A smokey and richly sauce mixed bean chilli, made in a jiffy thanks to the Instant Pot! No more hours of boiling dried beans on your stove for you!
- 50 g dried haricot beans
- 50 g dried chickpeas
- 50 g dried kidney beans
- 50 g dried black beans
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp chipotle chilli powder or paste adjust to heat preference
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika dulce or hot as preferred
- 1 can chopped tomatoes about 400g
- 1 can sweetcorn about 200g
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Start the day before by washing well then soaking the haricot beans, chickpeas and kidney beans in a large jug of fresh cold water. Don't pre-soak the black beans as they will be completely overcooked - simply wash them in a sieve just before use.
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Up to 24 hours later, drain the beans well and add all four types of beans into the inner pot and completely cover with cold water. Put the lid on, set vent to Sealing then press Manual and adjust to 20 mins (High pressure). Do a QPR when alarm sounds. Drain and rinse your beans thoroughly and set aside whilst you cook the sauce. Wash and dry the inner pot too.
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Replace the Inner Pot in the base and select Sauté mode, adding the oil at the same time. Cook the onion until softened and browning around the edges (stir frequently) then add the garlic and bay leaf, cooking for a minute to release the aromas.
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Stir in all the remaining spices, adding more chilli if you like it extra hot and once well mixed with the onion, add in the can of tomatoes. Add a third of the volume of the can of water, swirl to pick up the tomato remaining and add to the pot along with the sweetcorn and the small amount of water than that they are usually packed in.
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Add back the beans, give another big stir and hit Cancel. Put the lid back on, set vent to Sealing and press Manual, adjusting to 8 minutes (High Pressure). This is just enough time to finish cooking the beans to tenderness with some bite remaining - adjust this time if you want the more or less cooked to suit your own personal preference.
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After a QPR, stir well and if you want to reduce the sauce, do so using Sauté but usually, I find there is just the right amount of liquid to produce a rich sauce as it is. Normally, I am really stingy with salt but here, I think the beans really do need it - start with a cautious half a teaspoon of sea salt for the whole batch and taste to see if you think it needs more.
Tip - I measure out all the spices into a little pot before I start so I can add them quickly to the pot when cooking the sauce. You could measure out two lots to be extra speedy the next time you want to make this chilli - just store in a small glass jar or other small airtight container until needed. Just don't add the chipotle paste until ready to cook!