Chicken Korma in under an hour? Yes, please! You don’t have to wait for a special occasion to make this royal dish – thanks to the instant pot, you can make it whenever you want with minimal effort!
This instant pot chicken korma is rich, creamy, and flavorful. It’s the real deal y’all. This chicken korma is much tastier than what you’ll find in restaurants, and thanks to the instant pot, you can make it at home in like half an hour – definitely under an hour! The hardest part of this recipe is gathering all of the ingredients (which really takes only like 5 minutes). After that, it’s cake. Well, korma.
This dish is also known as Shahi Chicken korma, and it’s a royal dish… literally. It’s from Mughlai cuisine, meaning that it was developed in imperial kitchens and served to royalty during the Mughal era in India (to kings, queens, jesters like me… just kidding).
Mughlai dishes are a treat because they are so decadent. They’re creamy and rich and call for dried fruit and nuts, which add awesome texture. Pre-Instant Pot, I really only made korma when we were having guests over – it was a “special occasion” dish. While it’s still an excellent dish to make for guests, it’s also easy enough to make whenever I want a delicious and comforting meal.
I know those of you following my onion masala series will ask if you can use that instead — yes, you can; however, I have yet to determine the right quantity. My guess is half a cup – so if you figure it out, please leave a comment letting us know! I recently used onion masala and cashew butter to make this more of a “short-cut korma,” and while it was good, it wasn’t quite as good. I plan on trying it again using onion masala with the blended cashew sauce – I think blending the cashews really makes a difference. Basically, make my recipe as written below if you want excellent korma – but if you do decide to experiment, tell me how it goes!
Enjoy this creamy dreamy mild korma over a bowl of basmati rice or matar pulao or brown basmati and as you eat it, just remember you are a queen… or a king… or a jester lol (you’re only going to get that joke if you read above…). Anyway, enjoy!
Chicken Korma Instant Pot Recipe
Chicken Korma Instant Pot Recipe
Ingredients
Onion Tomato Mixture
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1- inch ginger roughly chopped
- ½ Serrano pepper or green chili roughly chopped
- 1 tomato roughly chopped
Creamy Cashew Sauce
- ½ cup cashews
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- ¼ cup cashews
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Spices
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 ½ pounds skinless and boneless chicken thighs cut into quarters
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves kasoori methi
- Cilantro garnish
Instructions
- To make the onion tomato mixture, add the onion, garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper and tomato to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.
- Prepare the cashew sauce by adding the cashews and ½ cup water to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Press the sauté button and add ghee, ¼ cup of cashews and golden raisins. Stir-fry until the cashews begin to turn golden. Remove the cashews and raisins and set aside to use as a garnish.
- Add cumin seeds and once they begin to brown, add the blended onion and tomato mixture. Stir-fry for 8-10 minutes, or until the onion and tomato mixture has thickened.
- Add the spices, stir, then add the chicken and mix well.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the pot.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.
- Open the valve to quick release any remaining pressure.
- Press the sauté button, add the blended cashew sauce and fenugreek leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro, ghee-coated cashews and raisins.
Video
Notes
- I always suggest gathering the ingredients before you begin cooking. Putting all of the ground spices together in a bowl will make the cooking process go much faster/smoother.
Rebecca Kulangara-Zacharias says
I just made this and it turned out delicious! I did use the onion masala and used cup and half (6 eggs) I still added the ginger and garlic in addition too. I had more chicken chopped up than recipe called for. So I doubled all my dry spices and that’s why I used more of the frozen onion masala then some may have used. This was so dreamy and creamy and flavorful! I have yet to make something of hers that has not turned out and I have tried A LOT of her recipes!!!! We love raisins and cashews so I toasted probably triple the amount hahah Ashley, you have made cooking a breeze. Thank you for all the time you put into making and creating these recipes for us all.
Sujatha says
Hi Ashley,
Can I pressure cook the chicken after I add the ground nuts?
Thanks,
Sujatha
Lisa says
This is such a delicious recipe! They whole family loved it! Thanks so much for sharing! I did use onion masala as I didn’t have any tomatoes. I can’t compare as it was my first time making it, but it was really nice .
Jessica A says
I can’t wait to try this! Are the cashews roasted? unsalted? whole? Thanks,
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I use raw and unsalted whole cashews 🙂
Jordan says
My four-year-old daughter asked if we can have this for dinner every night. Even more amazingly, my father-in-law, who is pickier than many four-year-olds 😂, also devoured it. Thanks for a great and easy-to-make recipe!!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Jordan, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much your daughter (and FIL) enjoyed it 🙂
Neeta says
Ashley
If I want to double any of the recipes on Instapot, do I double the amount of water? Specifically asking about the biryani recipes. I have a large Instapot and want to make biryani for 10-12 persons. So I would double the amount of rice and chicken.
Let me know.
Tiffany says
I make this recipe often. I’ve probably made it 20 times! I’ve served it at parties, brought it to people recovering from an injury or after having a baby, brought it to potlucks, and just made it for my family. It’s just that good! Everyone loves it! It’s comforting, warmly spicy, and so healthy, while also satisfying, unique, and delicious. It also is compatible with quite a few special diets (Whole30, Bright Line, Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free). There are a couple things I modify because it’s easier and still comes out awesome.
1) I don’t sauté the chicken first. Just throw it in the instant pot after sautéing the veg mixture.
2) I sauté whole coriander seeds with the cumin seeds
3) I sauté the whole cashews and raisins in coconut oil
4) I always TRIPLE it! Triple the veg, triple the spices, triple the chicken. Cashew cream – not sure as I don’t measure that part. It’s prob double the cashew cream. I don’t triple the water (maybe about 1.5 cups). And I don’t triple the pressure cook time – about 13 mins is enough.
PS- it freezes really well!
Great recipe. So glad I found it! Thank you!
Pugette says
This was the first korma I’ve ever made, and I was pleasantly surprised at how I was able to pull off such well rounded flavors! Full disclosure, I cheated and used the spicy curry powder from Whole Foods + the recommended teaspoon of paprika, but it was super tasty. Also did this with a bone-in turkey breast and increased the cooking time, but I definitely plan on making this again and doubling/tripling the sauce. Thanks for a keeper, Ashley!