Continuing my butter theme for the fall. Made this Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) in the instant pot. Super yummy! Thank you Lana for sharing recipe with me!
Followed this recipe mostly to a T. I doubled the recipe and tripled the the amount of chicken. 1 lb would not be enough for my fam of four plus leftovers.
Method and New Yorker article about Urvashi Pitre is found here.
Ingredient List:
Urvashi Pitre’s Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Serves four.
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
5 or 6 garlic cloves
minced 1 tablespoon
minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs)
4 ounces butter, cut into cubes, or ½ cup coconut oil
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream or full-fat coconut milk
¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
The recipe calls for storing half the sauce for future use. I decided to use it all right away. After the chicken was done, I removed it from the pot with my handy dandy scooper from Williams Sonoma. But I think Bed Bath and Beyondand other stores also carry it. Next time I will leave the chicken breasts whole, which will make it easier to remove while leaving the tomato bits in the pot.
After I removed the chicken and BEFORE I added the butter and cream to the sauce left in the instant pot, I varied from the recipe a little bit. I added chickpeas (because I love them), onions (because my husband loves them), and green peas (because my kids like them). Cook for 5 min. High pressure. Quick release. The vegetables exuded a lot of liquid so my sauce was a little bit thin, but still tasty!
Instant Pot Tip: I cover the lid (valve) of the instant pot with a towel when quick releasing steam so it contains the spewing.
When done I removed the chickpeas, onion, and green peas and put them in a separate bowl. I then continued with the original recipe and added the garam masala, butter and cream. And yes, 4 oz. equals 1 stick of butter!
onion, chickpeas and green peas
Sidenote about garam masala. I did a taste test between the garam masala I bought at my local Indian/Pakistani store and the garam masala from my neighborhood generic grocery store. There was no comparison, the garam masala from the Indian/Pakistani store was exploding with flavor. And in case anybody is wondering about these little dishes, they are actually ashtrays (that were never used as far as I could tell) that were part of my grandma’s wedding China. Finally found a use for them.
Garam Masala in little ashtray dishes
I decided to not completely butcher the recipe and mix the Chicken with the vegetables.
Urvashi Pitre has said that adding onions to this dish would be “heresy y’all!” I made two separate dishes with the sauce. But, I may or may not mix with them up later when no one is looking. I highly recommend this recipe! Picky eaters approved!
