This green chicken curry is a pour and cook recipe! Blend a handful of ingredients together in a food processor or blender, pour the sauce over chicken and cook!
Green chicken masala is light and lemony and herby. It’s very different from the more common tomato-based Indian curries that you might be used to eating.
This dish is really easy to make. I’ve been working on coming up with more pour and cook recipes and this one (like all the rest) requires very little effort and happens to be big on flavor.
SO WHAT’S GREEN CHICKEN CURRY/HARIYALI CHICKEN?
This green chicken curry goes by a few names: hariyali chicken, green chicken masala and green chutney chicken. There’s a chance I may have made up that last one (green chutney chicken). I’m not actually sure anyone calls it that except for me lol.
Hariyali chicken is typically made two ways: as a dry preparation which is how you’ll often find it served at Indian parties (hariyali chicken tikka) or as a curry where chicken is simmered in a green sauce (hariyali chicken masala) and served over rice or with roti. The recipe I’m sharing today is a curry.
Also, for those who’ve never heard the word hariyali, it just means “greenery.” And clearly, there’s quite a bit of greenery in this. The main ingredients: cilantro, mint, yogurt, lemon, spices and cashews.
Cashews aren’t typically used in this dish but I really like the nuttiness and the touch of creaminess they add to the sauce. I’ve made this without nuts and it’s still good – I just prefer it with cashews. If you can’t have nuts, leave them out or maybe try it with unsweetened shredded coconut? or white poppy seeds? I’m just thinking (writing?) out loud… 🤔
Give this green chicken curry a try and let me know what you think!
Instant Pot Green Chicken Curry (Hariyali Chicken)
Cuisine: Indian
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless and skinless chicken thighs
- 1 bunch cilantro, including stems
- 1 small bunch mint leaves*
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons yogurt
- 2-inch ginger
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 serrano pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon amchur powder (dried green mango powder)
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Add the chicken to the instant pot.
- Blend the remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender then pour this over the chicken.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure or wait 10 minutes then release pressure.
- Using two forks, shred the chicken right into the curry.
Notes
*I typically use a small packet (.5 ounces) of mint as that’s what my grocery store usually has available. More or less mint is fine.
This is on the menu for tonight!
Hey Maneesha! Awesome! Let me know what you think 🙂
“This is fantastic!” That’s verbatim what my husband said.when I made this! What a flavorful and easy way to make chicken! I’m going to try this for veggies too! You did it again, Ashley! Another winner recipe!!
★★★★★
Maneesha, that’s so great to hear!! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out 🙂 Please keep me posted on how it goes with veggies!
Do you think I could use creme fraiche instead of yogurt? That’s what I have on hand.
Hi Julie, I think it’ll be good but haven’t tried myself – creme fraiche will be heavier as its made from heavy cream vs milk so I wonder if it might mute the flavors a bit? You could do just 1 tablespoon rather than 2. If you try, let me know – very curious!
This turned out delicious! My Punjabi husband approved and my daughter had 4 helpings.
Thank you!
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Cara, wow, I’m so happy to hear that! 4 helpings? Best compliment ever, haha! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out 🙂
This was delicious and so easy!
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Dina, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Question- does the chicken have to be cooked before adding it to the instant pot? Does it need to be cut into pieces?
Hi Pavi, nope! Put the raw chicken in there, the instant pot will cook it. No need to cut it either (though you can) – I just shred it once it’s done cooking (step 5 in the recipe card). Hope that helps!
I’ve made a few of your recipes and they’ve all been amazing, but this one might have to be my new favorite considering how delicious it is and how easy it is to make and prep. It only took us like an hour total to prepare and cook. We doubled the recipe amount for meal prep, and we also added a little gf flour to thicken it at the end as well as some coconut milk for creaminess. It was delicious, I love all the herb flavors in it. Thanks so much for the recipe!
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Em, that makes me so happy to hear 🙂 And thank you for sharing the gf flour and coconut milk idea – I’ll have to try that next time! I’m sure it’ll be helpful for others too!
I’m trying this tomorrow. Looks amazing. One question though. Can this be frozen? I understand that recipes with dairy don’t freeze well?
Hi Kenneth, I haven’t tried freezing this but I think it’ll be fine – there’s very little yogurt in this and I know I’ve frozen similar recipes in the past. Hope you love it!
Absolutely delicious and I am also thinking how good this sauce is before cooking just as a chutney! I made this with chicken breast so cooked it 10 minutes before natural release. I think this would be really good with lamb too.
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Melissa, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked the green chicken 🙂 I bet lamb would be great – if you try, let me know how it goes!
Is that ok if I make it with chicken breast ?
This recipe is so delicious and so easy to make. Thank you so much!
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Jasmine, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how the hariyali chicken turned out for you 🙂
Looks delicious! Do you plan to make a video of this recipe? I was curious what would be considered a “small bunch” of mint 🙂
Thanks, Monica! I’ll add this to my video list! Also, such a great point – I’ll update the recipe card with this info! I’d say around .5 ounces (I use one of those small mint packets at the grocery store because that’s usually all they have). More or less is fine though!
also wondering about size of cilantro bunch? My bunches from the grocery store are huge!
Can you use bone in chicken and what if you don’t hav the mango powder?
Jenny, bone-in should be fine, maybe add an extra 2 minutes. As for the amchur, it’s fine to skip – it just adds a bit of fruity tanginess – do you have tamarind paste? If so, try 1/4 teaspoon of that.
Thanks. I had a similar question. Planning to try with chicken drumsticks. Will use tamarind instead of amchur.
this looks great so far! Can I use part skim ricotta cheese instead of yogurt? I know its a weird swap, but looking to get rid of it from my fridge!
Deepa, thanks! I actually think it’ll be a great swap – please let me know how that goes!
This recipe turned out terrific! Thanks Ashley.
Question: how would the cooking directions change if I wanted to cook baby potatoes in the hariyali base? I tried it for 10 minutes under high pressure with natural release and they were undercooked. Should the potatoes be precooked in the instant pot before adding them to the green base?
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Hi Jayram, I’m so glad you liked it! As for adding baby potatoes – I’m really surprised they weren’t done in that amount of time! You can try cutting them in half. Let me know how that goes if you try 🙂
Has anyone tried this with Paneer? I would like to substitute.
Hi Ashley,
I want to try the green chicken recipe. Is it cooked without oil?
Looks delicious.
Hi Sonal, yep! There’s no oil 🙂
Hi Ashley! Thanks for sharing your awesome questions. Sorry in advance for the silly question…. but when you say a bunch of cilantro, how much is that? I’m in Toronto and here the size of the cilantro bunch varies drastically based on grocery store. Could you approximate the weight in ounces or some sort of reference?
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for another amazing easy, delicious recipe Ashley. We just got home from vacation and I was looking for a simple dish to make and tried this out. I doubled the recipe and added tamarind paste instead of lime juice as I didn’t have any limes. It turned out awesome. Yum!!!!! Big hit with my family.
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Anu, that’s so awesome to hear! Thank you for letting me know how this dish turned out for you and your family 🙂
Great recipe. I got a burnt message earlier and then I switched to low pressure and it turned out perfect! Very easy to cook.
Looks delish… Plan to try this in a couple of days so I can add it to the party menu next weekend! Thanks for all your recipes 🙂
I hope this turned out well for you 🙂
Delicious and easy! I tried it with chicken breasts and they were a little tough. Not sure if it’s just how breasts work with this or if maybe I need longer time in the IP. Substituted a bit of lime juice for the amchur powder too. I used 2.8oz of whole cilantro because the bunch I got was massive and figured that whole thing couldn’t be right haha. Might double the sauce next time too.
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Hi Freddie, glad you liked it! And yeah chicken breasts can be tricky in the instant pot – did you cut them up? Maybe try cutting them, adding a bit of water (since they don’t release as much liquid/fat as thighs) and perhaps even reducing the time by a minute or two? I need to experiment more with pour/cook chicken breast recipes but that’s what I’d try first.
This is a winner! Oh my gosh — I reheated it the next day in the office and people were asking me about where I got my lunch from… high praise because I work in midtown NYC and there are many choices around here. I used your trick of a fresh lemon squeeze over the rice – and it was fantastic.
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Kimberly, that’s so awesome to hear!! Thank you for letting me know how much you liked it 🙂 Hope you’re staying safe in NYC!
This recipe was delicious but I did encounter some issues with the cooking. I got the burn warning twice with this dish. The first time I had to scrape the chicken off of the bottom, and the second time I think was due to some left over burnt bits on the bottom. I scraped the bottom really well and stirred it up again and then it finally completed the cook cycle. I think either some oil on the bottom, and/or mixing the sauce in before cooking might help prevent burning. I’ll try that next time since I will definitely be making this again!
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I was contemplating whether to make it or not but since I had all the ingredients and not much time I went ahead! It turned out amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Definitely making it again!
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I’m so happy to hear that you liked it so much 🙂
I was contemplating whether to make it or not but since I had all the ingredients and not much time I went ahead! It turned out amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Definitely making it again!
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Neetu, I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
A novice here. Is there any need to Saute chicken or add any oil?
Hi Sarthak, no need to saute or use oil for this recipe 🙂
I really enjoyed this one, the taste is very different to any curries I’ve had before. It has a lovely fresh flavour to it. Definitely one I’ll make again, thanks.
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Martin, that’s so great to hear 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you!
My mother’s recipe from more than 60 years ago! She did have cashews, white poppy seed and coconut in her recipe!
Chelli, that’s so awesome!! I’m going to try adding poppy seeds and coconut the next time I make this – love that she used all three!
I am one of your silent fans! I have tried many many recipes from your blog and they have always been a hit! I tried this one not too long ago and we all loved it. I am in fact going to make it again tomorrow!
I have a question- I love eating upma but I can never get it right on stove top. Have you considered trying upma in the IP? Believe me, I will be the first one to try your recipe
Thank you so much! Looking forward to trying many more recipes!
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Tina, aww hooray! I love hearing from blog readers – thanks for leaving a comment 🙂 I don’t have an upma recipe – I’ve been thinking of trying a rice flour version though so maybe soon!
Excellent recipe. It was so quick, easy and delicious. Made it for kids and hubby and they loved it. Will have to make paneer and sabji in the same for myself (vegetarian). Thank you
Shruti, I’m so happy to hear that the fam enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out 🙂
I can’t have dairy. Can I skip the yogurt, or swap it out with an equal amount of coconut milk?
Thanks!
Madhavi
Hi Ashley, this is such an incredible and delicious tasting recipe! It reminds me of a Peruvian dish I often eat at one of the local places here. I doubled the recipe, and am using the 6QT instant pot, however when I initially made it, the chicken came out raw. I had cooked it for 5 minutes, and did a natural release of 15 minutes. So then I went back and cooked it for 15 minutes, which is how I typically cook chicken. I did use boneless chicken thighs, and they were cut up in bite size pieces. That’s the only changes I would do.
I’ve really enjoyed all your recipes that I tried! Looking forward to some new ones! 🙂
★★★★★
Just made this for dinner and I am blown away by how tasty this is! So much flavour, and the chicken is super tender. I can’t stop eating it!
I received the burn message the first time coming to pressure (I have a 6qt) but after opening and deglazing, it came to pressure just fine the second time, with no burning at all.
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Charlotte, so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked this dish 🙂
Loved the easy prep work with this recipe – however, I received the BURN message multiple times. I doubled the recipe in an 8 qt instant pot and followed everything pretty much to the T so I’m not sure what the problem was. After the first BURN message I scraped the bottom really well and added more water and tried again. It gave me the BURN message a second time. I scraped the bottom again and retried to pressurize – again, the BURN message. Scraped again and it FINALLY pressurized. It was really flavorful so it was worth it in the end – just took more work than what I was planning on for a “pour and cook” recipe!
Out of curiosity – I stirred the sauce and meat together before I pressurized – would something about the lack of layering cause the BURN message? Thanks for a great recipe!!
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So I’ve made this twice now and the first time I thought I just didn’t seal it right but the second time I’m sure I did. There’s something about this recipe that prevents the pin from going all the way up at maximum pressure. It just goes halfway up and then it counts down. Any idea why I’m having this problem? I made other recipes in between, and the pin goes all the way up as it’s supposed to so I know there’s nothing wrong with the pot. Appreciate any thoughts you might have and thank you for this healthy recipe!!
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To clarify, one reason this is an issue is that there’s no natural release after the count down. It’s just done
Hello Ashley! Do you think this recipe would work with chicken and should I change the cook time?
Hi, my kids are allergic to nuts! What can I use in the place of cashews?
Thanks!
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Ashley,
I don’t see anyone else complaining about the burn notice. I wonder if I missed a step. I got the masala ready in the blender. I started the IP and put the chicken breast in and then poured the masala and started the IP in 5 min manual high. Within a minute I got the burn notice. It tasted great but the challenge with deglazing the IP vessel and trying this 2 or more times to build up pressure was painful. What is the solution or what did I miss ?
SS
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Hi SS, this is just a guess but it could be because you used chicken breast which may not release as much water/fat – perhaps try adding a little water if you use breast meat? Please let me know if that helps!
We loved this! A tangy different way to make Chicken
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Rashi, I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Any way to make this vegetarian with a substitute?
I love this recipe! So much! But I was wondering if anyone has tried it with tofu instead of chicken. Please let me know how it turned out or what extra steps were taken.
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