Instant Pot Tomato-Braised Chickpeas With Tahini

Perfumed with cinnamon, cumin and turmeric, and drizzled with a creamy, garlicky tahini sauce, these tomato-braised chickpeas make for a complex, satisfying meatless meal, especially when served with warm flatbread for dipping into the sauce. If you are starting with soaked and drained chickpeas, reduce the water to about 1 1/2 cups — just enough to cover them — then cook on high pressure for 13 minutes instead of 35.

Ingredients

• 3

  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1

  large red onion, thinly sliced

• 2 ¼

  teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more as needed

• 4

  garlic cloves, grated, passed through a press or minced

• 1

  (15-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, or diced tomatoes

• 1

  (2-inch) cinnamon stick, or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1

  bay leaf

• 1

  pound dried chickpeas (about 2 cups)

• ¾

  teaspoon ground cumin

• ¼

  teaspoon ground turmeric

• ½

  cup chopped cilantro, mint or parsley, plus more for garnish

Preparation

1. Using the sauté function set on medium, heat oil in the pressure cooker pot. Add the sliced onions and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Using kitchen shears or your hands, break the tomatoes into pieces and add them, along with their liquid, to the pot. (If using diced tomatoes, just add them to the pot.) Stir in cinnamon stick and bay leaf, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Stir in chickpeas, cumin, turmeric, remaining 2 teaspoons salt and 4 cups water. (The water should cover the chickpeas by about an inch; if not, add a little more water.) Cover and cook at high pressure for 35 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for at least 20 minutes. Release any remaining pressure.
4. While the chickpeas cook, make the tahini sauce: Combine lemon juice, garlic and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk in tahini, then whisk in oil, a few drops at a time, until emulsified. Whisk in enough ice water to make a thin, pourable sauce. Taste and add more lemon juice, if needed.
5. Stir chopped cilantro into braised chickpeas and taste, adding more salt, if you’d like. To serve, garnish bowlfuls with a big drizzle of tahini sauce and more cilantro.