The instant pot was designed for cooking Indian butter chicken

I am not a Luddite, but I was one of the skeptics when Instant Pot was born. I've seen too many fashionable devices come in a torch of glory, only to disappear and end up in a box of goodwill. Even though fervent fans have made the Instant Pot the ambition to become a great invention, I resisted. What could it do that my trusty 7-pint Le Creuset can not?

But soon trusted friends approved the instant pot, and $ 70 was a reasonable price to take a flyer. Then I saw what everyone was talking about. Stroganoff, pork green chili, yogurt, even cheesecake – there was nothing great about a pressure cooker pluggable. What finally made me a trustworthy fan was when I discovered that Instant Pot cooked better rice than my sophisticated rice cooker imported to Japan.

Even forgetting its cooking features, the Instant Pot is really a permission for cooks at home to try something they would never have bothered to prepare. Exhibit A: I've always liked butter chicken, the northern dish of India that The New York Times called "the Tso General of Indian Cuisine" and perhaps possessing the most appealing brand of cuisine. You have the most comforting comfort agreements: chicken and rice. You have a succulent sauce with tomato, cream and butter. The robust and aromatic spicy garam masala. This combination of stew seemed tailor-made for quick cooking in an instant pot.

Fortunately, a book has recently fallen on my desk: The complete cookbook of India Instant Pot from Chandra Ram, food writer in Chicago. Her recipe includes the unorthodox inclusion of chipotle peppers in the adobo sauce (most likely found in your grocery store's Mexican alley), which contributes to "a deeper, more complex, more smoke". everything counts.

I will attach his original recipe below, but let me give you some notes while cooking the dish:

• The recipe calls for three teaspoons of Kashmiri chili powder. Make do not substitute standard Indian chili powder – both are not identical. Kashmiri chili powder shares a profile similar to that of paprika, but a more spicy touch. Ram told me that you can replace three parts of paprika with a portion of cayenne.
• After removing the lid, I found the sauce bigger than the one I was used to in the butter chicken. It was a simple solution: I removed the chicken pieces and prepared the sauce directly in the Instant Pot with an immersion blender. This is only after I have incorporated the cream and coriander.
• I ended up with a lot more sauce than chicken. You may consider increasing the amount of boneless chicken legs or proceeding as I did this afternoon: grill the whole chicken legs over a wood fire (seasoned with salt and garam masala) ), then pour the butter and chicken sauce on top. Ram also suggested that this sauce was fantastic on fried chicken wings (!!!).
• Ram told me that you can easily make this vegetarian dish by replacing the chicken with paneer or firm tofu. To make it vegan, use whole coconut milk instead of heavy cream and vegetable oil instead of ghee.
• I am not a fan of coriander, but this dish was excellent with its addition. Do not skip it. (Our family has an allergy to cashew nuts, so the picture above is devoid of spicy cashew nuts.)
• From the beginning (in chicken cubes) to the end (by pouring leftover rice), this recipe took me about 35 minutes. Add 15 if you make rice in the Instant Pot from scratch.

Instant Butter Chicken with Spicy Cashew Nuts

Serves six. Recipe by Chandra Ram.

• 1 tbsp. ghee or vegetable oil
• 2 cups of onions, finely diced
• 1 C. Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp. sliced ​​ginger
• 1 tbsp. chopped garlic
• 1/2 c. ground turmeric
• 3 c. Kashmiri chili powder, divided (or 3 to 1 cayenne paprika, see note above)
• 1 C. Garam masala
• 2 tablespoons. tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed or finely chopped
• 1 cup of water
• 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2 pounds. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
• 3/4 cup thick cream or whipped cream
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Using the skipped high function, heat the ghee in the pan for about a minute, until it is shimmering. Add onions and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, about four minutes, until onions are softened. Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, two teaspoons of chili powder, garam masala and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly for about a minute until the mixture is fragrant. Stir in chipotles in adobo sauce, water, tomatoes (with juice) and chicken. Secure the lid and cook at high pressure for eight minutes.

Meanwhile, grill the cashews in a small, dry pan over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently the pan, until they are lightly browned. Transfer to an average bowl. Add the remaining teaspoon of chili powder and mix to coat. Put aside.

Once the chicken is cooked, let the pressure relax naturally for 10 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure quickly.

Remove the cover. If the sauce is watery, use the skip function at full power to simmer the mixture for five minutes, until the sauce is reduced to the desired consistency. Stir in cream and 1/4 cup cilantro. Transfer chicken and gravy to a serving dish, garnish with remaining coriander and cashews and serve.

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Text and photo of The complete cookbook of India Instant Pot by Chandra Ram. Copyright of the text © 2018 Chandra Ram. Photographs of Galdones Photography. Published by Robert Rose, Inc. Reproduced in agreement with the publisher. All rights reserved.