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Easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken is the easiest and quickest version of the authentic Indian Butter Chicken recipe. My Instant Pot Butter Chicken gets ready in 10 minutes & anyone can cook it, yes it's that easy.
5 from 7 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Butter Chicken Curry Instant Pot, Easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken, How to make Butter Chicken In Instant Pot, Instant Pot Butter Chicken, Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 642kcal
Author: Meghna

Ingredients

Dry Spices

Garnish

Instructions

  • Dice the boneless chicken breasts or thighs into 1.5" chunks. Wash them and pat them dry completely. Coat them with the Tandoori Masala Powder, cayenne pepper, crushed black pepper & salt.
  • Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE & set it on NORMAL. Add 3 tbsp butter. When the butter is sufficiently hot gently release the chicken pieces and sear them until opaque or lightly golden around the edges.
  • Set aside the chicken pieces and add more 2 tbsp butter to the pot.
  • Add all the other ingredients except the cream and the honey, like the tomato sauce, tomato paste, the rest of the dry spices, salt and give everything a very good mix.
  • De-glaze the pot very well with the help of a spatula so that there are absolutely no bits and crumbs stuck at the bottom of the steel pot of the Instant Pot.
  • Add back the seared chicken pieces. Give everything a very good mix until all the chicken pieces are well coated with the sauce.
  • CANCEL the SAUTE function. Close the lid of the Instant Pot. Seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK for 4 minutes on HIGH.
  • When the pressure cooking cycle is over the Instant Pot will begin to beep. Do a QUICK PRESSURE RELEASE (QPR) by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position.
  • Open the lid when the pin drops. Add the heavy cream and the honey, mix well.
  • CANCEL the Pressure Cook function and turn back the SAUTE function, set it at LOW. Cook down the sauce for 5 more minutes or until it reaches your preferred consistency. The right consistency is that the sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of your ladle.
  • Garnishing the Butter Chicken dish is totally optional. If you want to add the dry fenugreek leaves do add them as a garnish and mix well with the sauce. However, you can even sprinkle a few finely chopped cilantro and serve it or skip the garnish totally. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  1. Measuring Units used, 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
  2. Sub for Tandoori Masala: 1 teasppon cumin powder + 1 teaspoon garam masala powder. Add them with the other dry spices.
  3. Don't have garlic powder handy? Add 1 teaspoon minced garlic.
  4. Where can I buy Tandoori Masala Powder? It's avalilable in any Indian grocery store and the Whole Foods in the USA. 
  5. Sub the dry fenugreek leaves with chopped cilantro. Or you may skip the garnish totally.
  6. Sub for Honey: 1 tbsp white sugar or the same amount of maple syrup.
  7. This Instant Pot Butter Chicken is mildly sweet and we love it that way. So yum, so good.
  8. Don't want to sear the chicken? Well, you can add the raw chicken directly with all the other ingredients and cook it following the recipe. In that case, this recipe will become a purely dump and cook recipe of Butter Chicken.
  9. The Cayenne Pepper powder will not make the dish spicy. It lends a lovely hue to the dish and helps build so much flavor. 
  10. You can add more butter, more cream and more honey. It's totally upto you. So play with the ingredients and choose what you love.
  11. Storing Tips: You can freeze it for upto 3 months. Lasts for 5 days in the fridge in airtight moisture free container.
  12. Serving IDEAS: Tastes best with any kind of Naan, Tandoori Roti, Rice, Couscous, even boiled white quinoa.
 
Calorific details are provided by a third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only.
 
Nutrition Facts
Easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 642 Calories from Fat 387
% Daily Value*
Fat 43g66%
Saturated Fat 25g156%
Cholesterol 231mg77%
Sodium 1066mg46%
Potassium 1315mg38%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 19g21%
Protein 42g84%
Vitamin A 2995IU60%
Vitamin C 15mg18%
Calcium 66mg7%
Iron 3mg17%
* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 642kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 231mg | Sodium: 1066mg | Potassium: 1315mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 2995IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg