Instant Pot Ragda

An essential ingredient of Indian chaats, ragda is a mildly spiced white peas preparation. 

This curry is naturally Vegan and comes together in under 30 minutes using the Instant Pot!

Chaats are India's favorite street food. And when it comes to chaat; pani puri, samosa chaat, dahi batata puri and bhel puri are in the limelight. 

In order to make a lot of these chaats and more, ragda is an essential ingredient.

It is a delicious hot addition to otherwise cold pani puri. It is perfect with potato pattice as well as samosas. 

If you ever have street side chaat, you would know what I mean. All stalls have a large pot of ragda boiling at the stall. The sight is amazing and so is their ragda. 

Exploring Indian chaats will tell you how many different kinds of chaats we have. So many delicious recipes that can easily take me back to the streets of Mumbai! I really miss them all; thank God I can have it all here by making it at home.

Jump to:

• What is Ragda
• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to make this recipe
• Serving
• Expert Tips and Notes
• Pairings
• More Chaats to try
• Instant Pot Ragda

What is Ragda

An essential component of Indian chaats, ragda is a stew made using dried yellow peas with a bunch of basic spices.

Made in the pressure cooker or instant pot, this stew needs only a handful of ingredients and comes together really fast. 

Ragda is a great side for Indian breads, a great dip for breads and a great way to make Indian chaats.

An essential ingredient for chaats like ragda samosa, ragda pattice, pani puri and ragda puri. I sometimes make ragda ahead of time and serve as needed. The flavor definitely becomes amazing as it sits.

It does refrigerate well and tastes great the next day too. Just add some water if required as the peas tend to soak up the curry.

Why this recipe works

• It is super easy and quick to make; especially using the Instant Pot. I sometimes make it for a lazy lunch with some toasted bread.
• Ragda makes a great side for bread, an addition for chaats. From ragda pattice and ragda samosa to serving it with parathas or rice, it is a perfect curry.
• I make it with a handful of ingredients. However, the curry can be jazzed up with some potatoes or extra spices or kept basic with just some cumin and chili.
• It is a comfort meal with parathas or rice. It is not very spicy and is great to be labelled as 'comfort food'.
• The same recipe is easy to make with soaked peas or with unsoaked ones. The time required to cook varies but the method remains same.

While instant pot and pressure cooker work as well, I like to make ragda in the Instant Pot. It is hands-free and needs only a couple of steps to come together.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Ragda/ white peas: The main ingredient here is white peas. Soak them for a few hours or use them straight from the bottle. However, to soak or not to soak depends on you. The recipe remains same, only the time required for dry peas is more. 
• I generally like to make the ragda recipe with soaked peas. To soak them, submerge them in water that covers the peas completely and is an inch above it and leave them overnight or for 6-7 hours.
• Aromatics: I use Garlic, ginger and green chili as aromatics in the recipe. Plus adding onion and tomatoes is great. The recipe is easy to make without garlic too. It does change the flavor, but still tastes amazing.
• Spices: I only use a handful of basic Indian spices like turmeric powder, asafetida, red chili powder, garam masala and dhania jeera powder. Whole cumin seeds are the only whole spice I use here. Besides cumin, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds can be used too.
• The other ingredients used here are water, salt and oil. Top the prepared ragda with some cilantro before serving.

See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.

How to make this recipe

1- Wash and drain the white peas. Soak them in water that covers them completely and is one inch above the peas.

2-Once soaked for 6-8 hours, drain the peas and set aside.

3- Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Once it displays hot, add oil.

4- Add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add garlic, ginger and green chili.

5- Sauté for a couple minutes till the garlic loses its raw flavor, then add the spices.

6- Sauté for a minute followed by deglazing with ½ cup water. 

7- Next add the drained white peas and salt.

8- Then add the remaining water and mix well.

9- Then cover the lid and set valve to sealing. Change the mode to Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.

10- Once the cycle ends, let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and set the mode back to sauté. Add more water if required.

11- Then add cilantro leaves and mix well.

12- Serve with a bread, rice or tikki of your choice. 

Serving

This prepared ragda is perfect for addition to chaats like ragda puri, pani puri, ragda pattice or samosa chaat.  

Served alongside parathas or naan it makes a great meal and it is also a good side for steamed rice. 

I love a slightly soupy version with sliced bread too. The bread soaks up the soup and tastes great with some sliced onions on the side.

Moreover, a drier version is amazing with kulchas too. Matar Kulcha is a classic recipe with some add-ons like onions, chutney and cilantro. 

A variation to regular ragda pattice is this version of smashed potatoes with ragda and chutneys. It makes a great chaat that is easy to make. 

Expert Tips and Notes

• The recipe works for soaked peas and those without soaking; we simply cook the unsoaked beans longer than the soaked ones.
• Adding onions and tomatoes in the recipe is a good idea too. They can be added before putting in the peas.
• The ragda tends to get thicker once it cools. Ensure it has some liquid before turning off the Instant Pot else it will become too dry.
• Garlic can be skipped and the amount of green chili can be adjusted based on taste preferences. 
• Using dried green peas in place of the white peas is an option too.

Pairings

Here are some delicious pairings for this delicious ragda.

More Chaats to try

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