Indian Butter Chicken in the Instapot

lrg_dsc02434I don’t have too many cooking toys, but my favorite one after my coffee maker of course, is my Instapot. Or do I call it an Instant Pot? That might lead to some misinterpretations. Back to the point, I think that Instapot’s do very well with stews as well as other hearty dishes and Indian food especially.

Stews and exotic dishes are so easy with the Instapot.

So tonight I’m trying a classic Indian dish called butter chicken. This is not a dish for those high in cholesterol, but the rest of us can read on. Because it is packed with fresh vegetables, at least with my version, I will rightly claim that it is an overall healthy dish.

Before I give you the recipe, I’ll note that this is my second time making this dish and my error is that I allowed to much water in it. So it turned out just a little too soupy. But otherwise, it was excellent. Also, while this dish normally calls for rice, I decided to cook potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas within the recipe so I will forgo the rice – this time at least.

So first, the Ingredients:

  • Tomato paste 6oz can
  • 4 tablespoons of butter
  • Diced tomatoes 14.5 oz (a standard can)
  • Chickpeas 16 oz can
  • Chopped Garlic (you can get a small container and use it later) 
  • Cut carrots (small size can)
  • One large onion
  • Ginger root
  • About 2lbs of chicken thighs (deboned and skin off)
  • Heavy cream (the smallest container you can find)
  • About of spoonful of curry, pepper, paprika, and cumin

And next, here is how I made it:

  • lrg_dsc02435Total cooking and prep time should run about 45-60 minutes depending on how fast you are. And if you are not texting to a friend at the same time.
  • Chop up the ginger into as fine pieces as you can. Cut the butter, chop the onion finely and put the spice mix into a bowl and set aside for a few minutes. Add a table spoon or so of the garlic to taste.
  • Next, cut the chicken into small pieces, no more than 1/2 inch and set aside on a dish, its probably best to keep it in the refrigerator for the next few minutes.
  • After everything is cut up and ready to go, turn on the instapot to saute. It will get to temperature rather quickly, so put in the garlic-onion mixture right away. It should take about 4-6 minutes for it to soften up and cook, after that turn the instapot to off. be sure to stir frequently so that you do not burn the mixture.
  • Then open up all the cans and drain them — this is where my error was, I kept all the water/liquid and poured it in. After that pour the contents of all the cans as well as the chicken into the instapot and set it for 10 minutes at high. It will take a while for it to get to temperature, so be patient.

lrg_dsc02442

Once it’s done and the steam has gone out, be careful please, put the instapot back on saute and pour in the heavy cream, which acts as a thickener. Let it cool for a few minutes and serve, over rice if you prefer. By the way, eating at home is not only romantic, but it can also save you money. This entire meal costs us only about $15 and we have lots of leftovers. It’s good to save!

Leonard Goffe is an author, writer, and journalist based in South Florida. He is available for your public relations, content development, WordPress design, SEO and technical writing needs.

 

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Indian Butter Chicken
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