This soul-warming Indian chicken potato curry is made with a spiced onion and tomato gravy. It’s comforting, hearty, and perfect for this cooler weather.
This everyday chicken curry is so unassuming. But also kind of magical. It’s a super simple dish that just so happens to be capable of warming you to your core. The potatoes are what do it for me.
So I’m realllllly looking forward to fall this year – but really, I look forward to it every year. It feels like I’m starting something new while also getting back to something familiar. This year especially – as it’ll be my first fall with my second baby.
I love summer but I’m glad it doesn’t last forever. The summer has its place and it’s where raw foods reside. You know, like crunchy kale salads. fresh gazpacho. cheese and charcuterie. That’s nice and all… but I definitely prefer fall foods. Like soups and stews and curries. And yes, I know you can eat curries year-round… obviously. I just enjoy them much more in the fall.
I have a ton of chicken curry recipes on the blog – from achari chicken curry to mango chicken curry to chicken stew to this other everyday Punjabi chicken curry. I mean, if you want a good chicken curry recipe, you’ve definitely come to the right blog.
This particular chicken curry with potatoes is it’s own special dish with its own special flavor, calling for spices like fennel powder, a bit of ajwain (carom seeds) and a bit of amchur (dried mango powder) along with the other usual Indian suspects: turmeric and garam masala and ground coriander.
Serve this chicken and potato curry with basmati rice or this pea pulao and maybe a veggie dish like this palak paneer or cabbage and peas or mushroom do pyaza. Whatever you make alongside this dish will be awesome. I hope you guys love this chicken curry so much that you make it several times this fall.
Instant Pot Chicken and Potato Curry
Instant Pot Chicken and Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil of choice
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 onion diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- Spices
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fennel powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon carom seeds ajwain
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon dried mango powder amchur
- 1 ½ pounds skinless and boneless chicken thighs cut into quarters
- 1 cup fresh tomato puree approx. ½ pound tomatoes
- 4 small yellow or white potatoes approx. 1 pound, cut in half
- ½ cup water
- Cilantro garnish
Instructions
- Press the sauté button, add oil and allow it to heat up for a minute. Add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and once the cumin seeds brown and the mustard seeds pop, add the onion and bay leaf. Stir-fry for 6-7 minutes, or until the onion begins to brown.
- Add garlic, ginger, spices and stir briefly. Add the chicken and give everything a good mix so that the chicken is well coated with the spices.
- Add the pureed tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the potatoes, give everything a good stir, then pour in the water.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Garnish with cilantro.
Lucas says
This turned out great.
Like so many others, I got the burn error (despite nothing being burned or stuck on the bottom of the pot.
I omitted the carob and mango (I couldn’t find them locally), doubled the cayenne, and added three diced de-seeded serrano peppers. I would go spicier yet.
Sophie says
I’m excited to try making this soon! Do you think it would work weor? on the stovetop too?
Shelley says
This recipe is a family favourite! Kids love it! The mild spice, thickness of the curry and so quick to make.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Shelley, I’m so glad your kids love this curry! That’s great to hear, thank you for sharing 🙂
Moni says
I followed the recipe exactly but it was very sour and I also got burn error 🙁 I am an amateur cook . What should I do next time to make it better
Manal says
This chicken was soooo good! Thank you Ashley for this perfect curry! Everything I’ve tried from you has been amazing!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Manal, I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Thank you for letting me know how this chicken curry turned out for you!
Karla says
We tried the recipe and everyone liked it. I omitted a few spices and it still tasted great. I served it with rice. I did get the burn notification so I added some water however I think I diluted some of the flavor so next time I will keep that in mind . Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Karla, I’m glad you liked it 🙂 Sorry to hear about the burn notice – if you feel you diluted the flavor, you can always hit the sauté button at the end to reduce some of the liquid, that’ll help!
Sashaa says
Hi Ashley,
I was wondering if this recipe could be made with your onion masala? If so how much would be required??
Thanks 🙂
Beth Romig says
I made this tonight and the flavors were off the charts. Soo good and will be in my rotation.
My Heart Beets says
Beth, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know how this turned out for you 🙂
cindi says
Really enjoyed the taste of this–the spices were perfect, but I kept getting the ‘burn’ warning over and over. I did, I believe, add more potatoes than the recipe really meant for there to be. In the end, I put it all in a pot on the stovetop for about a half hour with extra liquid. It came out so thick and comfort-food-y! Thanks for the recipe!
My Heart Beets says
Cindi, ah thank you for sharing that – hopefully it will help someone else! Glad you liked the flavor 🙂
Instant Pothead says
Another hit! Ashley, your recipes have dramatically improved my quality of life, thanks❤️
OK, I’m going to be that reviewer who made changes to this, but I have a feeling some of the changes might answer some potential questions from other cooks.
First, I doubled the recipe so we could enjoy half now and freeze half in smaller containers for easy meals later. I do this with most of your recipes; they’re consistently awesome, so why not? Twice as yield for practically the same amount of time and effort.
Second, my husband likes bone-in chicken for curry. I skinned and cut up bone-in chicken quarters. At the point in the recipe where the chicken is added to the pot, I added my bone-in chicken, arranged in the bottom of the pot as flat as I could, and I cooked it a few extra minutes, turning a few times. I set the IP for 6 minutes to adjust for the bones, and I was careful not to cut my potatoes too small so they wouldn’t totally overcook with the extra minute cook time.
I didn’t have any fresh tomatoes so I used canned diced tomatoes and slightly reduced the amount of water in the recipe (remember, I doubled the recipe anyway). BUT I did add the water before the tomatoes. I’ve been having a lot of Burn Errors lately and I thought if I added the water before the tomatoes, it would help dilute the tomato before it had a chance to burn on the bottom of the pot. Miraculously, it reached pressure without a Burn Error😅 I did a natural release for about 15 minutes, then manually released.
I omitted the caraway/carom/ajwain. Never cared for it.
The smell was outstanding. I tasted it right after cooking, it was super. Very flavorful. Can’t wait to have it for dinner tonight; it will be even better after sitting (in the fridge) for a little bit and the flavors have a chance to fully develop.
Thanks for another hit.
And thanks for your chicken biryani recipe. Yours is perfection, truly an heirloom-quality recipe.
My Heart Beets says
I’m so happy to hear that!! And thank you so much for sharing this info – I know it’ll definitely help others!!
Reenu says
Hi! I am looking to try out this recipe tonight. Couple of questions – could I use chicken breast instead of thighs? Also would this work with spinach instead of potatoes?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Reenu, so sorry for the late reply! Did you end up trying it out? I haven’t tried this with chicken breast – typically they cook faster but if the breasts are pretty thick then I’d suggest cutting them into chunks. Chicken thighs are more forgiving and definitely more juicy which is why I usually use them. And you can definitely add spinach if you’d like instead of potatoes.