There’s a lot of controversy surrounding the origin of chicken tikka masala. While it’s most commonly known as a British invention – make no mistake that the recipe I’m sharing on the blog today is an Ashley Singh original. This is instant pot chicken tikka masala rice — it has all the flavors of chicken tikka masala but in a one pot meal!
chicken tikka masala biryani? trust me on this!
If chicken tikka masala (a creamy spiced tomato chicken curry) and biryani (a flavorful rice dish) had a baby… this would be it! Think of this as chicken tikka masala biryani! I know it sounds different but trust me, every bite is so, so flavorful! It’s fun to eat too!
This recipe is really easy to make! There’s no need to marinate the chicken – you just cook everything in one pot! That means there’s less to clean, which makes me very happy. 🙂
I’ll share a version with just the curry soon for those who don’t want to try this super cool unique dish 😉 In the meantime though, I have a slow cooker chicken tikka masala curry on the blog that you can check out. I’m also working on a version using my onion masala (stay tuned!). There’s no such thing as too much chicken tikka masala, right?
Let me know if you try this! I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Rice
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Rice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice soaked for 15-30 minutes
- 3 tablespoons oil of choice
- 1 onion diced
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 Serrano pepper or green chili minced
- 1 ½ – 2 pounds skinless and boneless chicken thighs cut into quarters
Spices
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup canned tomato sauce
- ¼ cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- Cilantro garnish
Instructions
- Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Press the sauté button and add the oil and onions to the pot. Stir-fry for 6-7 minutes, or until they begin to brown.
- Add the garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper, stir, then add the chicken and stir-fry for 5-6 minutes or until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink.
- Add the spices, give the pot a quick stir, then add the tomato sauce and heavy cream.
- Pour 1 cup of water and the rice into the pot and mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Notes
- I love this brand of basmati rice – the rice grains are always perfectly cooked!
Kitsy Love says
In the UK and Australia tomato sauce is American ketchup. I’m assuming you didn’t add ketchup. Is it like Passata or diced tomato?
I love all your recipes they are in our regular rotation!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Kitsy, after googling, I think its the same as passata – but, I would probably try a different recipe as rice can be finicky depending on liquid and I’m not sure of the consistency of passata. If you still decide to try please let me know how it goes.
Ruthe Xin Brown says
Hey Ashley. Thank you for posting all your recipes. I found your recipes through looking for goat recipes, but found the flavouring and techniques you share are very unique and delicious once made. Thank you, and, blessings. I just made onion masala for the very first time, made a double recipe of butter paneer with it, then it to our pastor’s house to share with friends, it was mostly gone I could barely pack a lunch for my husband. As someone not from your culture, I felt like I never want to go to Indian restaurant anymore, because following your recipe everything tastes so much better!
Meghan says
I too got the burn notice, my own fault though, i didnt close the lid right away and it cooked off some of the water. Fortunately it didnt stick too much, and still managed to cook all the way through… no spots of uncooked or soggy rice! We all (my kids, myself, and my mom) all enjoyed it, and it had all the amazing flavor of chicken tikka masala, with less time and less mess, which was the goal, so “yay!” for that! That said, i think the best part of chicken tikka masala is the yummy creamy tomato sauce, and i found myself really missing it. So while this is a great alternative, all little more time and mess is def worth it, and ill probably stick to the original version whenever possible. Still a great recipe though, we, loved it, so thank you!
Courtney says
I found this recipe when looking for a quick and easy dinner. It’s AMAZING! I always have jasmine rice on hand so I subbed that for the basmati, but other than that I didn’t change anything. This is the best dinner, I share it with everyone, and my kids ask for it all the time.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Courtney, that’s awesome to hear! I’m so glad you and your kids like this! Thanks for sharing it with others 🙂
Smrithy says
This recipe was such a hit for the whole family. My 1 year old and 3.5 year old boys were both fans and the spice level was just in the right level where I didn’t have to adjust for either the adults or children. I, like some of the others who reviewed, had a version of the burn notice which prevented my instant pot to come to pressure with this recipe but given how much the boys loved it, I plan to continue playing around with the potential solutions mentioned in the comments as this was a first and the normal deglazing didn’t help.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Smrithy, I’m so glad it was a hit! I’m sorry you got the burn notice – please report back with any solutions you find! It seems some IPs are finicky these days.
Curious says
This came out very well. I am curious now. In this recipe, you say to add water and rice, and mix well. In your chicken biryani recipe, you have the rice go on top, with no mixing. Why the difference?
Honestly it worked out better here, with the mixing, I think. In this recipe, all the rice was good.
Having made the biryani recipe several times, I find it can be tricky – you get some rice that’s too mushy, and some rice that’s undercooked, and some that needs fluffing. I think i’ll switch to this recipe as part of my regular rotation; it just seemed easier to get right.
I did make a couple changes; I didn’t use coconut milk or cream, and didn’t substitute anything for it while cooking. I did stir in some yogurt as I ate it. I also didn’t stir-fry the chicken as much; I don’t like to cook chicken too long.
Joy Love says
Good morning, Ashley!
I made this today and, as all your recipes I have tried, it is delicious. (Yes – still morning here so a cup for late breakfast!) Apologies are in order because I have been using your recipes for almost a year and this is my first comment. I must tell you that you are the reason I began to use my instant pot and have expanded my skill in Indian cooking! Your recipes are incredibly easy to follow and your tips are a great help. What else is there to say? Just a huge thank you from my grandson (your butter chicken is his all time favorite) and myself. Have a very lovely day.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Joy! I’m so happy to hear that you liked this so much – and also, thank you for the kind words 🙂 I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment – this was so nice to read!
Dolly says
Hi Ashley,
I’m also confused about this can of tomato sauce. Do you mean diced or chopped tomatoes?