I am slowing down with age. That's a thing right. Is it a thing at 35? If not let's pretend I am 55 and excuse my laziness. Here is the plain truth. I am all about everything from scratch meals. But sometimes, sometimes, I want to be able to make a no muss no fuss meal that's inviting and impressive. And sometimes, sometimes I think it's okay to take some short cuts. Like bust out a Shaan Masala packet (or two) and make some quick Instant Pot Tandoori Roast Chicken that literally falls of the bone. Imagine being so tired and being able to easily pull that off. Nothing feels quite as good as using some hot naan to break off some tender masala-licious chicken, scoop up a little of that spicy gravy and savour all that deliciousness.
With the holidays coming up whether you celebrate Christmas or not it still seems to be prime season for entertaining. Few things are as impressive looking as putting a beautiful masala laden Tandoori Roast Chicken on the table. What should you serve with it? Well here is what I would do. One Spicy Whole Roasted Cauliflower (with half the masala so it compliments the chicken nicely), a simple matar pulao, a killer raita and a beautiful, but easy dessert like this Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake.
Now let's talk about the Instant Pot shall we.
If you are looking for more recipe inspiration I have a Instant Pot board going on Pinterest for you to check out!
Instant Pot Tandoori Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Skinless Chicken (Whole), 5.5-7lbs
- 1 lb baby potatoes, or regular potatoes in big chunks
Marinade
- ½ packet Shan Masala brand Tandoori Roast Chicken Masala
- ½ packet Shan Masala brand Lahori Chargha Masala
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- ½ tsp garlic paste
- ½ tsp ginger paste
- Half cup yogurt
- 2 tbsp oil
Garnish
- ¼ cup finely minced cilantro
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Wash the chicken, truss the bird or simply tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
- Use a sharp knife to make slits in the chicken, at least 4 each per chicken breast plus a few in the leg and place in a large bowl
- Mix all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl
- Pour over the chicken and rub well, leave for at least an hour or overnight
- When almost ready to cook take the chicken out of the fridge
- Heat the oil in the instant pot on saute mode on high
- When it shimmers take the marinated chicken out of the bowl letting excess marinade drip back in to the bowl and carefully place the chicken, breast side down, in the instant pot
- After 2-2.5 minutes add the remaining marinade back into the pot and put the instant pot on manual (i.e. pressure) on high for 8 minutes.
- When the timer beeps open the vent to release pressure and tip the potatoes in, mix a little to coat them in marinade
- Put the instant pot back on pressure for another 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of chicken you are using) and then release the pressure. If you opt for a natural release you will get a super tender chicken, but mind you it may be difficult to get out of the pot!
- The chicken is ready to eat but if you want a more caramelized look you can put it in an oven safe roasting dish and broil it or even turn the saute function on high until the potatoes and chicken take on a darker hue, about 5 minutes!
Hi Sarah, thank you so much for posting an instant pot recipe! I got mine last week & used it for the first time yesterday. It’s quite fantastic! I’ve been looking for Pakistani IP recipes but can’t seem to find too many. Looking forward to trying out yours soon! I think I’ve made nearly all of your recipes....& they’ve all turned out delicious!
Saera thank you so so much for letting me know! I will definitely be posting more IP recipes soon, if you have any requests please do let me know!
Sarah , I’d greatly appreciate it if you could give me the pressure times of recipes like the aloo gosht you made & Haleem. Also I’d love to know if you can make shami kebabs in the IP ( would save a lot of time) Thank you ever so much!
Hey Saera! I have not made shami kababs, but I do have a recipe I want to try (my khalas) and I will give it a go and keep you posted! With Aloo Gosht I basically put all the masala in and pressure it for 15 minutes and then let it natural release because my beef is pretty tough. I also do that for the meat for my bhuna gosht instead of boiling it! I have a chanay ki daal for the IP coming to the blog soon! Will also try Haleem in it and let you know when I do
Thank you so much Sarah!!! I made the tandoori chicken & it was delicious 😊
This looks so yummy 😍! Making this today!
Hope you like it!!
This looks sooo good. If I have a whole chicken but it’s cut, do I need to cut down the cooking time?
For chicken pieces you would need to reduce the time, my guess is somewhere around 12 minutes. Also I'd put only a splash of water then since the pieces will release their own liquid and the yogurt will thin!
Hey Sarah. I tried this today. Not sure what i did wrong but after sauteeing it and then setting it on high pressure for 8 mins... i had it beeping and it said 'burn'. Should i have added water to it?... or was it because i didnt remove the skin and that may have burnt?
Oh no - that is not fun at all! I think you're right that it must have been the skin. I have always made this skinless, my guess is with skin it probably works better in the oven. I have tried the skin on instant pot chickens and they do use more water, but I also find that the skin becomes soggy for lack of better word so I don't use a skin on chicken
Yes i think thats where i went wrong. I thought id put it in the oven to broil once it was cooked in the instant pot... now i know better...anyway i managed to save it... took it out and baked it in the oven.... will give it another shot without the skin this time.... by the way it turned out perfect in the oven too. Thanks for your recipes... love them!!
Hi Sarah - I have tried this recipe twice but the chicken, while tasty, ends up with so much water in the IP and its way too tender in that even the bones fall apart. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks!
Hi Maha! I am so sorry to hear you're running into that issue!I too experience some variance in 'doneness' depending on where I get my chickens from, the more 'fresh' they are the quicker they cook etc, but not to that extent. When you open the IP after the first release how done is your chicken? If you're almost cooked then I'd suggest not going for 8-10 minutes in the second and limiting it to 4-5. Hope that works for you and thank you so much for taking the time to let me know!
Hi Sarah! Tried this recipe last night and my family and I really loved it! Alhamdulilah the chicken actually turned out wonderful, because I followed your steps to a t! But then the potatoes somehow weren’t tender enough..any way to remedy this? I figured maybe giving them a boil before hand and then only including them in the broiler bit at the end to soak in the masala’s for a few? Would that work? Thanks again!
I’m soo trying this just one question, how do I clean a whole chicken? As in inside the carcass and under the skin etc?
Just wash it out with water and pat dry - poultry germs for lack of better phrase cook out when it's cooking so don't sweat the washing!
Turned out delicious! I did chicken pieces so cut the times down 6 and 6 and sauteed at the end for about 3 mins. Thanks so much
Thank you SO SO much for sharing the timing here!!! Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Sara! If we are baking it in the oven can you please tell us the temperature?
350F! 🙂