Instant Pot Indian Chicken Curry Recipe

The Instant Pot Indian Chicken Curry recipe is a keeper because it's so easy to make. You will instantly fall in love with this delicious Chicken drumsticks curry & cook it so many times! This Instant Pot Chicken recipe turns out so soft, juicy, soaks in the flavors of spices in a great way. Be the rockstar cook of your next gathering, cook this delicious Indian chicken curry recipe in your pressure cooker. Learn how to cook simple chicken curry with my step by step Video Recipe.

Step by Step Video Recipe of Instant Pot Chicken Curry Recipe

Instant Pot Indian Chicken Curry Recipe:

We love Instant Pot chicken recipes!

It saves us lots of time & every single time the chicken recipes turn out so delicious & tender in the Instant Pot. It's like winning a lottery big time every time!

Whenever we crave for Indian Chicken dishes I turn to my Instant Pot Indian recipes.

And this Instant Pot Indian Chicken curry recipe is no exception to that rule!

Learn how to make the easiest, quickest & tastiest Pressure cooker chicken curry with my easy to follow tips & tricks!

What is curry chicken made out of?

Curry Chicken is cooked in a curry sauce that's prepared with onion, ginger garlic & tomatoes.

Common spices like turmeric, cumin & coriander powder add up to make the curry chicken flavorful, intense & add both taste & texture.

To read more click here.

How do you cook chicken in pressure cooker?

You can cook Chicken in pressure cooker by following these easy to follow steps:

• Marinate the Chicken pieces.
• Over medium-high heat saute the onion, ginger garlic paste & the masalas or spices.
• Add the marinated chicken & saute until oil oozes out.
• Pour hot water & Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
• Don't do a quick pressure release, instead allow a natural pressure release from the pressure cooker. Then, open the lid.

Chicken is a delicate meat and it gets cooked fast!

How do you cook Chicken Curry Recipe in Instant Pot?

You can cook Chicken Curry in Instant pot by following these simple steps:

• Marinate the chicken.
• Saute the Onion, ginger garlic paste & the masalas or spices in your Instant Pot in the Saute mode either set to Normal or High. If you feel that the heat on "high" setting is too much to handle quickly set the Saute mode to "normal" You can do so by pressing the "SAUTE" button on your Instant Pot.
• Next, add the marinated chicken pieces & saute everything until oil oozes out. ( Saute mode set on High or Normal)
• Press the "CANCEL" button on your Instant Pot to cancel the Saute mode. Now press the "PRESSURE COOK" button & set it to "high".
• Add hot water & Pressure cook on high for 3 mins!

The cooking time actually depends on the type of Chicken pieces you choose to use.

For instance boneless chicken pieces require only 1 min.to get fully cooked in an Instant pot set on the high-pressure mode.

Whereas bone-in pieces generally takes a bit longer to get well cooked.

How long does it take to cook chicken in pressure cooker?

It takes around 2 whistles to cook bone-in chicken in a pressure cooker, like chicken drumsticks provided you allow the pressure to get released naturally.

Whereas it takes just 1 whistle to cook boneless chicken pieces in pressure cooker.

How do you make Indian Chicken Curry?

There is no single way to make Indian Chicken Curry!

India is a huge country & hence, every region has it's own Indian chicken curry recipe to offer.

The chicken recipes from India are overwhelming, they are known by various regional names.

For instance, a Chettinad chicken curry belongs to the South, a vindaloo chicken curry is a Goan specialty, a Dhaba style chicken curry is an iconic recipe from the Northern part of India - Punjab etc.

Whereas a Duk-Bungalow Chicken Curry always reminds us of the British Raj!

Some are mild, some are spicy & a few are extra spicy!

Indian dishes are colorful & so are the Indian Chicken curry recipes!

Variant taste, different colors, various spice blend is what goes in to make various kinds of Indian Chicken curry recipes from different parts of the country!

If you just want a simple & easy back pocket Chicken curry recipe kind of thing, then let me tell you this.....

To make a simple Indian Chicken Curry you need few basic ingredients like Onion, ginger garlic, yogurt, tomato, & spices ( turmeric, chili powder, cumin & coriander seeds powder).

For Indian Chicken curry recipe you flash marinate the chicken with yogurt + ginger garlic paste.

Saute the onion, add tomatoes & the spices, saute together.

Add the marinated chicken pieces, saute again, add hot water & pressure cook. You may even make the Indian chicken curry recipe in a covered pot over medium or low heat!

How do you make easy Chicken curry?

You can make a fantastic hot bowl of easy chicken curry by following today's Instant Pot Indian Chicken curry recipe. I will tell you how...

To make the chicken curry even easier you may skip the marination part, add the chicken drumsticks directly to the sauteed masala & carry on with the rest of the recipe as mentioned.

You may also skip adding the kasturi methi leaves or dried fenugreek leaves or substitute it with fresh chopped cilantro.

You may skip adding the clarified butter or ghee and also substitute it with regular butter. Skip adding the garam masala at last.

By following the above steps and trimming down today's recipe according to your needs & time You will certainly end up with a delicious easy chicken curry recipe to enjoy during your busy weeknight meals!

Let's now see how to cook this Chicken drumsticks curry in my Instant Pot.

How to make Instant Pot Indian Chicken Curry Recipe?

Instant Pot Indian Chicken curry recipe or chicken drumsticks curry  is a beginner's recipe, there are no complicated steps involved at all!

Just follow my step by step method & watch my recipe video to learn how to make this spicy chicken curry recipes.

I chose to cook today's Instant Pot Indian chicken curry recipe with chicken drumsticks but you may substitute it with any bone-in chicken pieces. Just remember to cut them into 2.5" pieces.

• Marinate the chicken drumsticks with red chili powder, ginger garlic paste, yogurt, lime juice. Keep it in the refrigerator either overnight or at least 30 mins!
• Set up the Instant Pot on SAUTE (high). Sizzle the whole spices.
• Add the chopped onion, fry until golden. (to hasten the process add salt)
• Then, add ginger garlic paste, saute until oil oozes out.
• Add tomato puree, stir fry for few mins.
• Next, add the spices, saute on either high or normal setting.
• Add diluted tomato paste (optional). Fry for a couple mins.
• Next, add the marinated chicken pieces, saute until oil oozes out.
• Pour hot water & pressure cook on high for 3 mins.
• Do a QUICK pressure release.
• Add dry fenugreek leaves or kasturi methi, garam masala & ghee.
• Simmer for few mins & serve hot!

How long can you store the Instant Pot Indian Chicken curry recipe?

The Instant Pot chicken curry recipe keeps good for 5 days in the refrigerator!

And it freezes well for 1 month. If you decide to freeze this Instant Pot Indian chicken curry recipe than do not add water & cook the complete gravy.

Saute the marinated chicken pieces with the masalas, allow them to cool down completely and then freeze them in a freezer bag.

When you are ready to eat, take it out, dump it in your Instant Pot, pour some hot water (according to the your liking, we are not making here a very runny sauce). Shut the lid, turn on the Pressure cook mode & set it to high. 

Cook it for 2-3 mins!

Garnish with dried fenugreek leaves, ghee & garam masala, simmer for 1-2 mins. or skip this part totally! It's up to you.

Voila dinner is ready in 5 mins!

9 Tips to make Indian Chicken Curry in Instant Pot

The best Chicken curry is importantly made of two things, namely - the right balance of spices & a well cooked, tender, juicy meat!

1. If you choose to use large chicken pieces (as in this recipe) like drumsticks etc. It's better to prick the chicken pieces with a fork or make shallow cuts on its surface and then marinate the chicken. This will allow the marinade to seep in the deepest layers of the chicken.
2. If you choose not to marinate the chicken pieces at all for this Instant Pot chicken recipe then just prick the chicken pieces and add them directly to the sauteed masala. They will soak in the flavors of the spices very well.
3. DO NOT skip frying the onions until golden or almost 80% done.
4. We want the onions to gain color, you can call it a bit of caramelizing them over high heat. This gives all the color, the depth, the taste to the Instant Pot spicy chicken curry recipe. After all, we are not cooking a lighter sauce here!
5. Add salt to fry the onions fast. Yes, salt helps!
6. Sauteing the onion, the ginger garlic paste, and the tomato puree for some time (until oil oozes out) is the key to making your chicken curry the best. Do not hurry!
7. Chicken is soft meat, it gets cooked fast. Watch out if you are cooking the Indian chicken curry in a pressure cooker. 
8. Do not skip adding ghee + kasturi methi leaves. They take this Instant Pot chicken recipe a notch up.
9. If you decide to cook this Indian chicken curry in a pressure cooker DO NOT do a quick pressure release. Instead, allow a natural pressure release from your pressure cooker.

Serving Tips of Instant Pot Chicken Curry Recipe:

Serve this Instant Pot Indian Chicken curry with Basmati rice, Couscous or dip your tortillas, naans or even a slice of your favorite sourdough bread into the spicy chicken curry!

It's good every way!

Love to Cook in an Instant Pot do check out other Instant Pot Recipes from Foodies Terminal

• Instant Pot Indian Goat Curry
• Bengali Ghugh recipe in Instant Pot / Vegan Dried Yellow Peas Curry
• Instant Pot Daliya Khichdi / Savory Bulgur Wheat Porridge
• Chicken 65 - Instant Pot Recipe.

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