I’ve become a big lover of Indian food in the last couple years with Chicken Tikka Masala being one of my go-to choices. I’ve tried a few recipes with varying success but this is my first time using an Instant Pot or Keto recipe. I tried to stick to the recipe as printed, but I had some gaps in supplies so I had to make some adjustments.

Source Recipe

https://tastythin.com/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala-whole30-paleo/

This recipe seemed pretty close to what I’ve made before aside from the whole marinade the chicken in advance part and it’s well reviewed.

Changes

  • I didn’t have diced tomato, just tomato sauce. Because of this I had to add 2 cans of water (1 can only resulted in a burn notice).
  • I don’t like coriander so I left it out.
  • I couldn’t find my cayenne pepper so I subbed chili powder, which is definitely not the same.
  • I left out the pepper as I’m not generally a fan and they’re not, IMO, something that goes in CTM.
  • I used regular cream instead of coconut milk and added it after cooking.
  • Because I added water, at the end I removed the chicken and simmered the sauce for 25 minutes to reduce it before adding the cream and chicken.
  • Because I used tomato sauce, I didn’t need to blend it.

Cauliflower Rice

  • 1 bag frozen cauliflower rice from Costco
  • 1/4 cup onions, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 Tbs avocado oil

Heat the avo oil in a skillet until hot. Add cumin seeds and sautee until you start to smell them. Add onion and sautee until onion is tender. Add cauli rice that is as dry as you can make it. Sautee over low heat, stirring occasionally, until cauli starts to brown. Remove from heat, add a little butter, and serve.

Thoughts

It’s not the best Chicken Tikka Masala I’ve had, or even made, but it was tasty and, without the simmering, would have been quick. It’s certainly quicker than recipes that require you marinate the chicken first. But, I feel that the cooking of those, with the yogurt charring, adds a depth of flavor that this doesn’t have. I would make it again if I wanted a quick meal, but I will keep searching.