Instant Pot Tandoori Chicken
Satisfy your cravings for Indian food with this easy weeknight recipe from Twin Cities food blogger greens & chocolate. Just toss the ingredients in your Instant Pot and 10 minutes later, dinner is on the table! Delicious served with hot rice, in lettuce wraps, or with naan flatbread.
Raise your hand if you were gifted an Instant Pot for Christmas this year! I thought that might be the case. It’s no secret that the Instant Pot (aka pressure cooker) is a hot kitchen appliance right now, and there’s definitely a reason for that. It cooks almost anything and it cooks it fast. Lightning fast.
I received a pressure cooker as a Christmas gift a few years ago from my mother-in-law, who was told by a sales associate at a local kitchen store that it was the up-and-coming way of cooking. To be honest, I had never really heard of a pressure cooker until then and I wasn’t exactly sure what to think of it.
It took me almost a year to get into cooking with it but after I started, it was hard to stop. I was continuously surprised at how fast and easy cooking in the pressure cooker was. Sure, there are a few learning curves with it (like, don’t release the pressure prematurely unless you want hot spewing steam all over your kitchen), but it’s pretty straightforward.
One of my favorite things to cook in my pressure cooker is chicken. It never fails to produce tender, non-dry chicken. This Instant Pot Tandoori Chicken is no different – it is SO tender!
The chicken is combined with a flavorful combination of coconut milk, curry and tandoori spices such as curry powder, cumin, turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper and ginger, and cooked for 10 minutes. That’s it. It’s so simple!
A note about the recipe: I have used chicken breasts and thighs in this recipe with great results. If you are a fan of thighs, use them! I love chicken thighs because they are cheaper and more tender. Many people don’t like thighs; you can definitely use chicken breasts if you prefer.
We like to eat ours on top of coconut rice, where we simply replace most of the water in our jasmine rice with coconut milk. This tandoori chicken would also be great wrapped in lettuce wraps or with naan.
Instant Pot Tandoori Chicken
4 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
Fresh cilantro, for topping
Directions
- Place all ingredients in Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
- Secure lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes and then release the valve.
- Serve on top of rice, in lettuce wraps, or with naan. Enjoy!
