Author: Sam

Categories
Instapot Recipes

Instant Pot Crispy Chicken

Instapot Crispy Chicken
Instapot Crispy Chicken

I like Fried Chicken but I don’t like the frying part i.e. I don’t want to deep fry food for varied reasons that I have talked in my other posts. In my last post I shared a recipe for making spicy chicken using the Instapot and some of my friends were wondering if it really was crispy? So I thought I’d try making some Crispy Fried Chicken similar to KFC or Popeye’s. I have listed the Indian spices( spicy version) and I have listed the ingredients for the regular version. I used boneless thighs here but this recipe should work for any chicken.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients(Indian/Spicy):

Chicken -500 grams/ 1 Pound
Ginger Garlic paste -1tsp
Salt -1/2 tsp or to taste
Turmeric -1/4 tsp
Red Chili Powder -1 tsp
Pepper Powder -1 tsp
All Purpose Flour – 4 Tbsp(2 Tbsp in marinade & 2 Tbsp to dip)
Dhania (Coriander Powder) – 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
Lemon Juice-2 tbsp
Oil- 1 tbsp

Ingredients(Regular):

Chicken -500 grams/ 1 Pound

Salt -1/2 tsp or to taste

Pepper Powder -1 tsp

All Purpose Flour – 4 Tbsp(2 Tbsp in marinade & 2 Tbsp to dab

Basil – 1/2 tsp

Parsley- 1/2 tsp

Thyme-1/2 tsp

Lemon Juice-2 tbsp
Oil- 1 tbsp

Instructions:

1.Mix Chicken, spices,oil, and flour, let it marinate for some time( the longer the better).

2. Coat the Instant Pot Air Fryer basket with a little oil so that the food doesn’t stick, a reminder that you always have to use the inner pot when using the Air Fryer.

3.Place the remaining flour in a bowl. Take the marinated chicken, dab it in the flour until it is covered in flour all around and lay it in the basket in a single layer, one or two pieces lying on top of another are OK.

4.Place Instant Pot Air Fryer lid on the Instapot and set to Air Fry at 400F for 20 minutes. Turn the food around at the 10 min mark.

5.When the Instant Pot says END, the Fried Chicken should be ready. If you prefer it crispier add some more time.

6.Enjoy!

Notes:

Disclaimer: Please follow all the safety precautions listed by Instant Pot, follow the recipe at your own risk!

Categories
Instapot Recipes

Instant Pot Spicy Air Fried Chicken

Instant Pot Spicy Fried Chicken
Instant Pot Spicy Fried Chicken

I love Fried Chicken, I mean who doesn’t? Being Indian I also like spicy food and have always craved for spicy fried chicken, the KFC spicy chicken or even Popeye’s spicy chicken doesn’t really make the cut for me, don’t get me wrong the “Nashville Hot” and Cajun Chicken are spicy but I guess our definition of spicy is different. There is an Indian dish called Chicken Pakora, which I really used to like, but from what I remember it was only the lightly battered version that I liked, it was crunchy on the outside but not too crunchy if you know what I mean, and had soft, juicy, and spicy center,Yum! I have been looking for this dish for a long time but I haven’t found it here in the United States, the desire to eat it again still lingers though. I never tried to make it at home because I don’t like deep frying things, again being Indian I don’t like to throw away that much oil and being an unhealthy Indian I cannot use it up either! Now that I have an Instant Pot with an Air Fryer I thought I’d give it a try and I must say it turned out pretty well, not the taste that I remember(can you really remember a taste after 20 yrs) but pretty close to it!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Chicken -500 grams/ 1 Pound
Ginger Garlic paste -1tsp
Salt -1/2 tsp or to taste
Turmeric -1/4 tsp
Red Chili Powder -1 tsp
Pepper Powder -1 tsp
Besan(gram flour) – 1 1/2 Tbsp(can be substituted with corn flour or corn starch)
Dhania (Coriander Powder) – 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
Lemon Juice-2 tbsp
Oil- 1 tbsp

Coriander chopped – 1 tbsp

Instructions:

1.Mix Chicken, ginger garlic paste, salt, pepper powder,turmeric, red chili powder, cumin powder, dhania, lime juice,oil, besan, and let it marinate for some time( the longer the better).

2. Coat the Instant Pot Air Fryer basket with a little oil so that the food doesn’t stick, a reminder that you always have to use the inner pot when using the Air Fryer. Place the marinated chicken in the basket in a single layer, one or two pieces lying on top of another are OK.

3.Place Instant Pot Air Fryer lid on the Instapot and set to Air Fry at 375F for 20 minutes. Check the food and turn around at 5 min intervals.

4.When the Instant Pot says DONE, your Spicy Air Fried Chicken should be ready. If you prefer it crispier add 5 more minutes.

5.Garnish with onions, coriander, and lime.

4.Enjoy!

Notes:

Disclaimer: Please follow all the safety precautions listed by Instant Pot, follow the recipe at your own risk!

Categories
Instapot Recipes

Instant Pot Kheema Curry

Instapot Kheema Curry
Instapot Kheema Curry

Ingredients:

Minced Meat of Choice-500 gm

Garlic- 3 Cloves(Chopped)

Onion- 1 half(medium sized diced)

Tomato-1 whole(medium sized diced)

Mustard seed-1/2 tsp

Cumin/Jeera-1/2 tsp

Urad dal-1/2 tsp

Green Chilies-2 whole

Red Chili powder-1/2 tsp (adjust according to spice level)

Coriander/Dhania Powder-1/2 tsp

Salt or to taste-1/2 tsp

Turmeric-1/2 tsp

Garam Masala(Whole Crushed)

-Cinnamon- 1 stick

-Elaichi(Cardamom)- 4

-Cloves-4

-Bay Leaf- 1

Oil-2 tbsp (I use vegetable oil)

Coriander – to garnish

Instructions:

1.Pour oil in the Instant Pot inner pot.

2.Add garlic, mustard seeds,cumin,urad dal,green chilies, tomato,onion, and crushed garam masala. Set to Saute on HI for about 5 minutes.

3.Add Kheema, chilli powder, turmeric, dhania powder and salt. Mix thoroughly.

4.Set the Instapot to Pressure cook on HI for 10 min.

5.Once the Instant Pot shows the “END” message. Wait for the Instapot to depressurize. The delicious Kheema curry should be ready. Garnish with chopped coriander.

6.Serve with Roti or Rice!Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Please follow all the safety precautions listed by Instant Pot, follow the recipe at your own risk!

Categories
Instapot Recipes

Easy Instant Pot Dal Tadka

Instapot Dal Thadka
Instapot Dal Thadka

I come from South India and our every day food consists of “Annam, Pappu and Kura” i.e. Rice, Dal, and Curry. Sometimes instead of curry, we eat with pickle, egg, papads etc. This Rice and Dal combination is so good that even my American born nephews, and my son, eat it without complaining, my Son however being my son asks for chips and chicken with it 🙂

Dal is cooked in different ways across India, some cook the Dal first and then add the “Tadka”(seasoning/tempering) later, some make the Tadka first and then add the Dal and cook it. I like the latter better because it takes lesser number of dishes,quicker, and in my opinion,tastier. This recipe will be using the second method to cook Dal because Instant Pot cooking is all about convenience and ease of cooking, kinda reminds me of a Indian ad for Hero Honda, with the tag line “Fill it, Shut it, forget it!”, you do the same with the Instapot, put the ingredients, set the desired setting, shut it and forget about it and go back to your work!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Toor Dal- 1 cup(washed)

Garlic- 3 Cloves(Chopped)

Onion- 1 half(medium sized diced)

Tomato(optional)-1 half(medium sized diced)

Vegetables(optional)- 1 or 2(Eggplant or spinach or okra or carrot)

Mustard seed-1/2 tsp

Cumin/Jeera-1/2 tsp

Urad dal-1/2 tsp

Green Chilies-2 whole

Red Chili powder-1/2 tsp (adjust according to spice level)

Corriander/Dhania Powder-1/2 tsp

Salt or to taste-1/2 tsp

Turmeric-1/2 tsp

Oil-3 tbsp (I use vegetable oil)

Coriander – to garnish

Instructions:

1.Pour oil in the Instant Pot inner pot. Set to Saute on HI for about 5 minutes.

2.When Oil gets hot add garlic, mustard seeds,cumin,urad dal,green chilies, tomato,vegetables, and onion.

3.Add the washed dal, chilli powder, turmeric, dhania powder and salt.Add three cups of water. Mix thoroughly.

4.Set the Instapot to Pressure cook on HI for 12 min.

5.Once the Instapot shows the “END” message. Wait for the Instapot to depressurize. The delicious Dal Thadka should be ready. Garnish with chopped coriander.

6.Enjoy!

Note: There are different varieties of dal available I used Toor dal. You can add tamarind water if you like a the “khatta”(sour) taste.

Disclaimer: Please follow all the safety precautions listed by Instant Pot, follow the recipe at your own risk!

Categories
Instapot Recipes

Instapot Chicken Curry

Instapot Chicken Curry
Instapot Chicken Curry

This is my first adventure with Instapot! I must say the process is similar to cooking in a pressure cooker, because the Instapot as they advertise is a pressure cooker and a multi cooker. Going back to Indian Cooking 101, there are three steps in Indian Cooking:

Sauteing–>Add meat/vegetables–>Cook Till Done

Pressure cooking helps speed up the process of cooking and that’s what the Instapot is all about, effortless cooking. I must add that pressure cooking is just one of the features of the Instapot, it has a lot of other cool features that I will be talking about in other posts.

Why am I talking about all of this?

I feel that understanding the tools that you use, make you a better user. I want to lay out the fact that the Instapot might not make your dishes suddenly taste better or help you in magically creating some new dishes, yes there are a lot of blogs/meal plan sites which promise that, but I believe that once you understand how this works you can make your true & tested recipes a lot faster and without much effort, which is indeed a great blessing,considering the busy lives we live, and yes we will definitely learn new things along the way. Well I don’t know about you but that’s my goal at least for now!

Without much ado here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Chicken-500 gm / 1 lb (cut into medium pieces)

Garlic- 3 Cloves(Chopped)

Onion- 1 half(medium sized diced)

Tomato-1 half(medium sized diced)

Mustard seed-1/2 tsp

Cumin/Jeera-1/2 tsp

Urad dal-1/2 tsp

Green Chilies-2 whole

Red Chili powder-1/2 tsp (adjust according to spice level)

Coriander/Dhania Powder-1/2 tsp

Salt or to taste-1/2 tsp

Turmeric-1/2 tsp

Garam Masala-1/2 tsp

Oil-2 tbsp (I use vegetable oil)

Coriander – to garnish

Instructions:

1.Pour oil in the Instant Pot inner pot. Set to Saute on HI for about 5 minutes.

2.When the oil is hot add garlic, mustard seeds,cumin,urad dal,green chilies, tomato,and onion.

3.Add Chicken, chilli powder, turmeric, dhania powder and salt. Mix thoroughly.

4.Set the Instapot to Pressure cook on HI for 8 min.

5.Once the Instapot shows the “END” message. Wait for the Instapot to depressurize. The delicious chicken curry should be ready. Garnish with chopped coriander.

6.Enjoy!

Note: I used frozen chicken(defrosted) so I did not add any extra water, if using fresh chicken add 1/2 cup of water, the lesser the water the thicker the gravy.

Disclaimer: Please follow all the safety precautions listed by Instapot, follow the recipe at your own risk!

Categories
Recipes

Chatpata Fish

Chatpata Fish
Chatpata Fish

Ingredients:

Fish Fillets – l lb or 500gms

Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp

Coriander/Dhania powder- 1/2 tsp

Ginger-Garlic Paste- 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp or to taste

Corn Starch- 1 tsp

Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp

Tomato Ketchup- 1 tbsp

Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Oil – 2 tsp (1 for marinade, 1 to coat the pan)

Instructions:

1.Mix Chili Powder,Dhania powder,Salt, Corn starch,Lemon Juice,Tomato Ketchup,Ginger-Garlic paste, and Vinegar in a bowl.

2.Add the mix to the fish filets coating them well, let marinate for at least 15 min, the longer the better.

3. Coat a baking pan with oil and put the filets on it.

4. Set the oven to 375F and bake for 15 min.

5. Turn over the filets and bake for another 15 mins.

6. Chatpata fish is ready. Enjoy!

Notes:

1.Oven temperatures vary, some people prefer the fish a little soft, some like it crunchy,  adjust the bake time accordingly.

2. If you prefer to fry the fish( I would if I didn’t have people complain about the smell :-), for step 3 heat oil(2 tbsp) in a pan and fry the fish for about 10 min each side or to your taste.

Categories
NonVeg Recipes

Curry Leaf and Pepper Chicken

Curry Leaf and Pepper Chicken
Curry Leaf and Pepper Chicken

Chicken-500 gm / 1 lb (cut into medium sized pieces)

Garlic- 3 Cloves(chopped)

Ginger-1 tsp (chopped)

Onion(medium sized)- 1 diced extra small

Red Chili powder-1/2 tsp (adjust according to spice level)

Coriander/Dhania Powder-1/2 tsp

Salt or to taste-1/2 tsp

Peppercorns- 1 tbsp crushed

Curry leaves- 3 sprig(2 chopped, 1 whole)

Oil-2 tbsp

Coriander – to garnish

Instructions:

1.Heat oil in a frying pan.

2.Add garlic,ginger, chopped curry leaves,and onion. Fry till garlic & onion start to brown.

3.Add the chicken to the frying pan and mix.

4.Add chili powder, salt, coriander powder,and pepper, stir well making sure the spices coat the chicken.

5.Fry for about 25 min till the water evaporates and the chicken is cooked. Add the remaining curry leaves cook for 5 more min.

6.Garnish with Coriander,

7.Serve with Roti or Rice.

8.Enjoy!

Categories
Recipes

Tomato Kale Soup

Tomato Kale Soup
Tomato Kale Soup

Ingredients:

Crushed Tomatoes:1 can

Kale:1/2 cup chopped

Garlic- 3 cloves (crushed & chopped)

Onions- 1/4 medium sized diced

Carrots-1/2 chopped

Salt- 1/2 tsp or to taste

Pepper- 1/2 tsp

Oil- 2 tbsp

Instructions:

1.Heat oil in a pot.

2.Add garlic and onions and saute till golden brown.

3. Add Kale and saute for another 5 mins.

4. Add the tomatoes and let it cook for 10 min, stir occasionally.

5. Serve with croutons or toasted bread.

 

Categories
NonVeg Recipes

Pudina (Mint) Chicken

Pudina (Mint) Chicken Fry
Pudina (Mint) Chicken Fry

Ingredients:

Chicken-500 gm / 1 lb (cut into medium sized pieces)

Garlic- 3 Cloves(chopped)

Ginger-1 tsp (chopped)

Onion(medium sized)- 1 half diced extra small

Mint/Pudina – 1 tbsp(ground to paste)

Red Chili powder-1/2 tsp (adjust according to spice level)

Coriander/Dhania Powder-1/2 tsp

Salt or to taste-1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Oil-2 tbsp

Coriander – to garnish

Instructions:

1.Heat oil in a frying pan.

2.Add garlic,ginger, curry leaves,and onion. Fry till garlic & onion start to brown.

3.Add the chicken to the frying pan and mix.

4.Add chili powder, salt, coriander powder,and mint paste stir well making sure the spices coat the chicken.

5.Fry for about 25 to 30 min till the water evaporates and the chicken is cooked.

6.Garnish with Coriander,Curry leaves.

7.Serve with Roti or Rice.

8.Enjoy!

Categories
NonVeg Recipes

Kerala Style Beef Fry

Kerala Style Beef Fry
Kerala Style Beef Fry

Ingredients:

Beef-500 gm / 1 lb (cut into extra small cubes)

Coconut Powder-4 tbsp

Dry Coconut- 5 small pieces

Garlic- 3 Cloves(Chopped)

Onion(medium sized)- 1 half diced

Mustard seed-1/2 tsp

Cumin/Jeera-1/2 tsp

Dry Red Chilies-2 whole

Green Chilies-2 whole

Red Chili powder-1/2 tsp (adjust according to spice level)

Corriander/Dhania Powder-1/2 tsp

Salt or to taste-1/2 tsp

Turmeric-1/2 tsp

Garam Masala-1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 5 leaves

Oil-2 tbsp (I use vegetable oil)

Coriander – to garnish

Instructions:

1.Heat oil in a frying pan.

2.Add garlic, mustard seeds,cumin,red chilies,green chilies, coconut, curry leaves,and onion. Fry till garlic & onion start to brown.

3.Add the beef to the frying pan and mix.

4.Add chili powder, turmeric, salt, coriander powder,garam masala,and stir well making sure the spices coat the beef.

5.Add 1/2 cup of water.

6.Fry for about 25 to 30 min till the water evaporates and the beef is cooked.

5.Garnish with Coriander.

6.Serve with Rice or Parotta. Enjoy!