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Pepper Chicken
Shilpa

Instant Pot Spicy Pepper Chicken Curry

If you like peppercorn sauce or black pepper you are going to love this recipe. This is a fusion recipe that I created mixing ingredients that are typically used in North Indian and South Indian cooking.
Curry leaves are used a lot in South India and ground fennel (saunf powder), and ground ginger (sonth powder) are typically used in Kashmiri cuisine.
I attempted to make this recipe when we had a few guests at our house for dinner. This recipe was a big success! People loved it. I have made it several times after that.
If you like pepper this recipe is for you. It doesn’t require tomatoes and is super easy to make. It has a nice gravy, a pungent aroma, and a unique flavor.
Even more - It is made in the instant pot, which means it is fast and easy!
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbsp oil of choice
  • 7 curry leaves
  • 1/2 onion finely chopped (white, yellow, or red)
  • 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1.5 pounds chicken (chopped into medium sized 2 to 3 inch pieces)
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder (cayenne pepper)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tsp ground fennel (saunf powder)
  • 1 tsp ground ginger (sonth)
  • 4 tsp black pepper (kaalee mirch)
  • 1 and 3/4 tsp salt

Method
 

Prep
  1. Wash and chop the chicken and onions.
Cook
  1. Select sauté on the instant pot and adjust to normal.
  2. Add oil to the pot. When oil is hot, add curry leaves. When they splutter, add onions. Sauté until the onions are golden.
  3. Then add ginger garlic paste and chicken. Sauté for a few minutes, until the chicken forms a white crust. Keep stirring in between.
  4. Add red chili powder and 1/2 cup water instantly. Adding water is key in this step in order to prevent the red chili powder from burning. Stir constantly for 30 seconds.
  5. Add ground fennel, ground ginger, pepper, and salt.
  6. Stir and let it sauté for one to two minutes.
  7. Press cancel.
  8. Secure the lid on the pot and close the pressure-release valve.
  9. Select manual and cook at high pressure for 7 minutes.
  10. When cooking is complete, use quick release to depressurize.
  11. If there is excess gravy and if you want to reduce the gravy then select sauté and let some gravy evaporate. It should take about 2 minutes. Keep stirring so that the chicken doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
  12. Transfer the chicken into a serving bowl immediately. 
Serve
  1. Serve hot with naan (Indian flatbread), roti, or rice

Notes

  • This recipe is quite spicy due to the black pepper. If you would like to tone the spice level down reduce the amount of pepper by one teaspoon.
  • If you like less gravy, add 1/4 cup water instead of 1/2 cup. You could also select sauté after the chicken is cooked and adjust the gravy to the desired consistency.
  • This recipe has been tried on a 6-quart instant pot. The proportions may vary depending on the size of the instant pot you choose to use.