If you look at our history of recipes it is abundantly clear that we love cooking Asian cuisine. Indian recipes are no exception to this rule. Cooking Indian dishes can be incredibly intimidating because most recipes come with a list of dozens of spices. We have created this recipe to help use some spices that you may already have on hand (cayenne, chili powder) and introduce new spices (garam masala, turmeric) in a way that is approachable. All of these spices can be found at your local grocery store or on Amazon.

Chicken Tikka Masala is a creamy, tomato based curry and the best dish to introduce you to Indian cuisine. It is traditionally served with steamed rice, which we have done in this recipe. We created this meal as a two-part Instant Pot recipe; you can prep the masala ingredients while the rice is cooking and reuse the Instant Pot to help alleviate the kitchen cleanup.

Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Makes: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients for Rice:

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbs butter
• salt

Ingredients for Tikka Masala:

• 2 lbs chicken breasts
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 tbs tandoori powder
• 2 tbs garam masala
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 8 oz can coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups non-fat greek yogurt
• 2 green onions, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Add the rice and water to the Instant Pot and click the “Rice” setting.
2. While the rice is cooking, prepare the Tikka Masala ingredients. Cut the chicken into cubes or bite sized pieces and set aside in a bowl with the garlic and onion. In another bowl, combine the spices (tandoori powder – cayenne powder).
3. When the rice is finished cooking, de-pressurize the Instant Pot and move the rice to large bowl. Add the butter and salt and cover with foil to keep the rice warm. You do not need to perfectly clean out the Instant Pot. You will be using it again for the tikka, so if a few grains of rice get left behind, that is perfectly fine.
4. Set the Instant Pot on the “Saute” setting. Add the olive oil and the bowl of chicken, garlic and onions. Saute for 5 minutes until the onions become translucent. Add the bowl of spices and saute for 2 minutes so that the spices become toasted.
5. Add the tomato sauce and coconut milk and give everything a big stir so that the onions and chicken are lifted from the bottom of the pot. Change the Instant Pot setting to “High Pressure” for 6 minutes.
6. Once you have depressurized the pot, open the top and add the Greek yogurt. Stir in the yogurt until the sauce is fully blended.
7. To serve, place a large scoop of rice at the bottom of the bowl. Add the Tikka Masala with extra sauce for the rice to soak up. Top with green onions and serve immediately.