Creamy tomato chicken makhani — that restaurant-standard butter chicken, built start to finish in a single Instant Pot. A quick spice bloom, an 8-minute pressure cook and a rich cream finish are all it takes to land a deeply fragrant, vivid-red sauce with no stove-babysitting.
It’s one of the 20 recipes inside our Instant Pot Cookbook, and we’re sharing it in full so you can taste the standard before you buy the book. Ten minutes of prep and twenty of cooking, and you’re spooning Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken over rice.
Why this recipe works
The Instant Pot does the heavy lifting in one pot: blooming the garam masala and smoked paprika in butter on Saute first unlocks their aroma, and deglazing with tomato puree lifts every browned bit so nothing scorches or triggers a burn warning under pressure. Finishing with cream and crushed kasuri methi off pressure keeps the sauce glossy and the thighs tender rather than stringy.
Ingredients
Chicken & sauce
- 400 g chicken thighs, cubed
- 200 g tomato puree
- 60 ml heavy cream
- 30 g butter
Spice base
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp kasuri methi
Optional garnish
- Swirl of cream and cilantro
Serves 2 · Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min · 485 kcal per serving
Instructions
- Saute aromatics. Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Melt half the butter, add ginger-garlic paste, garam masala and smoked paprika. Bloom the spices 60 seconds until deeply fragrant, stirring constantly.
- Sear chicken. Add the cubed chicken thighs and a pinch of salt. Sear 2 minutes to coat in the spiced butter. Pour in the tomato puree and 60 ml water, scraping the bottom to deglaze completely.
- Pressure cook. Cancel Saute, seal the lid with the valve on Sealing. Cook on HIGH pressure 8 minutes. Perform a quick release (QR) once the timer ends — move the valve carefully with a towel to vent the steam.
- Finish rich. Stir in the remaining butter, heavy cream and crushed kasuri methi. Simmer on Saute 2 minutes until glossy and emulsified. Serve garnished with a cream swirl and cilantro.
Chef's tip
Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) added at the end delivers that restaurant-style aroma. Never skip the quick release — the thighs stay tender and the sauce stays a vibrant red.
Get the full Instant Pot Cookbook
Loved this one? It’s a single recipe from a 20-strong collection of pressure-cooker favourites built the same way — clear ingredients, exact times, no guesswork. Grab the full Instant Pot Cookbook below.
