Instant Pot Whole Chicken- Pressure Cooked & Fried | With Delicious Gravy
 
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
  • Whole chicken, skinned- 1.5 kg or 3 lbs
For making marinade
  • Kashmiri chili powder- ½ tbsp
  • Regular chili powder- 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
  • Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
  • Fennel powder- 1 tsp
  • Garam masala- 1 tsp
  • Chaat masala- 1 tsp (optional)
  • Salt- 2 tsp
  • Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
  • Oil- 1 tbsp
  • Water- 2 tbsp
For pan-frying chicken
  • Coconut oil- ½ cup
  • Curry leaves- 10 leaves
  • Garlic, sliced- 3 cloves
  • Ginger, sliced- 2-inch sliced
  • Green chilies, halved- 3 or 4
For making gravy
  • Oil left after frying chicken- 3 tbsp
  • Onions, chopped- 2, large sized
  • Ginger-garlic paste- ½ tbsp
  • Tomatoes, chopped- 2
  • Kashmiri chili powder- 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder- ⅛ tsp
  • Coriander powder- 2 tsp
  • Fennel powder- 1 tsp
  • Garam masala- ½ tsp
  • Salt- ½ tsp
  • Poppy seeds- ½ tbsp (optional)
  • Cashew nuts- ½ cup
  • Chicken broth
Instructions
  1. I've taken 1.5 kg or 3 lbs of whole chicken, remove the skin & rinse it under running water.
  2. Using a sharp knife score the chicken or add lines over the meat.
  3. In a bowl add all the ingredients mentioned 'for making the marinade', combine well to a smooth thick paste.
  4. If you don't have chaat masala, can be skipped.
  5. Spread the marinade all over the chicken & inside as well.
  6. Place the chicken in a large bowl, cover with a cling wrap & keep it in the refrigerator & let marinate overnight.
  7. Or allow it to marinate for at least 3 to 4 hours.
  8. I pressure cooked the chicken in the Instant Pot. If you don't have an Instant Pot, use a regular pressure cooker.
  9. Place the marinated whole chicken into the stainless steel pot.
  10. Add ½ cup water to the bowl used for marinating the chicken, there will be some marinade stuck to the bowl, mix well & add the water to the pot.
  11. Close the pot with the lid.
  12. Select pressure cook, time 10 minutes at high pressure.
  13. After 10 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes & then do a quick pressure release.
  14. Open the lid, the whole chicken will be cooked perfectly.
  15. There will be some liquid left in the pot, that's the flavorful chicken broth. Save the liquid, we will add this while making the gravy.
  16. I find if the chicken is pressure cooked for 15 minutes, the meat will fall apart. 10 minutes high-pressure cooking is the perfect time.
  17. After pressure-cooking the chicken, I'm going to pan-fry the chicken, which will make the chicken really delicious.
  18. Place a large wok over medium heat, add ½ cup coconut oil.
  19. Place the pressure-cooked whole chicken over the oil. Use 2 wooden spatulas to take the chicken out of the pot.
  20. Don't add the liquid to the oil.
  21. Add curry leaves & let the bottom side turn golden brown.
  22. Flip the chicken over & let the other side pan fry till golden brown.
  23. Flip over a few times & let all the sides pan fry well.
  24. Towards the end of pan frying, add the garlic, ginger & green chilies to the oil & fry them.
  25. Transfer the pan-fried whole chicken to a plate.
  26. Fry the ginger, garlic & green chilies till they turn golden brown in color.
  27. Transfer to a paper towel.
  28. While serving, garnish the fried garlic, ginger, green chilies & curry leaves over the whole chicken.
  29. Drizzle ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice over the chicken.
Making the gravy
  1. Place a large saucepan over medium heat, add the oil left after frying the chicken around 3 tbsp.
  2. Add onions, season with ½ tsp salt, saute for 2 minutes.
  3. Add ginger-garlic paste, saute till onions turn light golden in color.
  4. Add tomatoes, cook till tomatoes have mashed up.
  5. Add all the spices- chili, turmeric, coriander, fennel powder & garam masala.
  6. Combine well, cook for 2 minutes.
  7. Add poppy seeds & cashew nuts, combine well & cook for 2 minutes.
  8. Add the chicken broth- liquid left in the pot after pressure cooking the whole chicken, combine well & cook for 2 minutes.
  9. Remove the pot from the heat, let cool down a bit.
  10. Add the mixture to a blender jar & puree till smooth.
  11. Transfer the gravy to a bowl.
  12. While serving, pour the gravy over the chicken & enjoy.
  13. Absolutely delicious whole chicken with an amazing gravy.
  14. I also served ghee rice that's cooked in the Instant Pot, check out the recipe.
Recipe by Cooking with Thas - Wholesome Homemade Recipes at https://thasneen.com/cooking/instant-pot-whole-chicken-pressure-cooked-fried-with-delicious-gravy-complete-meal/