No-Pressure Butter Chicken

No need for Indian takeout or packaged frozen curry dinners — we’re showing you how to make your own. Simply mix together the sauce ingredients with the chicken and freeze until ready to use. Then dump the contents into the Instant Pot for an easy dinner, with no mess and no fuss.

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Make a pot of brown rice to serve alongside, or use a precooked frozen brown rice and heat it up just before serving.

Healing spices: This fragrant dish provides an impressive dose of disease-fighting antioxidants. Turmeric contains curcumin, a phytochemical with natural antibiotic and blood-purifying properties. It has also shown promise in the prevention of colon cancer for its antitumor effects in cells. Pungent garlic lowers blood pressure and may slow the progression of heart disease.

Total Cost: $7.73

Cost Per Plate: $1.93

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Servings
4
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
40 min
Duration
65 min

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup organic unsalted butter, divided1 
  • 1 14.5-oz BPA-free can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted, if possible)
  • 3 tbsp peeled and minced ginger
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
  • 1½ tbsp garam masala (TRY: Simply Organic Garam Masala)
  • 1 tbsp each ground coriander and ground turmeric (TRY: Simply Organic Coriander and Turmeric)
  • 2 tsp ground cumin and smoked paprika (TRY: Simply Organic Cumin and Smoked Paprika)
  • 1 tsp each sea salt and ground black pepper (TRY: Simply Organic Ground Black Pepper)
  • ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper (TRY: Simply Organic Cayenne Pepper)
  • 1 cardamom pod
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ½ small yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups 1-inch cauliflower florets
  • 1 cup whole-milk yogurt
  •  ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Freezer 

1. Melt 3 tbsp butter. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, tomato paste, garam masala, coriander, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne and cardamom. Add chicken, onion and cauliflower; toss until well mixed and chicken and vegetables are coated. Place a large freezer bag inside a 6½-inch-diameter bowl. (NOTE: Make sure the bowl fits inside the Instant Pot insert.) Transfer mixture into bag; seal and freeze. Once mixture freezes, remove bowl.

To Instant Pot 

2. When ready to eat, press Sauté on the Instant Pot and set to Medium/Normal. Add remaining 1 tbsp butter and melt, swirling pot to spread butter. Add frozen chicken mixture; let cook 5 minutes to begin thawing and release some liquid. Lock lid and set release valve to Seal. Press Pressure Cook/Manual and set timer to 12 minutes. After cooking, leave the vent in seal position and allow pressure to release naturally. When metal pin in lid falls and all pressure is released, unlock lid.

3. To pot, whisk in yogurt and cilantro.

Nutrition Information

  • Serving Size ¼ recipe
  • Calories 363
  • Carbohydrate Content 20 g
  • Cholesterol Content 145 mg
  • Fat Content 19.5 g
  • Fiber Content 5 g
  • Protein Content 28 g
  • Saturated Fat Content 10 g
  • Sodium Content 875 mg
  • Sugar Content 9 g
  • Monounsaturated Fat Content 6 g
  • Polyunsaturated Fat Content 2 g

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