Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani is one of the easiest Indian recipes, especially if you use the IP. It's quick and delicious and you can make it for a crowd.
I have found that many Indian cookbooks are easy on the spice, compared to the Indian restaurant cooking. I would double up the spices when cooking after you've made it at least once, or you've become familiar with the cookbook. This one I used is in the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre.
Serve it over basmati rice cooked with a few star anise pods and with sides of thinly-sliced cucumbers sprinkled with rice vinegar, cilantro and salt and some fresh naan.
- 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (not drained)
- 5-6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 T. minced ginger
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground paprika
- 2 tsp Garam Masala, divided
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pound skinless and boneless chicken thighs or breasts
- 4 oz butter, cut into cubes or 1/2 coconut oil
- 1/2 c heavy whipping cream or full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro
This recipe calls for you to make the sauce, cook the chicken and then save some sauce for later. I think that's great if you are using only a pound of chicken. I cooked two pounds of chicken thighs (about 12-14) and used 2 cups of basmati cooked in 3-1/2 cups water. There was still sauce left over but it's nice to have to sop up with the naan.
Place the first 9 ingredients (half the Garam Masala) into the instant pot. Mix and then place the chicken on top. Lock the lid in place (pressure not venting!) and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Those of you who pressure cook know that it will take time to come up to seal and pressure. After pressure cooking, let the pressure release naturally, this might take 10 more minutes. So the complete cook is about 1/2 hour.
On a platter or in a dish with rounded or square sides, place the pieces of chicken on top of the cooked rice. Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce in the pot until it is smooth. Add the butter, the rest of the Garam Masala and cilantro. Cook for a few minutes on the saute setting in the IP. The sauce should be saucy, not watery. I actually added a few T of Wondra flour and cooked it until the sauce was thicker.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and rice and sprinkle with extra cilantro.
Yum!
