Recipe Book

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Chicken 25 min

Adapted from TwoSleevers (Urvashi Pitre)

Ingredients

  • 14 oz 400 g canned tomatoes (14 oz)
  • 5-6 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 lb 450 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breast, or bone-in)

To finish

  • 4 oz 115 g butter, cubed (or coconut oil if dairy-free)
  • 4 oz 120 ml heavy cream (or full-fat coconut milk if dairy-free)
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4-1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Method

  1. Place all ingredients into the Instant Pot in the order listed, except the butter, cream, and the finishing garam masala — mix the sauce well before placing the chicken on top. If frozen, push the chicken into the sauce a bit so it defrosts better.
  2. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the rest.
  3. Open the pot and carefully remove the chicken; set aside.
  4. Blend the remaining sauce, preferably with an immersion blender.
  5. Add the cubed butter, cream, cilantro, and remaining garam masala, and stir until well incorporated. (Let the sauce cool slightly first — adding these to boiling sauce makes it too thin; if that happens, refrigerate briefly to thicken.)
  6. Optionally set aside half the sauce to freeze for later use.
  7. Add the chicken back in and heat through, breaking it into smaller pieces if needed — don't shred it.
  8. Serve over rice or zucchini noodles.

Notes