Chicken Tikka Masala

 Last May and June I was with my daughter and son-in-law in Australia. Two beautiful and special months. I still think about it with great pleasure every day. This time there was not time for many trips and sightseeing. We spent most of the days cozy at home. At that time my first grandchild, a grandson named Ryan, was born. I was able to experience the first seven weeks of his life day and night.

When I arrived in Australia my daughter was still pregnant. In that first week we shopped here and there and did a lot of errands to have a stock of everything for the first time after birth. And of course we also ended up in a book department while shopping. There I bought three books for the pressure cooker / Instant Pot.

Maternity care like in the Netherlands is not available in Australia. After the delivery, the mother and child stay in the hospital for a number of days (they do not give birth at home there) and after that they can do it themselves. In the first ten days someone comes by twice to check on mother and child.

So I was allowed to act as a maternity assistant and since I still know as of yesterday what it feels like when you have just given birth, I was fine. I did the housework (sometimes with the French style 😉) and cooked (almost) every day.

My daughter has the same 'deviation' as I have: a lot of kitchen stuff! My favorite kitchen appliance, the pressure cooker, also has them and I have used it almost every day. I / we have tried a lot of new recipes.

The recipe of this delicious Chicken Tikka Masala comes from the book The gluten-free Instant Pot Cookbook. I really recommend this book! Even if you don't eat gluten-free, the recipes are easy to adjust. You don't have to go all the way to Australia to get your hands on the book! The book can also be ordered at Bol.com, see the link above.

Instead of an Instant Pot, another brand of (electric) pressure cooker can of course be used. No Instant Pot or pressure cooker? You can also easily make this dish in a pan on the stove.

We had wholemeal basmati rice with it. How to cook this rice in the Instant Pot is at the bottom of the recipe.

Chicken Tikka Masala (4 persons)

Sauce:

1 teaspoon ground coriander / coriander bar

2 teaspoons ground cumin / djinten

1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom

1 teaspoon of turmeric

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

8 grams of garam masala

8 grams of fresh ginger, grated

360 grams of sieved tomatoes

45 grams of tomato paste

120 ml chicken stock

Chicken:

30 ml olive oil

680 grams of chicken thighs, cut into pieces

1 large onion, chopped

120 ml chicken stock

Further:

6 grams of garam masala

120 ml whipped cream

cilantro or flat parsley, finely chopped

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Switch on the Instant Pot, press Sauté and set the temperature to More. Wait until Hot appears on the display.

Add the olive oil, let it get hot for a while. Fry the pieces of chicken in two parts for a few minutes all around. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside for a while.

Add the onion and fry for ± 3 minutes while stirring.

Add the chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape off the baked-on ingredients from the bottom.

Add the sauce and chicken and stir to combine.

Press Keep Warm / Cancel to stop the Sauté program and put the lid on the pan. Set the valve to Sealing.

Press Poultry and set high pressure for 15 minutes.

Turn the valve to Venting and let the steam escape. The pressure is off when the pin falls down.

Open the lid, press Keep Warm / Cancel to stop the keep warm program, then press Sauté.

Add the garam masala and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes while stirring and let it thicken slightly.

Stir in the whipped cream and let the mixture simmer for another ± 2 minutes.

Spoon rice into the plates and spread the chicken with sauce on top. Garnish with the cilantro or flat parsley.

Cooking whole grain Basmati rice in the IP: Rinse 400 grams of rice in a sieve under the tap. Pour 500 grams of water into the inner pot and add the rice and salt to taste. Press Manual and set high pressure for 17 minutes. When the program has finished, let the pressure drop by itself for 5 minutes and then turn the valve to Venting. The pressure is off when the pin next to the valve falls down. Note: white basmati rice has a shorter cooking time.

This article contains an affiliate link. If you order the book from Bol.com via this link, I will receive a small commission.