of water above the chana as well as the beans.
2. Drain beans and chana. Mince white onion and garlic. Turn instapot to Sauté mode and cook down onion for a few minutes before adding garlic to cook down a little more for a minute or so.
3. Dice bell peppers and slice tomatoes while the onion and garlic are cooking. Add beans and chana to pot and stir together onion, garlic and beans/chana together.
4. Add tomatoes and bell peppers to pot, then add all of your spices as well as some salt. Stir together and shift mode of instapot to bean/chili.
5. The timer will automatically set to 30 min, but then when it hits 30, it starts a 2nd timer that runs an additional 15-20 min. Just wait for both timers to go off, then release the steam valve at the top of the instapot before opening the lid.
6. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice into the mixture and stir the chili together.
7. Serve in a bowl and dress with shredded cheese, spinach, sliced avocados and keep some hot sauce nearby to add extra heat. Then enjoy!