Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry

Easy & healthy Coconut Chicken Curry made in an Instant Pot in just 30 minutes! This is simple Indian chicken curry recipe is made with ginger, garlic, onions alongside flavorful spices, and finished with creamy coconut milk. Pair this dairy-free & gluten-free curry with fragrant basmati rice. 

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This is the best coconut and chicken curry that you’ll ever make. Personally, I love curries because they are quick, full of flavor and tastes just as good the following days. This curry is also incredible because it uses basic ingredients,similar to my mom’s chicken curry and chicken curry with potatoes, that you most likely have in your kitchen right now.

It’s so healthy because it’s made from scratch and also very quick to make (thanks to the instant pot), you have control over the ingredients in this curry and the most important part is that this curry is mild, therefore perfect for kids (even picky eaters). Your family will love this recipe!

How to make Coconut Chicken Curry?

Before you start making this coconut chicken curry make sure you have all the ingredients prepped and on hand. Dice your onions and cut your chicken thighs into pieces. Keep the spices ready. Now let’s start making this delicious curry.

• Set the Instant Pot on sauté mode and let it heat.
• Add ghee or oil along with the cumin seeds. Saute for 30 seconds until they release their aroma. Cumin seeds are optional but do add a wonderful flavor to the curry. If you have ghee, I highly recommend to use it, as it adds so much more flavor to this curry.
• Now add the diced onions, garlic, ginger, and sauté them for a few minutes.
• When the onions turn golden brown, add the tomato puree along with the spices and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes. I used canned tomato puree, you can also use fresh tomato puree in this recipe. Blend 2 tomatoes to make a puree.

• Add the chicken pieces to the pot. Stir and sauté for 3-4 more minutes. Do not skip this step, as it adds lots of flavor to the curry.
• Then add the water and mix well. Deglaze well and make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• Switch the Instant Pot to manual or pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes with the vent in sealing position.
• As soon as the Instant Pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually and open the lid.
• Now stir in the coconut milk, garam masala and let it simmer on sauté mode for 4-5 minutes until the sauce is thickened to your preference. Use full-fat canned unsweetened coconut milk.

• You are almost ready! Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro.
• The coconut chicken curry is ready to be served with flavorful rice or Indian flatbreads. Enjoy!

How to serve this Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk?

You can whip up some basmati rice or cumin rice to soak up all that saucy goodness. This curry goes also very well with Indian flatbreads like roti, naan or paratha with a side of yogurt.

Leftovers and Reheating Tips

Seal any leftover curry in an airtight container, it should last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. But if you’d like to make more for the week or month ahead, I suggest you freeze it. Make sure it’s fully cooled down before sealing. Once the curry is frozen it will keep well for 3-4 months.

You can reheat the curry in the microwave or on the stovetop while stirring well.

Tips & Variations for making the best coconut chicken curry

• You can use skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs to make this curry.
• Add all the veggies! You can add roasted cauliflower, broccoli florets, green peas and even baby spinach at the end! If you want to add potatoes or sweet potatoes, cut them in large pieces and add them just before pressure cooking.
• You don’t want chicken? No problem! You can still make a delicious curry using shrimps like in this Coconut Shrimp Curry.
• For a plant-based version of curry, try this Vegetable Korma with coconut milk which is also made in an instant pot.

Looking for more quick & delicious instant pot recipes? I’ve got you covered!

• Chickpea Curry with Spinach (Chana Saag) – A healthy vegan and gluten-free curry with chickpeas and spinach.
• Creamy Mushroom Pasta – Spaghetti tossed in a creamy cheese sauce loaded with mushrooms.
• Vegetable Biryani – Fragrant basmati rice cooked with lots of vegetables, and aromatic whole spices and herbs.
• Madras Lentils – Restaurant-style Dal Makhani made in the pressure cooker, it’s rich, creamy, and flavorful.

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4.91 from 561 votes

Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry

By: Meeta Arora

Easy & healthy Indian Coconut Chicken Curry made in an Instant Pot in just 20 minutes!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Video

Ingredients 

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera), optional
• ▢ 1 cup Onions, yellow diced
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon Ginger, paste or grated
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon Garlic, paste or minced
• ▢ 1 cup Tomato puree, canned or blend 2 tomatoes to make a puree *
• ▢ 1 pound Chicken thighs, skinless and boneless, cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces.
• ▢ 1/4 cup Water
• ▢ 1 cup Coconut Milk, canned, full-fat, unsweetened
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Lime juice
• ▢ Cilantro , to garnish

Spices

• ▢ 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin (Jeera powder)
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, or paprika, adjust to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Salt

US Customary – Metric

Instructions 

• Start the instant pot in Sauté mode and let it heat. Add ghee (or oil), and then add cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
• Add onions, ginger and garlic paste. Sauté for about 3 minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
• Add tomato puree and spices. Mix and let it sauté for 2-3 minutes. (If your instant pot is prone to burn, then skip this step and add the tomato puree after sautéing the chicken and adding water. Do not stir.)
• Add chicken pieces to the pot. Stir and saute the chicken for about 3-4 minutes. Do not skip this step, as it adds lots of flavor to the curry.
• Add the water and stir. Press cancel and close lid with the vent in sealing position.
• Start the instant pot in Manual or Pressure cook mode on high pressure for 4 minutes.
• When the instant pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually and open the lid.
• Stir in the coconut milk, garam masala and let it simmer on sauté mode for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened (see notes to thicken sauce).
• Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro. Coconut Chicken Curry is ready to be served. Enjoy over basmati rice or with naan.

Notes

Chicken: If you don’t have chicken thighs, you can use skinless chicken breast. But chicken thighs give the best result when pressure cooking this curry. 

Tomato: Use tomato puree (not paste which is thicker and more concentrated). You can also chop and blend two tomatoes to use in this recipe. 

Add all the veggies: You can add roasted cauliflower, broccoli florets, green peas, and even baby spinach at the end! If you want to add potatoes or sweet potatoes, cut them in large pieces and add them just before pressure cooking.

No chicken, use Shrimp: You don’t want chicken? No problem! You can still make a curry using shrimp. Use this Coconut Shrimp Curry recipe.

Coconut Milk: Use coconut milk from a can. 

Thick sauce: I usually don’t need to do this. But if the sauce is not thick to your liking, take out 1/4 cup of the sauce in a small bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Then, add it back to the pot. Stir with the curry and cook on sauté for a minute.

Double/Triple: If you want to double or triple the recipe, then I still suggest to keep the water at 1/4 cup, so that the curry is not too thin. 

Stovetop Method: Follow the steps in the recipe until the pressure cooking step, in a dutch oven or a large pan on medium-high heat. Then cove with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

Nutrition

Calories: 497kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 22gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 714mgPotassium: 796mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 623IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 6mg

Additional Info

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Dairy-free, Gluten-free

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