Instant Pot Chicken Curry Recipe
Servings: 6
Calories: 321 kcal
This authentic Indian Instant Pot chicken curry is a delicious family recipe. Made with bone-in chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, the curry chicken is tender and bursting with flavor. Skip takeout and make this easy Instant Pot chicken curry recipe at home. See tips to substitute boneless chicken thighs.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon ghee or butter
- 1 bay leaf large
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 cups onions chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 ½ tablespoon coriander powder
- ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or cayenne (to taste)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 lbs chicken thighs or drumsticks bone-in, or 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs (whole)
- 2 cups potatoes cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth or water *
- 1 ½ teaspoon garam masala preferably homemade
- 2 tablespoon cashew butter or ground cashews (cashew paste) **
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In Saute mode, melt ghee or butter. Add cinnamon, cumin seeds and bay leaf and stir till fragrant, being careful not to burn.
- Add onions, garlic and ginger, and saute till deep golden brown, about 7 to 12 minutes. If you find the onions beginning to burn, deglaze with a teaspoon or two of broth.
- Mix tomato paste with 2 tablespoons of water and add to the onions.
- Saute until the tomato is cooked, about 3 minutes. You should notice that the oil starts to separate from the tomato. If it sticks to the bottom, add another tablespoon or two of water.
- Press Cancel to turn off Instant Pot. Otherwise, spices can burn when you add them.
- Add coriander, turmeric, black pepper, chili powder, salt and stir till fragrant.
- Add the chicken pieces to the pot and stir to coat with the spice mixture. Make sure there's nothing stuck on the bottom of the inner pot. This is very important!
- Add chicken broth or water.
- Close the lid and Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 9 minutes. If using boneless chicken thighs, pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release of pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods].
- Open the lid and carefully stir in the cubed potatoes and garam masala. ***
- Close the lid and Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes. ****
- Do a Quick Release of pressure. Press Cancel.
- Open the lid and add cashew butter, stir the chicken curry and heat through in Saute mode, until thickened. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
- Press Cancel, sprinkle chicken curry with cilantro and serve with Instant Pot basmati rice, brown rice, bread or naan.
Notes
- * Some people get the Burn message with bone-in chicken, and others don't. If making the recipe with bone-in chicken, add an extra ¼ cup of broth if you're prone to getting the burn notice.
- ** Cashew paste is used to thicken the curry. To make cashew paste, blend ¼ to ⅓ cup of cashews with very little water to make a thick paste similar to peanut butter. You can substitute cashew paste with cashew butter. If you prefer a thin curry, omit the thickeners altogether. You could also thicken the curry by cooking down the liquid at the end, in Saute mode.
- *** The garam masala can also be added at the very end when you're heating through on Saute mode. This makes the flavors bolder.
- **** At 6 minutes, the potatoes cook very well. Reduce the cooking time to 3 minutes for firmer potatoes.
- If you want to use boneless skinless chicken cut into bite-sized pieces, pressure cook both the chicken and potatoes together for 5 minutes on high pressure and do a quick release of pressure. There's no need to cook the chicken and potatoes in two stages.
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, diced chicken, etc.
- To make coconut curry chicken, add ¼ to ½ cup of coconut milk at the very end and heat through.
- To make a rich and creamy curry like butter chicken, add ¼ cup of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of butter at the very end and heat through.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 321 kcal | Carbohydrates: 14 g | Protein: 19 g | Fat: 22 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 125 mg | Sodium: 670 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 3 g
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