Pressure Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken
Published September 26, 2017
Photograph by Christopher Testani
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
3 to 4 ripe tomatoes, halved through their equators
3 tablespoons ghee, unsalted butter or safflower oil
3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 cups finely chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane or minced
2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 3-inch cinnamon stick or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 cardamom pods, lightly crushed with the flat side of a knife, or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 to 2 teaspoons garam masala, to taste
½ cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
Cooked basmati rice, for serving (optional)
Plain yogurt, for serving (optional)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
32 grams carbs; 293 milligrams cholesterol; 721 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 39 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 1388 milligrams sodium; 61 grams protein; 7 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Set a box grater over a bowl. Starting with their cut sides, grate the tomatoes through the large holes of the box grater so the tomato pulp falls into the bowl. Discard the skins. Measure out 2 cups of tomato purée.
- Step 2
Using the sauté function, heat the ghee and the coconut oil in the pressure cooker. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring often to encourage even browning, until they are caramelized, 12 to 18 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger and cumin seeds; cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon and cardamom and cook for another minute. Then stir in the coriander, salt, turmeric, red pepper flakes, black pepper and finally the tomato purée.
- Step 3
Add the chicken to the sauce, cover and cook on low pressure for 4 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. If the sauce seems too thin, use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a bowl and then simmer the sauce on the sauté setting until it has thickened to taste. (Note that the coconut milk will thin the sauce down further.) Stir in the garam masala and the coconut milk, and let the curry sit for 20 minutes for the flavors to meld. Serve with the rice and yogurt, if desired. Garnish with cilantro.
If you’d rather use a slow cooker, cook on high for 2 to 3 hours or on low for 4 to 5 hours, adding the coconut milk during the last hour.
Private Notes
Comments
Fantastic, and forgiving! In my haste & hangriness, I dumped in the whole can of coconut milk (triple the amount!) and it still turned out fantastic with no further finageling. Pro-tip: a good ole 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes is — as always — an awesome time-saver here, but make sure to stir in ~1/2 cup of water so that there's enough steam for the pot to come up to pressure. And have the can open at your side when the spices go in; they can scorch quickly.
It's worth noting that the "release pressure naturally" can take up to half an hour (in addition to the 4 min cook time). Would be good to spell that out up front so you don't start just 10 minutes before your guests show up!
Used an InstaPot. Followed exactly. Used 4 tomatoes, stick cinnamon and 1.5t of garam masala. This was the best Indian curry I've had outside of London or Mumbai! Well worth the prep. Mis en place.
Like at least one other commenter here, I followed the instructions exactly using my 6-qt. Instant Pot and the chicken came out almost raw. I think there is a mistake in using low pressure instead of high pressure. Luckily the fix was easy - I just cooked it on high pressure for 4 more minutes. That said, I really wanted to like this dish, but I did not find it to be all that flavorful, and I usually love coconut curry dishes.
I have found that tomato in general will cause the burn notice in instant pots if it’s on the bottom when pressurizing. It’s why so many other recipes call for layering tomato on top and not stirring until after the pot is opened again. I wonder if there’s a way to reorganize the cook method?
I added butternut squash (4 cups cubed) before cooking at pressure and then a bag of frozen chopped kale after the pressure cooking for some extra veggies and it was amaaazing.