Instant Pot Chicken Korma is a mildly spiced coconut chicken curry recipe that’s delicious enough to impress guests but easy enough to make on a weeknight. Put away the jar of store-bought korma sauce and make this curry from scratch with little effort.
Table of Contents
Introduction
If you’re new to Indian food, this chicken korma is a great gateway recipe to introduce you to Indian cuisine. The spices give this dish fragrance and flavor while the coconut milk gives the curry a rich, creamy quality.
The word korma means ‘braise’. Kormas are mild Indian curries braised in yogurt, broth, water, or cream. Chicken Korma traces its origins to the royal North Indian (Mughal) kitchens.
In North Indian cooking, korma is traditionally made with yogurt and cream and is garnished with sauteed raisins and nuts.
In South India, korma is made with coconut. The South Indian (Kerala) version is also referred to as Malabari Chicken Korma (or kurma). Since I’m partial to the South Indian version, that’s what I’m sharing here.
Traditional South Indian chicken korma is made with grated coconut and has the added ingredient of white poppy seeds (khus khus).
I wanted this recipe to be as easy as possible so I’ve eliminated the need to bring out the blender. I substitute coconut milk for the grated coconut and omit the poppy seeds.
Serve this easy Instant Pot Chicken Korma over basmati rice to soak up the rich, creamy korma gravy. You can also serve it with naan (bread).
Here are some Instant Pot South Indian recipes you might like to try out:
– Authentic Instant Pot Chicken Curry
– Instant Pot Beef Curry with Coconut Milk
– Instant Pot Fish Molee Curry
– Instant Pot Sambar
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Oil
Instead of sauteing the whole spices (cinnamon, cardamom, etc.) in oil, try substituting ghee or coconut oil. Both add wonderful flavor to this recipe. You can buy coconut oil and ghee at most grocery stores or you can make your own ghee with this Instant Pot Ghee recipe.
Onions
The Instant Pot chicken korma recipe, as written, is made by doing a minimal saute of the onions (to light golden) and it tastes great.
But as I’ve mentioned in other recipes, the longer you can saute the onions for Indian curries (without burning them!) the better, in my opinion. So if you have the time, go ahead and saute the onions to a deeper golden brown.
Kashmiri Chili Powder
Kashmiri chili powder is a special kind of Indian chili powder that has a bright red color without being too spicy. I actually use more than is called for in the recipe, so if you like your curries on the spicy side, you can add more.
It can be found at Indian grocery stores or on amazon. If you canāt find Kashmiri chili powder, go ahead and substitute a smaller quantity of cayenne pepper.
The great thing about Indian dishes is that you can make them as mild as you like by adjusting the quantity of chili powder or substituting paprika for the chili powder. The recipe, as written, is not very spicy (by my Indian standards!)
Spice
This is a pretty mild curry, so if you like spicy foods add a half or whole serrano pepper or jalapeno pepper that’s slit down the middle.
Fennel
Fennel is commonly used in South Indian (Kerala) recipes. I prefer to use whole fennel seeds and grind them using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder that I keep especially for grinding spices. If you buy ground fennel, you probably won’t use it up before it loses its freshness.
Fish Sauce
I really like the quality of Red Boat fish sauce which you can find at Asian grocery stores or on amazon. But it is more expensive than other fish sauce brands. Tiparos is another brand of fish sauce Iāve used ā itās more affordably priced.
Thereās no substitute for fish sauce. It adds that depth of flavor, the umami, to the curry. Iāve had vegetarian readers recommend the Fysh brand of sauce. But I havenāt tried it. You may need to add a little extra.
Soy sauce is also a substitute for fish sauce, but there is a flavor difference.
Tomato Paste
Tomato paste can burn easily if the inner pot is too hot. When you’re sauteing the tomato paste, keep a close eye and add a tablespoon or two of chicken broth or water if it starts to burn.
Coconut Milk
I use full-fat coconut milk. I find some coconut milk brands don’t do well during pressure cooking, including some brands that are widely available at grocery stores. My two favorite brands areĀ Aroy-DĀ andĀ Chaokoh. Some readers recommend Trader Joe’s brand coconut milk.
Cashew Butter
I buyĀ cashew butterĀ at my local grocery store, but I know it may not always be available.Ā Almond butterĀ seems much more popular.
If you canāt find cashew butter, take a couple of tablespoons of roasted cashews and blend them to a smooth paste, adding enough water or broth to get the blender moving. If you add too much water the mixture may be too grainy and watery.
If youāre new to the Instant Pot and arenāt familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginnerās Quick Start Guide, Instant Pot ULTRA Beginnerās Quick Start Guide, or Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Korma – Ingredients
- Chili powder
- Fennel powder
- Turmeric
- Salt
- Cardamom
- Bay leaves
- Cinnamon stick
- Cloves
- Cumin
- Black pepper
- Coriander
- Chicken
- Onions
- Garlic
- Oil
- Ginger
- Coconut milk
- Broth
- Cashew butter
- Tomato paste
- Cilantro (not shown)
How to Make Chicken Korma in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Turn on Saute Mode.
- Saute whole spices.
- Saute onions and tomatoes.
- Saute spices and stir in chicken.
- Stir in broth and coconut milk.
- Pressure cook for 4 minutes.
- Do a 15-minute natural pressure release (NPR15).
- Thicken the curry.
Turn on ‘Saute’ Mode
- Instant Pot DUO:Ā Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA:Ā Select the Saute function and press Start.
Saute Whole Spices
- Once the inner pot has heated up, add oil or ghee.
- When oil is hot, add whole spices (bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves) and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
- Add onion, ginger and garlic.
Saute Onions and Tomatoes
- Saute the onion mixture until onions are golden brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and saute for a minute or two. *
- Press Cancel. The spices in the next step will cook in residual heat.
Pro Tip
* If the tomato paste starts to stick to the bottom or burn, add a tablespoon or two of broth to deglaze, and continue sauteing.
Saute Spices and Stir in Chicken
- Stir in coriander, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, fennel powder, black pepper, and salt.
- Saute the spices with the onion mixture for about 30 seconds. Deglaze as needed.
- Add in the chicken.
Stir in Broth and Coconut Milk
- Stir chicken and spices until combined.
- Add broth and 1 cup of coconut milk and stir till combined.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 4 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in Sealing position
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads 4 (4 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 4 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 4 minutes (00:04).
- Press ‘Start’.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display L0:00Ā or 00 00 and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to do a 15-minute Natural Release of Pressure
- Allow the Instant Pot to stay in Keep Warm mode for 15 minutes.
How to Release any Remaining Pressure on the DUO
- Move the steam release handle to Venting. Any remaining steam will come out of the steam release handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
How to Release any Remaining Pressure on the ULTRA
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and any remaining steam will come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
Thicken the Curry
- Stir in the cashew butter and remaining coconut milk.
- Select Saute mode, and cook for a minute or two until thickened and heated through, stirring frequently.
- Press Cancel and stir in chopped cilantro if desired.
- Serve with hot buttered naan or steamed basmati or jasmine rice.
Instant Pot Chicken Korma
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil – or ghee
- 2 small bay leaves – or 1 large
- 1 cinnamon stick – 2 inches
- 5 cardamom pods
- 5 cloves
- 2 1/2 cups onion – chopped
- 2 Tbsp garlic – minced
- 1 Tbsp ginger – minced
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp fennel powder
- 1 1/4 tsp salt – or to taste!
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs – cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/4 cup coconut milk – divided (preferably Chaokoh or Aroy-D brand)
- 2 Tbsp cashew butter – or almond butter
- 1/4 cup cilantro – chopped, to garnish
Equipment
Instructions
- Select Saute and allow the Instant Pot to heat up. Once the inner pot has heated up, add oil or ghee.
- Once the oil has heated up, add bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
- Stir in onion, garlic, and ginger and saute the onion mixture until onions are light golden brown, about 5 minutes. *
- Add tomato paste and stir for a minute. Add a tablespoon or two of broth or water if the tomato begins to stick to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Press Cancel. The spices will cook in the residual heat.
- Stir in coriander, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, fennel, black pepper and salt. Deglaze with a small amount of broth if you find that the spices are burning.
- Stir the spices with the onion mixture for about 30 seconds. Deglaze as needed.
- Add the chicken and stir to coat the chicken with spices. Scrape the bottom of the inner pot to make sure there are no brown bits stuck to the bottom.
- Add broth and 1 cup of coconut milk and stir till combined.
- Pressure cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Do a 15-minute natural release (NPR 15). Read more about pressure release methods.
- Open the lid and select Saute mode. Add the cashew butter and remaining coconut milk.
- Heat through until thickened, stirring frequently, about 1 or 2 minutes.
- Press Cancel and stir in chopped cilantro.
- Serve with toasted naan or basmati rice.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. cut up chicken, chopped onion, etc.
- * If the onion starts to stick to the bottom or burn, add a tablespoon of broth to deglaze and continue sauteing. Do this as often as needed until the onions are cooked properly.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.Ā You don’t want to miss any!
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a five ā rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!
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Katrina
Hi! What size of instapot do you use?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Katrina, all my recipes are tested in the 6 quart. But different models including the Ultra, Duo Evo, Duo.
Shannon
This tasted wonderful but the prep time was closer to 2 hours, not 5 minutes
Paint the Kitchen Red
Shannon, I’m glad you loved the recipe but sorry that you felt that the prep time was too much. I state on the notes of all my recipes that prep time does not include steps that are accounted for in the recipes. It’s just a recipe-writing convention that I’ve used because prep time can vary e.g. pre-minced garlic and ginger or pre-chopped vegetables. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Elaine
This looks wonderful! Could I substitute almond butter for the cashew butter without affecting the flavor too much?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Elaine, yes you can for sure. Some north Indian kormas are made with ground almonds. Hope you like it.