Instant pot butter chicken will be a welcome change from your usual weeknight chicken dinner. Plop the ingredients into your Instant Pot, and turn it on and put your feet up with a cup of tea or cocktail.
Place your sauce ingredients into an Instant Pot in the order listed in the recipe above, up to the chicken. Mix the sauce well then add the chicken on top.
Close the cooker and set the pressure valve for 10 mins on high pressure, and let it release pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Release all the remaining pressure.
Wait 10 minutes before finishing the masala, or your sauce will be too thin. Remove the chicken.
Finishing the Masala
Gather your final sauce ingredients.
Mix together the butter, cream, more optional garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves (if using), and the cilantro and add to the Instant Pot. Stir well. If the sauce is thinner than you want, place in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes, and the sauce will thicken up. You are looking for it to coat the back of a spoon.
Add the chicken back into the masala and heat through. Taste for seasoning and add more garam masala, to your taste. Garnish with more cilantro if you wish, and serve with your favorite rice or flatbread.
Keeping: store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
If you prefer using chicken breasts there are several things you can do to keep them from overcooking: leave the breasts whole and reduce the High-Pressure cook time to 8 minutes. Cut the chicken up before serving.
See Ms. Pitre's Q&A for notes, if you have questions, especially: on tomatoes, using white meat, tofu, paneer, or vegetables.
If using frozen chicken in your Instant Pot butter chicken, push it into the sauce a bit so that it defrosts properly.
If you prefer a vegetarian dish you can sub out the meat with 6 cups of steamed vegetables, adding 1/4 cup of the water used while steaming to the sauce. Add the vegetables into the sauce after pressure cooking.
If using tofu or paneer, add 1/4 cup of water to the sauce, pressure cook, and then add a 12-ounce block of firm tofu, or 14 ounces of paneer. Allow the sauce to flavor and heat through the tofu or paneer for 5 to 10 minutes.