Instant pot chickpea and red lentil stew

This turned out better than I expected given that I was adapting a recipe for the crock pot to the Instant Pot. It is rather Indian(ish) but on the milder side.

Ingredients:

• Cooking Oil to sauté. I used avocado oil, but I suspect that just about anything would work as well. I'll probably try coconut oil next time. 
• 3 small Vidalia onions chopped.
• 1 jalapeno seeded deveined, and chopped.
• 1 bell pepper chopped coarsely.
• 4-6 large cloves of garlic chopped
• 3 teaspoons of garam masala.
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds
• 3 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained and rinsed.
• 3/4 cup dried lentils (I prefer the red lentils, but I suspect any would work.)
• 1 small can of sliced black olives
• 3 cups vegetable broth.
• 1 28 oz can of pureed tomatoes.
• Yogurt to top the stew with.

I used the six quart instant pot for this recipe. The proportions above just about fill it up.

What to do:

1. Set the Instant Pot to saute and add oil to the bottom.
2. saute onions until they start to brown around te edges, about 6-7 minutes.
3. Add the peppers, garlic, and garam masala and saute for another 3-4 minutes until the peppers start to get soft.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients with the exception of the yogurt, that goes on as a topping after the stew is completed.
5. Set the Instant Pot for 15 minutes on the meat/stew setting. 
6. Let the Instant Pot natural release for about 20 minutes after the cycle completes.

I made some coconut rice to go with the above that turned out pretty well:

In  rice maker combine 2 cups of Basmati rice with a can of coconut water and another 2 cups of water to make 4 cups of liquid total. Set the rice maker on the white rice setting. This makes a nice nutty base for the lentils.

Ladle the lentil stew over the rice and add a dollop of plain yogurt on top.

 A couple of notes:

The jalapeno adds some flavor but isn't at all hot given the quantity of stew that this recipe makes, and the bell pepper makes the pepper flavor a little more noticeable than it would be otherwise.

If you don't have easy access to garam masala or bulk sesame seeds near you, Amazon has a lot of options.  We  get ours from a nearby Asian market where it is very low priced. I don't think one has to spend a lot on either of these to make some really great stew.