As much as I love to cook, some nights you just need something you can throw together without any fuss. That’s one of the reasons I love my Instant Pot. I’m still experimenting with it but so far everything has turned out great. Last night I made a super easy chicken tikka masala which we all loved! This will definitely be on our menu in the future.
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
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One of the wonderful things about an Instant Pot is that you can cook meat from a frozen state. Thawing meat can be a pain sometimes. Not only do you have to remember to do so far enough in advance but then there’s the issue of finding space in an already crammed refrigerator (or is that just me?).
My daughter cooks frozen chicken in her Instant Pot so I decided to give it a try myself. While I generally make things from scratch, including curries and such, I happened to have a jar of tikka masala sauce in my pantry. I don’t remember when or why I bought it but when I cleaned out my pantry last week I was reminded that I needed to use it. I’ll tell you what – this turned out so delicious that I’ll be keeping a jar or two on hand all the time now!
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds frozen chicken (I used breasts and thighs)
- 1 (16 oz) jar of tikka masala sauce
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 bell pepper, sliced (red or green, or combination)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place frozen chicken in Instant Pot.
- Add sliced onions and peppers.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste (don't overdo the salt now; you can add more later).
- Pour in chicken broth and tikka masala sauce.
- Close lid making sure vent is closed.
- Set timer for 30 minutes on manual.
- When time is up, check thickest piece of chicken for doneness.
- Adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve over hot, cooked Basmati rice.
- Note: The sauce will be thin. If you'd like it thicker, ladle into a saucepan and add a little cornstarch mixed with cold water (make a paste). Bring to a boil then simmer until desired thickness.
This smelled SO GOOD while it was cooking! After it was done I ladled out several scoops of the sauce into a saucepan and added about a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in a little cold water, brought it to a boil and then simmered a few minutes until thickened. This isn’t strictly necessary but I prefer a thicker sauce.
I served it over brown Basmati rice. Naan bread would be delicious with this. I didn’t have any but did have some whole wheat pita bread which worked well, too. I also had leftover roasted potatoes and some garlic brussels sprouts from the night before which I heated up and served alongside.
This made quite a lot so I took some over to my mom last night after we ate so she could have some for lunch today (my dad isn’t a fan of Indian food). Tonight I’m going to turn the rest of it into soup. We’ll see how that goes. Maybe there will be another recipe from that.
By the way, did you know tikka masala was invented in Glasgow? The more you know…
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Other Instant Pot recipes you may enjoy:
Hello!
How long for the high pressure cooking if I am starting with thawed chicken, not frozen? Thanks!
It will depend on the quantity and whether you are using large pieces, bone-in, breast vs. thighs, etc. If you are using 2-3 pounds of large pieces, I would do 15 minutes. Less for thawed chicken tenders – maybe 8? With poultry, I don’t want to take a chance of it being underdone so these times may be longer than necessary. However, since you are cooking it in a sauce the chicken shouldn’t dry out which is the problem with overcooking plain chicken in the oven.