With this uncomplicated recipe, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to make Cornish hen curry. If you like Indian food, Instant Pot Cornish Hen – Indian Chicken Curry might be that kind of holy grail for you.
Let me just tell you, this Instant Pot Cornish Hen – Indian Chicken Curry is the best chicken I’ve ever had. It tastes like the chicken I grew up eating back in India. And guess what, it doesn’t use onions and tomatoes. In fact it is a Kashmiri recipe.
Instant Pot Cornish Hen – Indian Chicken Curry- What is Cornish hen?
Firstly, there are a lot of misconstructions about what Cornish hens are. For starters, Cornish hens are a chicken breed from England. Also, they are small in size roughly about 1 to 2 pounds. Additionally, the meat is very tender.

Where can I find Cornish hen?
For the most part, they are typically sold in frozen packages of 2 in the poultry aisle. In fact cornish hens can’t be sold boneless because they’re too small to be deboned.
How do I chop Cornish hen for the Instant Pot Cornish Hen – Indian Chicken Curry?
You need to thaw the Cornish hen overnight. I typically keep it in a sink to thaw with the packaging intact. When you open the pack make sure you do that over the sink. The packaging tends to have a lot of water. Tear into the package and discard the excess water. Rinse well. Place the Cornish hen on a cutting board. Using poultry shears, cut closely along the skin and chop off the skin and discard it. Then cut the Cornish hen into about 4-inch pieces. You can discard any extra bones that do not have meat on them.

How do I make Instant Pot Cornish Hen – Indian Chicken Curry?
First, select sauté on the Instant Pot and adjust to normal. Then, add oil to the pot. Furthermore, when the oil is hot add in cumin seeds and asafoetida.
Consequently, when the cumin seeds splutter add in the chopped Cornish hen pieces and let them saute for 3 to 4 minutes until the pink color gets eliminated.
Then add in Kashmiri chili powder, ground fennel, ground ginger, ground cumin, salt, coupled with ½ cup water. Mix well and let the spices sauté for a minute or two.
Press cancel. Then, close the lid and select manual/high pressure for 5 minutes. Finally, when done quick release the pressure and open the lid right away.
Serve over steamed rice.
Tried this recipe yet? Give us a rating, comment below in the reply section and let us know what you think.
Moreover, try some of our other recipes:
Instant Pot Kashmiri Chicken Yakhni
Instant Pot Kashmiri Chicken Aloo
Instant Pot Cornish Hen – Indian Chicken Curry
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 cornish hen (whole, thawed) (1 to 1.5 pounds)
- 4 tbsp oil of choice
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida (heeng)
- 1 tbsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground fennel (saunf powder)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger (sonth)
- 1 tsp ground cumin (jeera powder)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
Prep
- Cut the thawed Cornish hen into about 4-inch pieces
Cook
- When the oil is hot add in cumin seeds and asafoetida.
- When the cumin seeds splutter add in the chopped Cornish hen pieces and let them saute for 3 to 4 minutes until the pink color gets eliminated.
- Press cancel. Then, close the lid and select manual/high pressure for 5 minutes. Finally, when done quick release the pressure and open the lid right away.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and serve over steamed rice.
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