Instant Pot Chicken Curry
This authentic Indian Instant Pot chicken curry is a delicious family recipe. Made with bone-in chicken, it cooks up tender and has lots of flavor. Flavorful and creamy, it's sure to please any Indian Curry lover.
This authentic Indian Instant Pot chicken curry is a delicious family recipe. Made with bone-in chicken, it cooks up tender and has lots of flavor. Flavorful and creamy, it's sure to please any Indian Curry lover.
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp garlic (minced)
- 2 stick
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
- 3 tablespoon butter (or ghee)
- 2 cups onions (chopped fine)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
- 3/4 teaspoons turmeric powder
- 3/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon indian chili powder (or cayenne or to taste)
- 3 pounds chicken thighs (or drumsticks, bone-in)
- 2 cups potato (cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes)
- 1/2 cup water (or chicken broth)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoons cashew paste
- Carbohydrate 2.49433830212658 g
- Cholesterol 80.9833333333333 mg
- Fat 30.9061674363024 g
- Fiber 0.986598414033547 g
- Protein 0.835462019346944 g
- Saturated Fat 19.3854575000214 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (275g)
- Sodium 805.265916662799 mg
- Sugar 1.50773988809303 g
- Trans Fat 2.18520535259052 g
- Calories 282 calories
Step-by-step
- In 'Sauté' mode, melt butter. Add cinnamon, cumin seeds and bay leaf and stir till fragrant, being careful not to burn.
- Add onions, garlic and ginger, and sauté till golden brown, about 7 minutes.
- Add tomato paste mixed with 2 tablespoons water and stir.
- Sauté until tomato paste is cooked, about 3 minutes. If it sticks to the bottom, add another tablespoon or two of water.
- Turn off Instant Pot, otherwise spices can burn when you add them. Add coriander, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne, salt and stir till fragrant.
- In 'Sauté' mode, add chicken pieces and stir to coat with spice mixture.
- Add 1/2 cup water or chicken broth and cook in 'Poultry' mode for 15 minutes. (Make sure steam release handle is in Sealing position). When time is up, do a Quick Release.
- Add cubed potatoes and garam masala to chicken and stir gently. Cook in 'Manual' mode for 6 minutes. (Make sure steam release handle is in Sealing position). When time is up, do a Quick Release.
- To make cashew paste, blend 1/4 to 1/3 cup cashews with water to make a thick (like peanut butter) paste. - Substitute cashew paste with cashew butter or heavy cream or coconut cream. You can also thicken the curry by cooking down the liquid at the end, in 'Saute' mode. If you prefer a thin curry, you can omit the thickener altogether
- Add cashew paste, stir the chicken curry and heat through in 'Sauté' mode.
- Turn off Instant Pot, sprinkle chicken curry with cilantro and serve with Instant Pot basmati rice, bread or naan.
Cooking meat and starchy vegetables together in an electric pressure cooker usually results in one or the other turning to mush. Potatoes require significantly less processing time than bone-in poultry cuts, meaning standard simultaneous loading guarantees overcooked roots or undercooked protein. Resolving this chronological conflict requires staged cooking rather than dumping everything into the steel insert at once. By sequencing the poultry and root vegetables into two distinct pressure intervals, the cooker accommodates differing density levels without sacrificing structural integrity.
Searing whole spices like cinnamon and cumin seeds in melted butter during the initial sauté phase liberates fat-soluble aromatic compounds into the cooking oil before any moisture is introduced. Finely chopped onions require approximately seven minutes of direct heat to reach a deep golden brown shade, developing the necessary Maillard foundation for the gravy base. Turning the appliance off before adding ground coriander, turmeric, and cayenne prevents delicate spice solids from scorching against the hot base of the pot. Once the aromatic paste is established, bone-in thighs or drumsticks cook under pressure for fifteen minutes, releasing their natural collagen into the liquid to body the sauce. Cubed potatoes enter the chamber only after that initial fifteen-minute cycle concludes, requiring just six minutes of manual pressure to soften completely without dissolving into the broth.
Finishing the dish with a blended cashew paste introduces plant-based fats that emulsify into the surrounding sauce, yielding a velvety consistency that clings to the meat. Heavy cream or coconut cream serves as an equivalent dairy or tropical alternative if raw nuts are unavailable. Stored in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator, this preparation maintains its structural integrity for up to three days, often improving in depth as the spices continue to permeate the chicken fibers overnight.
