Mom’s authentic Chicken Curry recipe made in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. This chicken curry instant pot recipe is made in a simple onion-tomato gravy with the aroma of whole spices. This is the best Chicken Curry you will ever have!
I wanted to recreate my mom’s chicken curry in the instant pot and tried it multiple times. But I was not getting the exact favor that comes when she cooks the curry….something was missing! But guess what, mom is visiting and shared her secret tips for the chicken curry.
Table of Contents
Watch How to Make Mom’s Chicken Curry
Mom’s Chicken Curry Tips
- Sauté the onions for longer, about 4 mins until the oil starts separating .
- Add the tomatoes and sauté the onion-tomato mixture for longer, again about 4 mins until the oil separates.
- Add the chicken and cook it on sauté for 2-3 mins, before you pressure cook.
You get the idea, basically sauté the ingredients perfectly, to get the perfect chicken curry. Another great thing about this curry is, there is no marination required. So no pre-prep for this recipe.
Step-by-step Chicken Curry Instant Pot Instructions
Start with getting the main ingredients ready.
- The whole spices in one bowl. If you want to make this recipe simpler, you can skip the whole spices. What you lose with that is the aroma, but trust me, it will still be as flavorful.
- The ground spices in one bowl.
- Chicken cut into pieces. I used boneless chicken breasts in this recipe, but mom says bone-in chicken tastes even better. This is next to try, but I do like the convenience of boneless chicken.
Now we are ready to start cooking! Start the instant pot in Sauté mode, and heat ghee or oil in it. I prefer ghee to get the richer taste, especially homemade ghee in the instant pot. Add the whole spices and sauté for 30 seconds to get the aroma. Add the green chili, onions, ginger and garlic to the pot. Sauté for about 4 minutes until the onions turn brown and the oil separates. Now add the tomatoes and ground spices. Sauté for another 4 minutes until oil separates. Remember mom’s tips, this sautéing of onions and tomatoes is what gives a great taste to the chicken curry. Keep stirring at about 1-2 minute interval, so the onions and tomato don’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Let’s add the chicken pieces to the pot. Stir it well, so the chicken is coated with the onion-tomato masala. Sauté the chicken for a couple of minutes. Now add water to the pot and deglaze well. The trick is to add less water, as the chicken also releases water.
Change the instant pot setting to pressure cook mode and cook for 5 minutes on high pressure. Quick release the pressure, as we don’t want to overcook the chicken. Stir in the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro.
Look at the end result, doesn’t it look appetizing? I had this chicken curry for three meals at a stretch, first with roti (Indian flatbread), then with rice and finally with naan.
Don’t have an instant pot or pressure cooker, use the same steps to cook chicken curry in a pan. After adding chicken to the pan, cover pan with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes. Stir every 3-4 minutes, so the chicken does not stick to the pan. You would need to double the amount of water (1 cup) when cooking in a pan.
Try this Chicken Curry instant pot recipe and let me know how you like it.
- Recipe posted 3 months ago: Bell Pepper and Potato Stir Fry
- Recipe posted 6 months ago: Vegan Spinach Tofu Curry
- Recipe posted 9 months later: Potato Curry in Tomato Gravy
Want to find other easy Instant Pot Indian Recipes? Here are 23 Best Instant Pot Indian Recipes for you to try!
Mom’s Chicken Curry – Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken, boneless, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 3 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 Green Chili Pepper, small, chopped (optional)
- 1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic , finely chopped
- 1 Onion, medium sized, finely chopped
- 2 Tomato, medium sized, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, to garnish
Whole Spices
Spices
- 2 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Cut the boneless chicken into small pieces, about 1-2 inch in size.
- Heat the instant pot in Sauté mode and add oil to it. Add the whole spices and sauté for 30 seconds to get the aroma.
- Add the chopped green chili, onions, ginger and garlic to the pot and sauté for 4 minutes until they turn golden brown. Keep stirring at regular intervals.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and spices. Sauté for another 4 minutes, while stirring at regular intervals.
- Add the chicken and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Do not skip this step, as it adds lots of flavor to the curry.
- Then add the water and stir it with the chicken. Deglaze and scrape off anything stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Change the instant pot setting to manual/pressure cook mode on high for 5 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually. Stir in the lemon juice.
- Garnish with cilantro and chicken curry is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you are looking for more chicken recipes, check out Chicken Korma, Keema Matar, Chicken Chettinad, Saag Chicken and the famous Butter Chicken. Like goat meat, check out our Mutton Curry recipe.
hi Meeta, If I want to double the amount of chicken, shall I double the amount of onions, tomato as well?
Hey Radha – yes, doubling all the ingredients. The pressure cooking time will remain the same. Hope you enjoy it!
I made this today and doubled the recipe but also doubled the water which made it super thin.. Should I have only used the half cup water? I did simmer the water down and added some potatoes to make it a bit more thicker.. Very tasty.. Thank you
Hey Mini – I agree not doubling the water would work well. As chicken releases a lot of water and that will be enough to get the instant pot to pressure. Glad you enjoyed the taste. Thank you for sharing back your review!
This is spectacular! I made it and added potatoes, carrots and asparagus. I will definetely make this over and over again!
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the chicken curry. Love that you added so many veggies too 🙂
When did you add the potatoes? Were they raw or half cooked? My mom used to put aloo in her chicken curry but I’m not sure how to modify for IP. Tips?
Hey Jessica – In this curry, I did not add potatoes. You can definitely add in potatoes. Cut them in large pieces and add before pressure cooking. Hope you enjoy it!
Absolutely delicious and easy too. I will use 1/2 the water next time – sauce was too thin but still delic. I took chix out then simmered sauce w cornstarch for several minutes. I’m sure not authentic, but I loved it! I also added cauliflower and green beans after I released the pressure and simmered a few minutes. I will definitely make many times more! Thank you!!
Hey Dee – So glad you enjoyed the chicken curry. Adding veggies is absolutely wonderful. Chicken can release a lot of water, which is the reason I add very little. But as you said simmering on saute at the end can work well. You can also add coconut milk or heavy cream to make the curry thicker. So happy to hear you will be trying it again!
I really enjoyed making this delicious curry in our new instant pot. I rarely cook with chicken but this dish has encouraged me to use it more. Both hubby and I loved it and I look forward to making this super easy dish again for friends and family!
Thank you very much for sharing this lovely receipe!
Hey Jasmine – So glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed this chicken curry. This one definitely takes me back to childhood memories. Thank you so much for sharing back your review!
I followed the steps exactly and when I opened the IP all I saw was water water everywhere.
I tried this recipe for dinner today and it was a huge success for me. I have tried making curries before, however my measurements for onion and tomatoes were too less, I did not start with whole spices and leaves, and I did not saute for a long time before pressure cooking. I had to use a little more water but I’m glad I started with less so the consistency was good. This was my second time trying to make curry in an instant pot and it turned out just like proper chicken curry. Thank you so much!
Hey Akshya – So glad to hear you enjoyed the chicken curry. I found that mom’s tips really helped me get the right taste with this curry. Thank you so much for sharing back your review!
Another fantastic recipe. I tend to saute your recipes at both ends, i.e. before the pressure cook and for a few minutes afterwards to get the full “bhunna flavor”.
Can you kindly add Pasande and Nargisi Kofta (from beef/chicken) as well to your list? This way I can relive my childhood all over again. Are any Kabob’s possible to make in Instant Pot? I’m talking Shami Kabobs (eat at tea time), or Seekh Kabobs? So basically here’s my wish list:
Beef/Chicken Pasande
Nargisi Kofta (beef/chicken)
Shami Kabobs
Seekh Kabobs
Khatti Daal
Thank you Bob for sharing the changes you do to the make the dish even more flavorful. I have added your suggestions to my list. I think the prep for kabobs can be done in instant pot, but the final kabobs need to be made in the oven or air fryer. Thank you!
Hi there,
I’ve cooked this tonight. Thoroughly enjoyed it, however, it turned out very watery and hasn’t had the desired consistency I was hoping for. I cooked exactly after recipes instructions in a Breville pressure cooker. What did I do wrong? 🙂
Hey Rico – Thank you for sharing back your experience. Chicken can sometimes release a lot of liquid. You can reduce the amount of water added to the curry to 1/4 cup. Another option is to just boil off some liquid on sauté mode after you pressure cook (3-5 mins). I am glad you still enjoyed the flavors. Thank you!
Would the time be the same for boneless chicken thighs? It seems to be all I have in the fridge!
Hey Mariam – Yes, the same cooking time will work for chicken thighs as well. Hope you enjoy it!
Have tried this recipe of yours a few times now with both bone and boneless chicken and has always consistently turned out good!!
Everybody at home really enjoy this curry. Thanks!
Hey Shweta – Thank you so much for sharing back your review. So happy to hear your family enjoys the chicken curry.