Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Total Time: 30 mins | Servings: 5
Don’t miss this Chicken Marsala recipe for anything! It’s the perfect dish to serve on a busy weeknight and good enough for entertaining or any occasion. And easily make this in either an Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stovetop.
Ingredients
Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and we’ll send the recipe straight to your inbox!
2.20 lbs chicken on bones without skin (1 kg)
2 c. onion roughly chopped
1.5 c. tomato roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste (diluted)
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1/4 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1/2 c. Oil
Salt (to taste)
Spice Powders:
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
2-3 tablespoons homemade Madras Curry Powder
Spiced yoghurt:
3/4 c. Yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon Tandoori Masala (store-bought)
1/4 teaspoon Paprika or Deggi Mirch or Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
a pinch of turmeric powder
Salt (to taste)
Spices for sizzling & garnishing:
1/2 teaspoon Whole Cumin Seeds
2 dry red chilli
10 fresh curry leaves (optional)
How to make Chicken Madras
To marinate the chicken:
Remove the chicken bones and discard, then place the meat in a clean dry bowl. Add in 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, and some salt. Evenly massage the pieces of chicken. Set aside.
Make the spiced yoghurt sauce:
In a bowl, place the yoghurt with the spiced yoghurt ingredients and whisk until well combined, then set aside.
Chicken Madras in Instant Pot:
Step 1: To “Saute”, set the Instant Pot and keep it on Normal mode. Then, add in half of the oil. Once the oil is somewhat hot, add the pieces of chicken to the pot and sear until golden. Once the chicken pieces are nicely seared, set them aside.
Step 2: Add the remaining oil to the same pot. Then, add in the cumin, dry red chilli, and a couple of curry leaves and cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Add in the chopped onions and continue to sear until lightly brown and the oil starts to leave the sides of the pot. Now, add in the chopped tomatoes and cook further until fully mushy and the oil starts to ooze out. This takes an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 3: To the pot, add the dry spice powders except for the Madras curry powder. Stir well and cook until the raw smell is completely gone and the oil starts to ooze out. Sprinkle in some water if in case the spices stick to the bottom of the pot and keep cooking. Then, add in the homemade madras curry powder, cooking further until fragrant.
Step 4: Return the seared pieces of chicken to the pot and stir until the chicken is coated in the bhuna masala. Cook for a few minutes more until the pieces of chicken are well roasted. This takes an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 5: Decrease the heat and keep it low. Then, add in the tomato paste and the spiced yoghurt, mixing well until incorporated. After around a minute, set the pot to “Saute” mode. Continue cooking until the oil oozing stage is reached.
Step 6: To the pot, pour in some warm or hot water and stir. Make sure not to add too much water, only enough to submerge the chicken to about 70%.
Step 7: Press Cancel, close the lid and seal the valve, then set to Pressure Cook on High for about 5 minutes. Once the time is up, straightaway does a QUICK PRESSURE RELEASE, then uncover. Now, cancel the Pressure Cook mode and set the IP to Saute mode keeping it on Normal. Allow the sauce to simmer until the sauce has thickened and it reached your desired consistency.
Step 8: Before serving, garnish with extra fresh curry leaves if desired. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Chicken Madras on the stovetop:
To make this on the stovetop, the entire recipe remains the same, only use a skillet or Kadai to cook instead of an IP and set on medium heat. Add the water, cover the skillet/Kadai, and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is well done.
Notes:
Measurement reference: 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
The spiced yoghurt adds so much flavour to this dish so make sure not to skip it. Also, do a quick marinade before searing the chicken.
Nutrition Facts:
Serving: 2g | Calories: 526kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 1025mg | Potassium: 792mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g
Ingredients
- 2.20 lbs chicken on bones without skin (1 kg)
- 2 c. onion roughly chopped
- 1.5 c. tomato roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste (diluted)
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- 1/2 c. Oil
- Salt (to taste)
- Spice Powders:
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 2-3 tablespoons homemade Madras Curry Powder
- Spiced yoghurt:
- 3/4 c. Yoghurt
- 1/2 teaspoon Tandoori Masala (store-bought)
- 1/4 teaspoon Paprika or Deggi Mirch or Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- a pinch of turmeric powder
- Salt (to taste)
- Spices for sizzling & garnishing:
- 1/2 teaspoon Whole Cumin Seeds
- 2 dry red chilli
- 10 fresh curry leaves (optional)
Instructions
To marinate the chicken:
Remove the chicken bones and discard, then place the meat in a clean dry bowl. Add in 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, and some salt. Evenly massage the pieces of chicken. Set aside.
Make the spiced yoghurt sauce:
In a bowl, place the yoghurt with the spiced yoghurt ingredients and whisk until well combined, then set aside.
Chicken Madras in Instant Pot:
Step 1: To “Saute”, set the Instant Pot and keep it on Normal mode. Then, add in half of the oil. Once the oil is somewhat hot, add the pieces of chicken to the pot and sear until golden. Once the chicken pieces are nicely seared, set them aside.
Step 2: Add the remaining oil to the same pot. Then, add in the cumin, dry red chilli, and a couple of curry leaves and cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Add in the chopped onions and continue to sear until lightly brown and the oil starts to leave the sides of the pot. Now, add in the chopped tomatoes and cook further until fully mushy and the oil starts to ooze out. This takes an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 3: To the pot, add the dry spice powders except for the Madras curry powder. Stir well and cook until the raw smell is completely gone and the oil starts to ooze out. Sprinkle in some water if in case the spices stick to the bottom of the pot and keep cooking. Then, add in the homemade madras curry powder, cooking further until fragrant.
Step 4: Return the seared pieces of chicken to the pot and stir until the chicken is coated in the bhuna masala. Cook for a few minutes more until the pieces of chicken are well roasted. This takes an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 5: Decrease the heat and keep it low. Then, add in the tomato paste and the spiced yoghurt, mixing well until incorporated. After around a minute, set the pot to “Saute” mode. Continue cooking until the oil oozing stage is reached.
Step 6: To the pot, pour in some warm or hot water and stir. Make sure not to add too much water, only enough to submerge the chicken to about 70%.
Step 7: Press Cancel, close the lid and seal the valve, then set to Pressure Cook on High for about 5 minutes. Once the time is up, straightaway does a QUICK PRESSURE RELEASE, then uncover. Now, cancel the Pressure Cook mode and set the IP to Saute mode keeping it on Normal. Allow the sauce to simmer until the sauce has thickened and it reached your desired consistency.
Step 8: Before serving, garnish with extra fresh curry leaves if desired. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Chicken Madras on the stovetop:
To make this on the stovetop, the entire recipe remains the same, only use a skillet or Kadai to cook instead of an IP and set on medium heat. Add the water, cover the skillet/Kadai, and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is well done.
Notes
Measurement reference: 1 cup = 240 ml & 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. The spiced yoghurt adds so much flavour to this dish so make sure not to skip it. Also, do a quick marinade before searing the chicken.
