I’m going to show you how to make a tandoori spiced whole chicken in an instant pot! Then we’re going to use the remaining sauce at the bottom of the pot (drippings) to make a delicious and comforting potato curry!
Tandoori Chicken + Potato Curry:
This is a two-for-one recipe. That’s right. You came here for tandoori chicken, but you’re leaving with tandoori chicken AND potato curry (made with chicken drippings + my onion masala).
This is an entire meal in a pot. That means you have literally one pot to wash/put in the dishwasher at the end of the night. Crazy.
“I have never made full chicken before – but when I needed to I came straight to Ashley’s blog. The recipe was perfect! Cooking times , proportions and all the helpful tips just made it so easy and stress free. The potatoes too were so delicious. All of it done with minimal mess and only one pot to wash!!”
Rasneet
How to Make Whole Tandoori Chicken:
You’re going to go out and buy a whole chicken – a small one, like 4 pounds. You’ll then marinate the chicken (preferably overnight) in the most flavorful tandoori sauce (seriously, this recipe is the best… said the very biased but also very honest food blogger 🙋🏽♀️).
You’ll put the chicken in the instant pot and cook it until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
Then you’ll remove the chicken and let it rest for a few minutes. Why rest? So it retains its juices and stays… well, juicy.
While the chicken rests… you’ll toss some of my magic onion masala and some potatoes into the instant pot with the chicken drippings and cook for 4 more minutes. The result? A tandoori spiced potato curry that might just be the best potato curry you’ve ever had in your entire life.
Cooking Whole Chicken in an Instant Pot vs. Oven:
Is pressure cooking chicken better than roasting chicken in an oven? Yes, pressure cooking results in a tastier chicken (cue: bickering).
Here’s the thing. The oven can dry out the breast meat. You also have to watch the chicken more carefully, tent the meat, make sure the wings don’t burn. Oven-roasted chicken is just a little more high maintenance. The instant pot is fuss-free. Pressure cooking a whole chicken somehow results in perfectly cooked white and dark meat.
That said. If you have an actual tandoor in your house, you’re probably some sort of expert chef/cooking whiz. In which case… I’m kind of honored that you’re even reading my blog. If you have a tandoor and know what you’re doing, then use that. But if you’re like most of us and are debating between cooking a chicken in a regular oven or an instant pot…
Just trust the instant pot. And trust me.
What’s Tandoori Chicken? How is this Tandoori Chicken Recipe Different?
I probably should have started with this. But I’m guessing you already have a general idea, especially if you’re searching for an instant pot tandoori chicken recipe.
How do I explain the wonderfulness of tandoori chicken in just a few words? Perfectly cooked tandoori chicken is fall-apart tender. It’s full of flavor.
To make tandoori chicken, you first need to marinate the meat in a mixture of yogurt and spices. This helps tenderize and flavor the meat.
Speaking of spices…. spices are sort of my specialty. I know there are many pre-made tandoori spice blends on the market, but I hope you’ll try my recipe as written. I put a lot of thought into the spices that I use, and I tweak them until I get the flavor just right. That’s why you almost always see me listing out individual spices in my recipes (see: Chana Masala, Sambar).
Restaurants usually add red food coloring to tandoori chicken. I don’t. Instead, I use a good amount of paprika and some cayenne. You can use Kashmiri red chili (for color/not spicy) and red chili (spicy) if you’d like.
Also, traditionally you’re supposed to remove the skin before making tandoori chicken, but you really don’t need to do that with this recipe… like please don’t. That’s so much work and defeats the purpose of using my simple recipe.
WATCH HOW EASY IT IS TO THIS CHICKEN AND POTATO CURRY!
(for the full recipe, see the recipe card below 😋)
What’s up with Mustard Oil?
My recipe calls for mustard oil, which adds a pungent wasabi-esque, horseradish-like flavor to this chicken. If you can’t find mustard oil, you can use another type of oil. It’ll still be good… just not quite as good.
If you’re not familiar with mustard oil, you should know that in the US, mustard oil is normally sold with a warning that says “for external use only.” Despite this warning, many Indian folks cook with this type of oil. If you’re buying this from your local Indian store – just ask the owner/employee there if it’s a brand they suggest cooking with. I have opinions about this FDA-required label but I’m just a food blogger and not really interested in getting in trouble with the government so I’ll keep my mouth shut. I would suggest reading this interesting article from the NY Times.
How Long do I Cook the Chicken?
So there are “rules” and then there’s what I do…
Whenever I buy a whole chicken, it’s usually in the 3.5 pound to the 4.5-pound range. I set the time (on my 6 quart) to 30 minutes with a 15-minute natural release, and it always turns out perfectly tender – sometimes, it literally falls off the bone in the pot.
The general rule is to pressure cook a whole chicken for 6 minutes per pound of meat. Whenever I follow the rule, though, I feel like the meat isn’t quite as soft and doesn’t fall apart the way I prefer. I feel like someone needs to change this rule to at least 7 minutes. Or forget the math and make it a total of 30 minutes.
This meal is impressive enough to serve over the holidays or for a special occasion and easy enough to make on a weeknight. You can serve this with pea pulao (pictured) or jeera rice or plain basmati rice as well as raita (give my beet raita a try for something festive/colorful).
I’m so excited for you to make this. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the tandoori chicken and tandoori potato curry recipes!
Instant Pot Whole Tandoori Chicken with Potato Curry
Instant Pot Whole Tandoori Chicken with Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 1 4 pound whole chicken
Tandoori Chicken Marinade:
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil or oil of choice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons garlic paste
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi leaves dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon amchur green mango powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne to taste
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
Potato Curry (using leftover sauce/drippings):
- 1 ½ pounds yellow or russet potatoes, cut into 3-inch pieces
- ½ cup onion masala
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
Tandoori Chicken:
- Combine all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.
- Using a paper towel, pat the chicken until it’s dry. Then add the chicken to the bowl and coat with the marinade. Keep in the fridge overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge, tie legs with kitchen twine and let it rest on the counter for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place 1 cup water into the instant pot and then place a trivet in the pot.
- Put the chicken on top of the trivet (pour any remaining marinade on top of the chicken).
- Secure the lid, close the valve and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes.
- Naturally release pressure for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and place it on a platter. Let the chicken rest for another 10 minutes before cutting into it. Meanwhile, keep the drippings/sauce in the pot and use it to make potato curry (see below).
- Serve with red onion, lemon wedges and garnish with cilantro.
Potato Curry:
- Remove the trivet from the pot and add ½ cup onion masala to the sauce/drippings along with potatoes, salt and garam masala.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 4 minutes at high pressure.
- Quick release pressure.
Video
Notes
- There’s no need to broil this tandoori chicken in the oven after pressure cooking. This (see photo above) is what it looks like right out of the pressure cooker. However, if you prefer a more roasted look, you can broil it for a few minutes.
- I don’t bother making slits in the chicken but you can if you’d like! I personally think the flavor infuses just fine with an overnight marinade and I also think the chicken looks better without cuts (presentation matters sometimes!).
Mabel says
Well it took me days – nearly a full week actually from the time of buying the organic chicken spontaneously and finding this recipe to waiting for the hard-to-find spices and silicone trays to arrive – but I DID IT! This was probably the closest I’ve EVER stuck to an internet recipe – especially one with so many steps and components that themselves involve their own recipes and hours of labor (I really wish the ginger paste and onion masala recipes had a note like “This might take a while, and/or be quite loud for an extended period of time, so it’s a good one to do during the day or when you don’t have to worry about disturbing anyone or needing to go to bed!” Haha. But seriously.) I live in a *food oasis* but it must be way too white because I called SIX groceries stores and none of them even sold fenugreek. So I used your affiliate Amazon links aplenty. I wasn’t able to get the mustard oil and the fenugreek I had to order arrived the day day AFTER I made the marinade, of course, so I used a 2:3 sub of fennel seeds and mustard powder to hopefully emulate the flavor (according to the internet!). Kitchen twine, red onion, and cilantro were not listed in the ingredients, so I did not have them when I got to the step in the recipe where suddenly they were called for. In the grocery store, on an empty stomach, after biking 25 miles, my “infooition” guided me to get a Granny Smith apple and a pomegranate (it’s mid-November), and I think I chose well, as the crispness and sour/sweet flavors really complement this sauce and the textures of the chicken and potatoes (I lightly dry sautéed the thin slices of apple on cast iron til browned first). Otherwise, I stuck to your instructions as best I could, and this was probably the best chicken I’ve ever made.
In the past, I’ve made a lot of on-the-fly curries, but I’m looking forward to utilizing your resources, the tons of frozen and chilled ginger paste, onion masala, fenugreek, and mango powder I now have, and learning some new techniques and staples. I’m usually cooking for one, but like to make enough for the week, so this will do nicely. Thank you, Ashley (and family!)
Farhaana says
Hello
Do you use a whole chicken with skin on or off?
Btw.. I love your site and we regularly make multiple dishes. I tell anyone i can about it 😂
Kristin says
This recipe is on regular rotation in our house. I make it with roasted sweet potatoes and caulflower. So good! Thank you!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Kristin, that’s great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you like it 🙂
Preeti Dua-Brown says
Hi Ashley,
Can this be made using chicken breast or thigh pieces instead of a whole chicken? What alterations would be needed?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried but I’m sure you can use pieces of chicken – let me know how it goes!
Linda says
I’m trying out this recipe just now. The marinade smells fantastic and I’m keeping my fingers crossed ! Will let you know how it turns out!
There is a lot of marinade left and I’d hate to waste it! Could I give it a simmer or two and use it for gravy in another dish? Would appreciate your advice- thanks so much!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Linda, ah, I put all of the marinade in the pot on top of the chicken – that way, the marinade that falls to the bottom goes into the potato curry. I will include this in the directions to make it clear. How did it turn out for you?
Linda says
Hi Ashley, sorry for the late reply. The chicken did turn out tender and tasty, but since I did not add the marinade (should have clarified this with you before starting the recipe 😊) the meat tasted dry on the next day. However, I do know better now.
I have had the instant pot sitting in its original box for a couple of years, but your step by step , hands on demos motivated me to start using it and it’s now part of my kitchen assets! Thank you, and keep up the great work!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks Linda, that’s good to know 🙂 I’m glad you’re using your instant pot and trying my recipes!
Jay says
Tried this recipe last week.my kids loved it.i liked your idea of using the stock for potato curry. Very delicious. Thabks Ashley!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Jaya, I’m so glad your kiddos loved this! And glad you like the potato curry too 🙂
Rasneet says
I have never made full chicken before – but when I needed to I came straight to Ashley’s blog.
The recipe was perfect! Cooking times , proportions and all the helpful tips just made it so easy and stress free.
The potatoes too were so delicious.
All of it done with minimal mess and only one pot to wash!!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Rasneet, aww I’m happy you came to my blog for this recipe! And glad you liked the dish so much 🙂
ranbir singh says
Hi what is the time required to cook if the chicken is 1-1.2 kg?
Elena says
I’m so excited to try this Ashley!! I’m a huge fan and love your blog and recipes.
I have leftover tandoori masala (ready made dry spice) that I want to use up. How much would you say to use for the marinade?
Thank you for everything!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Elena, that’s tough to say because it really depends on how the mix tastes – I would suggest making the marinade and tasting it. Maybe start with 2 tablespoons and see how that goes?