This recipe for Indian butter chicken is easy to make in an Instant Pot, and the use of a PIP lets you cook the rice in the same pot, at the same time. As with so many Instant Pot recipes, this one reheats well. I’ll explain the PIP under the Social Learning heading, beneath the recipe card.
Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken
Course: DinnerCuisine: Indian4-6
servingsPRESSURE COOK, more (10-12 minutes), high (pressure). Natural release 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- Round 1
1 can (14-oz.) whole or diced tomatoes
5-6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp coarse salt
1 small ginger root (2 inches), (peeled and) minced
1 small turmeric stem (2 inches), (peeled and) minced
½ tsp cayenne
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp cumin
1-2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
14 oz. (2 cups) jasmin rice
16 oz. (2 cups) water
¼-½ tsp salt
- Round 2
4 oz. butter (1 stick)
4 oz. heavy cream
1 tsp Garam Masala
¼-½ cup chopped cilantro
Directions
- Pour the tomatoes into the pot. Pour a splash of water into the can, slosh it around, and pour that into the pot, so that you’re not wasting any of that tomato sauce. (If the tomatoes are whole, grab one at a time, and holding it deep in the pot so that it doesn’t splash all over you, squish it in your fist a few times to break it down a bit). Pour the the salt over the garlic and mince it. Add that to the pot. Except for the chicken, add all remaining “Round 1” ingredients. Mix well. Lay the chicken atop the tomato mixture. (If the chicken is frozen, push it into the sauce a bit so it defrosts better.)
- Place a tall trivet into the pot. Rinse the rice and add it to a 7-inch diameter, 3-inch deep PIP. Add the water and salt. Stir. Place atop the trivet.
- Set the Instant Pot to PRESSURE COOK, more (10 minutes), high (pressure). (If using brown rice, add set it to 12 minutes.) Natural release 10 minutes.
- Use sturdy tongs in one hand, and an oven glove in the other, to remove the PIP to a rack. Place the trivet in the sink. Caution: these things will be too hot for bare hands. Remove the chicken and let it rest atop the rice.
- The tomato mixture should no longer be bubbling. If it is, wait until it isn’t. Use an immersion blender to turn it into a smooth sauce.
- With the “KEEP WARM” function on, add the “Round 2” ingredients, one at a time, and stir until well incorporated.
- (If you used the smaller amount of chicken, you may want to freeze or refrigerate half the sauce and repurpose.)
- Use kitchen shears to cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Spoon it off the rice, add it back to the pot, and heat through if necessary.
- Serve over rice.
Notes
- Substitutions: breast, bone-in, or whatever works for you for the thighs; frozen chicken instead of fresh (add 1-2 minutes to total time); coconut oil for the butter; full-fat coconut milk for the cream
- This recipe was developed for a six-quart Instant Pot. If using a different size or type of pot, you may need to make modifications.
This is not only one of the best things I’ve ever cooked in my Instant Pot, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever cooked, period. The sauce is luxurious. It’s spicy, to be sure, but not punishingly so.
Social Learning
Chicken
The author of the recipe that I closely modeled this one after, called for one pound of chicken, and said that the recipe makes twice as much sauce as you need. She suggests repurposing the leftover sauce. However, there is plenty of room underneath the PIP for a second pound of thighs, which would mean you’d wind up using all the sauce and would yeild twice as many servings. It reheats perfectly, so this poses no “leftovers” problem – certainly not in my house, anyway. Two pounds of chicken has a subtle effect on the sauce; it seems slightly better with a single pound. But I’m certainly not disappointed with the two-pound version.
So here’s what I recommed: use the two pounds … unless you’ve got something in the fridge – or plan to soon – that would be nice to grace some of this sauce with. In that case, use the single pound of chicken for this, and the rest for that. (I don’t know about you, but if I just toss something into the freezer without a clear purpose, I may as well bury it in the Arctic tundra, to be excavated by an archeologist 500 years from now.)
PIP
A “PIP” is a “pot-in-pot.” It’s a small pot that you place inside your Instant Pot, which allows you to cook two things at once. If this interests you, do some research before trying it or buying equipment. There’s a lot to know. If you don’t want to do this, simply use the Instant Pot to cook the rice first, wash out the Instant Pot, and then use it to cook the chicken. Keep the rice warm, or reheat it.
I use an anodized aluminum, 7-inch wide, 3-inch deep, Fat Daddio cake pan as my PIP. I’m not pushing Fat Daddio on you – though I do like the brand. I found that the anodized aluminum works perfectly for this cooking method, and I’ve read that other IP cooks like to use this same pan as their PIP. It’s not without its drawbacks. It scratches easily, and you can’t put it in the dishwasher. Neither the scratches nor the dishwasher will affect performance, although the more you scratch or dishwasher a pan like this, the uglier it gets. Eventually, I feel that its hideousness starts to affect MY performance! Anyway, be very gentle if you use a stainless steel spoon to dig the rice out of this pan if you want to avoid scratches.
You’ll also need a trivet for your PIP. The one that came with my Instant Pot is quite short. You’ll need one that will hold your PIP above the food underneath it. A three-inch-tall trivet, combined with a three-inch-tall PIP, is the most you can fit into a six-quart Instant Pot. Anything taller, and you would probably not be able to fit the lid onto the pot.
Cooking Tips
This recipe doesn’t appear to contain enough liquid, according to the Instant Pot’s instructions. However, the original author suggests that there’s enough water in the tomatoes and thighs to avoid a burn indication. I found this to be true.
Serving Size
Single Pound Version: if you set aside half the sauce, and then divided the rest of the dish up into four servings, your servings would have a lot of (but not too much) rice. They’d be fabulous-sized portions … lavish without being outrageous, but a bit large for my personal tastes.
Two-Pound Version: six solid servings. The side of rice is small, but not too small.
The Backstory
To me, the sauce seems to have an autunmal quality. Am I the only one who thinks that garam masala is pumpkin spice’s exotic cousin?
Every time I go to an Indian buffet, I feel that I am in heaven just soaking up all the delicious sauces with naan. Well, now I understand why: an entire stick of butter and a half-cup of cream! No wonder I love sauces like this!
Indian Butter Chicken in an Instant Pot PIP
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Interesting post – thank you! The PIP explanation will be handy to know should someone bring the abbreviation up. Love your spices choice . . . for health reasons perchance not the ‘butter sauce’ part but appreciate your choice of substitutions. Just as long as my favourite coriander is still in the ‘mix’ . . . must say your dish does look appetizing . . . 🙂 !
I’m certainly no authority on Indian food, but I do get the impression that spice blends can be personal, so I’m sure you could make this work for you.
I do love butter chicken but never think to make it. Bookmarking this recipe for later this month. Thanks!
Hope you like it!
That looks authentic and so delicious! One of my favourites.
Thank you, Angie!
Butter chicken has to be one of my favourite Indian dishes. While the butter and cream do add luxuriousness, you can reduce the volume and still get amazing flavour out of it, particularly if you’re not used to eating rich foods. I love that you turned the recipe into an IP PIP, makes a fast dinner with little time in the kitchen. Definitely going to give this a go.
I hope you do – I reall love it. Thanks!