Have you ever wanted to make authentic Indian Chicken Korma at home, but didn't really know where to start? If you're looking for a better-than restaurant-style Instant Pot Chicken Korma, this one is so easy that you can make it on a weeknight in less than an hour, start to finish.

What Makes this better than Indian Restaurant Chicken Korma?

• Taste. Restaurants add fillers and sugar. You don't need that in a good korma.
• Efficiency. This korma is done in under 30 minutes--you can't even order Indian food that fast!
• Control over ingredients. For those with nut allergies, kormas invariably have nuts. Making it at home allows you to control what goes into your homemade korma.
• Low Carb and Gluten-Free. No need for flour, cornstarch, thickeners, or sugar in a healthy korma recipe.
• Choice of low carb sides. Use riced cauliflower for a low carb side dish.
• Dairy-Free. Using coconut milk and cashews to give you a creamy korma keeps it dairy-free.
• Flexible. Make it in the Instant Pot when you're in a hurry, or use your slow cooker for a long, slow, and perfect korma.
• Inexpensive. This recipe will cost a lot less than $14 and will feed four easily when combined with a side item.
  

Trust me, once you see how simple it is to make chicken korma at home using your Instant Pot, you'll be enjoying it a lot more often.

What Is Chicken Korma Curry?

A korma sauce has come to mean a sauce that is creamy, slightly sweet and mild. I'm all for the creamy and mild, but I don't love the sweet that restaurant chicken korma can sometimes have.

I mean, there is zero need to add sugar to a curry!

So Indian Kormas typically get their creamy goodness in one of two ways.

• You can use nuts such as cashews and almonds for a creamy taste.
• Or you can use canned coconut milk for that signature creamy korma sauce.

But because I am so extra, I use BOTH.

What Does Chicken Korma Taste Like?

My chicken korma recipe is made with tomatoes, coconut milk, and plenty of my favorite traditional Indian spices.

You can expect something truly authentic to Indian cuisine with plenty of spice and a slight coconut undertone from the dairy-free milk included.

Is Chicken Korma The Same As Butter Chicken?

While Chicken Korma and Butter Chicken have many of the same ingredients and are both chicken curries, they are not the same dish. This chicken korma curry is a nutty, creamy sauce that is not spicy at all. Butter chicken is more of a tomatoey, creamy sauce that has a more prominent spice profile from the garam masala.

What Is The Difference Between Chicken Korma And Chicken Curry?

It makes it a lot easier to understand what the difference in the two is when you understand they're both the same thing.

Curry is any dish that uses water as a base. I talk more about it in my Curry Recipe post if you want a better explanation.

Will This Recipe Taste Like What I Get in My Local Indian Restaurant?

Depends on where the cook is from, whether they're trying to skimp on ingredients, whether, whether, whether.

This question is like asking me if my meatloaf recipe will taste just like what your mother makes. Maybe?

This is what me from posting a homemade korma recipe for the longest time.

The problem is that most people in the States have had chicken korma in a restaurant, and I was concerned my homemade Instant Pot Chicken Korma wouldn't be like what they were used to.

I decided to just make what I thought was a good chicken korma recipe, and not worry about whether it matched what you'd get in a restaurant.

The good news is, you can have a delicious dinner at half the price, and probably faster than you could make it to the restaurant too.

What Is Korma Sauce?

This easy chicken korma recipe worked for us. It was rich, creamy, and flavorful. The sauce was thick enough to pour over rice or eat with naan for those who can have carbs (not me, sadly) but not overly spicy. 

I also have a secret to confess. There are days when I like this better than the Butter Chicken recipe. I know, I know. Crazy, right? I only made this dish with 1 pound of chicken, so once again, I had sauce leftover.

The same thing happened with the butter chicken (this is getting to be a habit) so I can use the extra sauce for egg korma or lamb korma tomorrow.

Make Rice with Chicken Korma

• You can cook rice at the same time by using a pot in pot method.
• Place a steamer rack on top of your chicken and sauce.
• Into a 6-inch pan, add 1 cup rinsed and drained rice, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon ghee, and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Place the pan on the steamer rack and close the pressure cooker.
• Cook as directed below.

FAQ About Making Pressure Cooker Chicken Korma

Can Chicken Korma be Frozen?

Yes! You can absolutely freeze and reheat Indian chicken korma. Just make sure you're packing in an airtight bag or container to prevent freezer burn.

Is Korma Gluten-free?

Absolutely. Since chicken korma is low carb, you know there's a great chance of it being gluten-free as well! Don't skip this recipe just because your family has a gluten allergy.

Can I Make This Dairy Free?

My recipe for Chicken Korma uses coconut milk, so you don't have to worry about dairy intolerances when you make this dish.

Tips and Tricks

The method that I use is not at all traditional. But the taste is very traditional. I made this Indian Chicken Korma recipe by blending together all the ingredients for the sauce. Next, I placed the chicken in the sauce and cooked it in the Instant Pot.

Once that was done cooking, I added coconut milk for creaminess. You can also add heavy whipping cream to thicken it, and some people add a little sugar to it.

• Add pan-fried cashews or raisins as garnish before serving.
• Variations.
  • I have an egg korma recipe that will show you how to make egg korma with the leftover chicken korma sauce.
  • Vegetable Korma: I'd actually cook the sauce and the veggies separately. Add 1/4 cup water to the sauce and cook as directed. Meanwhile, steam vegetables in the microwave or stovetop. Use a combination of cauliflower, green beans, and green peas to make an Instant Pot Vegetable Korma.
  • Vegetarian Options - Paneer, Mixed Veggies, or Cooked Chickpeas. In this case, add 1/4 cup of water to the sauce. To the cooked sauce, add your paneer, or chickpeas and heat through. 
  • Beef Korma / Lamb Korma: Cut the beef or lamb into 2 inch chunks, and cook as directed for the chicken.
• Substitute heavy cream or half and half for coconut milk if you prefer.
• You could use chicken breasts instead, just butterfly them sideways so you have thinner pieces of chicken and cook for 6 mins
• I ask you to add the coconut milk at the end since sometimes it can separate under pressure, leaving a greasy slick on top of the food.
• For a slow cooker version, cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high 7-8 hours
• That last spoon of garam masala is getting added at the end for fragrance.
• You can hard cook some eggs and add them to any leftover korma sauce you may have for egg korma.

Ingredients To Make The BEST Korma Recipe

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

For The Sauce

• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Serrano peppers, Jalapeño, or Thai chile pepper
• Garlic
• Minced Ginger
• cashews
• Turmeric
• Kosher Salt
• Garam Masala
• Ground Cumin
• Ground Coriander
•  Cayenne Pepper

To Finish

• Garam Masala
• Full-Fat Coconut Milk
• Cilantro

How To Make Chicken Korma

Step 1: Start by placing onions, tomatoes, serrano peppers, ginger, garlic, cashews, and all the spices in a blender. This is the blender I use.

Step 2: Pour the sauce into your Instant Pot or another electric pressure cooker. Add water to the blender and wash out that blender to get the last bit of goodness out of there. Pour that water into the sauce.

Step 3: Put the chicken into the sauce, and push it down a little so it is mostly covered with the sauce.

Step 4: Cook the chicken at 10 minutes on high presure. Allow the pot to release pressure naturally, and then release all remaining pressure.

Step 5: Remove the chicken, and cut into bite sized pieces. Do not shred! We aren't making tacos here!

Step 6: Add in coconut milk and additional garam masala here. You don't want to cook coconut milk under pressure as it can sometimes seperate leaving a greasy slick on the food. Not attractive.

Step 7: Check out the creamy goodness of that homemade Chicken Korma!

How To Make Slow Cooker Chicken Korma

Making Chicken Korma in a slow cooker or Crock-Pot is just as easy as making it in the Instant Pot. However, as the name suggests, it's much slower. It does, however, make an amazingly creamy korma.

If you want a make-ahead meal, I've included the instructions for making it in the slow cooker below.

• Blend together the ingredients for the sauce.
• Add chicken.
• Cook on low heat for 6 hours OR
• Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours.
• Finish with coconut milk.

You're going to laugh when you see how simple this Instant Pot Chicken Korma recipe is, and you'll be skeptical, and you'll tell me it's not how your Mama made korma.

Well, mine neither, but make it anyway. It's worth it.

More Great Chicken Recipes:

• If you're looking for other great Instant Pot chicken recipes, check out my French Garlic Chicken.
• Slow Cooker Safed Korma - yet another creamy korma recipe
• Instant Pot Butter Chicken! This is easily one of my favorite recipes and you can make it in under 30 minutes
• Chicken Vindaloo -- make it fresh at home.
• Chicken Adobo: Filipino version of yummy chicken
• Easy Instant Pot Curries - a collection of curries from around the world.

If you love this Chicken Korma recipe as much as I do, make sure you share it with your friends on Facebook and Pinterest so they can try it too.

Originally published on April 5, 2017

Don't forget to check out my other Best-selling Instant Pot Cookbooks!

Indian Instant Pot, Keto Instant Pot, Instant Pot Fast and Easy, Healthy Instant Pot & Vegetarian Instant Pot.