This week I’m making Urvashi Pitre's "Now & Later" Instant Pot Butter Chicken
And I’m actually using my Instant Pot! Full disclosure: I have very limited experience with an Instant Pot (I’ve mostly used it to make bone broth with roasted chicken bones). I was hesitant as the Instant Pot can’t hold a large amount - or at least not enough to feed 3-5 families. But it turns out a triple batch fits in the Instant Pot, is utterly delicious and a triple batch will feed at least 4 families (or 18 people).
Below are the ingredients and directions for a meal that feeds 4-6 people, with extra sauce to use for later. I triple this, I make the butter chicken in the Instant Pot and give each family a jar of rice to make separately when they are ready to make dinner. I also extended the pressure cooking time to 14 minutes so the larger amount of sauce and chicken would fully cook.
For the rice:
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
1 cup water
1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
For the butter chicken:
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2-1 teaspoons cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons good-quality garam masala, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, left whole
4 ounces butter, cut into cubes (use coconut oil, if dairy free)
4 ounces heavy cream (use full-fat coconut milk, if dairy free)
1/4-1/2 cups chopped cilantro
Ingredients
Directions
If you want to make the rice in the Instant Pot, combine all the ingredients for the rice, place in a 6 or 7-inch heat-safe pan, and set aside. If you’re making a big batch, skip this step and just make the rice separately.
Add tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chicken, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, salt, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala, and cumin into the inner liner of your Instant Pot. Mix the sauce a bit, then add the chicken. You are putting in everything except the butter, cream, cilantro, and 1 remaining teaspoon of garam masala. Mix well.
If you’re making rice in the Instant Pot, place a tall steamer rack/trivet on top of the chicken mixture, and place the uncovered bowl of uncooked rice on the rack. Again, skip if multiplying the recipe.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot, twisting it into position. Press the Manual or Pressure cook button, set the timer to 10 mins, and cook.
Once it is done cooking, allow the pot to cool for 10 minutes, undisturbed. Then, release all remaining pressure and open the pot. Remove and set the cooked rice aside if you’ve included it. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Using an immersion blender, blend together the sauce until it is smooth. Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the cut-up butter, cream, cilantro, and garam masala.
Remove half the sauce and freeze or refrigerate for later.
Break up the chicken into bite-size pieces, add it to the sauce. Serve with rice.
And because this blog is about both the beauty and the mess… I thought I’d share what my kitchen looked like after making this meal… and yes, in the midst of the ingredients is a big plate of my VERY late lunch that I was trying to eat, while making dinner and wrangling tired kids.
