Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Name: Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons ghee; 1 large onion, minced; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger; 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder; 1 (14.5 ounce) can coconut milk, refrigerated overnight; 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces; 3 Roma (plum) tomatoes, pureed in a blender; ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 2 tablespoons dried fenugreek; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 teaspoon garam masala; salt to taste

Ministry of Curry Website

Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Share This Recipe

Butter chicken or Murgh Makhani is an Indian chicken dish in a perfectly spiced curry sauce. One of the most-enjoyed dishes from the Indian subcontinent, this flavorful chicken with heavenly aroma of the garam masala and fenugreek is cooked in a creamy sauce with plenty of seasoning. Garam masala is an intensely flavored spice blend that imparts a distinctive flavor to this dish. While the fenugreek imparts a sweet yet slightly bitter flavor with hints of caramel or maple syrup. The pressure cooker helps deliver the stew-like dish in about half-an-hour so you can delight your family with it even on a busy weeknight.

Print recipe

Servings: 6

Ready in: 30min PT30M
Prep time: 5min
Cook time: 25min

Ingredients

2 tablespoons ghee
1 large onion, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
1 (14.5 ounce) can coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 Roma (plum) tomatoes, pureed in a blender
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried fenugreek
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

Appliances

For best results, we recommend using:

Mealthy Multipot
Shop Now

Directions

Melt ghee in a pressure cooker set to Sauté.
Stir onion and 1 teaspoon salt into the ghee. Cover cooker with a glass lid and cook onion until soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir ginger, garlic, turmeric, and red chili powder with the onion to coat; continue cooking until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Separate the coconut cream and water into separate bowls. Stir the water from the coconut milk can, chicken, and pureed tomatoes with the onion mixture.
Lock pressure cooker lid in place and set steam vent to Sealing.
Select Pressure Cook (Manual) and cook for 8 minutes on High pressure.
Once the cooking cycle has completed, set steam vent to Venting to quick-release pressure.
Press Cancel and set pressure cooker to Sauté.
Stir coconut cream, half the cilantro, tomato paste, fenugreek, sugar, and garam masala through the chicken mixture; season with salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
Garnish butter chicken with remaining cilantro to serve.

Mealthy Tip

If you wish to use chicken breast instead of thighs, cook on High Pressure for just 5 minutes and use a natural release for 5 minutes before triggering a quick release. Add more red chili powder and garam masala for spicer version.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 525 calories; 38g fat; 12.4g carbohydrates; 41g protein; 195mg cholesterol; 870mg sodium.

Full nutrition

Amount Per Serving
Calories 525		Calories from Fat 339
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 38g		58%
	Saturated Fat 25g	125%
	Trans Fat 0.1g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 3.4g
	Monounsaturated Fat 7.4g
Cholesterol 195mg		65%
Sodium 870mg		36%
Total Carbohydrate 12.4g		4%
	Dietary Fiber 3g	10%
	Sugars 3.9g
Protein 41g

Vitamin A 20%		Vitamin C 14%
Calcium 5%		Iron 38%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

		Calories:	2,000	2,500
Total Fat		Less than	65g	80g
	Saturated Fat	Less than	20g	25g
Cholesterol		Less than	300mg	300 mg
Sodium		Less than	2,400mg	2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate			300g	375g
	Dietary Fiber		25g	30g

Calories per gram:

Fat 9 • Carbohydrate 4 • Protein 4

Tagged:

Dinner Ready In 30 Lunch Chicken Tomatoes Coconut Milk Indian Chicken Thighs Pressure Cooker Multipot

Reviews

5.0out of 5 Stars

(13 Reviews)

How would you rate this recipe?

What others are saying

George Delamea says:

This is the third different butter chicken recipe I've tried for my pressure cooker & it's another big hit at dinner. I used the "kashmiri" powder need as an excuse to hit the Indian grocery (scored some naan, raita, and paneer for palak paneer later this week!). Definitely made me feel like I was using a more-authentic recipe, but otherwise not too sure it was that different from the others. It's just a solid, solid dish. Can eat it any day. Perfect with rice. Not too bland, nor does it have so much going on that the kids wont' eat it. Good stuff@!

Jen the Mighty says:

I'm constantly in search of butter chicken recipes that can rival the one I eat at my favorite restaurant. Look no further, I finally found it! So delicious!

Sam Dalton says:

This butter chicken recipe was very flavorful and savory. The coconut milk was the perfect addition to the pureed tomatoes. I served it with a side of naan bread, which is perfect for soaking up all the delicious sauce.

Greg Jones says:

If you've never had butter chicken before you have to try this recipe. I used chicken thighs and the meat was so tender. This is such a great meal, especially for Indian food lovers.

Monica Allen says:

I'm obsessed with this butter chicken! It was so delicious. I used chicken thighs, which were perfect because they came out nice and tender. I didn't serve it with rice, I just made fresh naan bread. Perfect...

Helene . says:

This is a delicious recipe. I use Greek olive oil in lieu of ghee and Italian concentrated tomato paste in lieu of the tomatoes. I also use half the sugar and add 1-2 cloves. It works well! This is now a staple diner in our family.

Paul Woodring says:

The flavors were good. I would fry in some cumin seeds and also add a cinnamon stick. There was a huge amount of coconut water in the can, and I shouldn't have used all of it -- the recipe came out thin and had to be thickened with a beurre manié. The extra cooking overdid the chicken. Second time around it should be 5 stars! Hint: Trader Joe's sells frozen naan which would be perfect with this!

Donna Cerny says:

Wow! I ordered the Kashmiri red pepper and fenugreek from Amazon and it was worth it. It tasted just like butter chicken from a good Indian restaurant. It far exceeded my expectations! I doubled the batch and used a 28 oz can of tomato purée instead of the tomatoes. I served it with brown rice, naan and broccoli. I had enough to feed 6 people plus a a couple of leftover lunch portions. There was still enough leftover sauce to freeze and add chicken to at another time to make at least 2 more servings. Fantastic!

Bob Ronan says:

After a couple different trips to grocery and real food stores in my area to find all the ingredients to make this dish, I can say I’m never making this again. It was soooooo damn good, I almost ate the entire thing myself. Absolutely delectable! Such rich flavors in the nose! Paired with a good red and the recipe for lemon pepper basmati rice, it almost killed me. Making it again next week for friends.

Cynthia Fluck says:

Winner in my house! Served with jasmine rice and naan. I also halved the amount of Kashmiri chili powder for my kids and it was a nice level of tangy.

Carolyn Simons says:

Well worth the trip to the Indian grocery store. Tastes just like restaurant made. Will be making this again soon!

Ivonne Norman says:

This was delicious. I think the next time I’ll be grinding down the fenugreek so that I have a powder and not whole seeds in the dish.

Ashley Thornton says:

It was delicious and super easy to make. Going to become a staple recipe.