Yields

5 servings

Cooking Time

50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 kg chicken
  • 200 g onions (halved and peeled)
  • 20 g garlic (whole cloves)
  • 20 g ginger (sliced)
  • 20 g green chillies
  • 200 g turnips (halved)
  • 200 g carrots (large chunks)
  • 300 g new potatoes (washed and halved)
  • 175 g green tomatoes (halved)
  • coriander roots (for flavour)
  • 32 g salt
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 10 g sugar
  • 20 g mustard oil
  • 3 pcs cardamom
  • 1 pc cinnamon
  • 3 pcs cloves
  • 20 pcs peppercorns
  • 3 pcs bay leaves
  • 1 cup water
  • 75 g peas
  • 75 g beans (halved)
  • 20 g butter
  • 20 g coriander leaves

This easy pressure cooker chicken curry with seasonal vegetables is a favourite in our kitchen in the winter months. It makes good use of the bounty of flavourful winter vegetables that are all over the markets in Bengal now—new potatoes, sweet red carrots, sweet peas from Ranchi, green tomatoes, tender beans, purple turnips. With produce that good it is no wonder that this requires no great technique or effort. Everything happens in a pressure cooker (or even a pot if you don't have a pressure cooker)! Do give this one a try while we still have a few days of winter left.

Recipe Notes

  • You can use red tomatoes, in case green tomatoes are unavailable.
  • We have not used chicken breast pieces in this recipe, since they tend to overcook in the pressure cooker.
  • This is a highly adaptable recipe; you can adjust the proportions of vegetables to your liking. As a guide, for 1 kg chicken we like using around 1 kg of total vegetables.
  • Don't add too much water at the beginning, as the chicken will release water too; you can adjust the quantity of liquid later.
  • We added peas and beans after we were done pressure cooking the chicken and the vegetables, but you can can add them along with the rest of the vegetables at the beginning too.

Method

  1. Peel and halve onions. Peel garlic; we will be using whole cloves. Slice ginger. Halve the turnips. Cut carrots into mid-sized chunks. Wash the new potatoes thoroughly to remove dirt. Cut both potatoes and green tomatoes in half. Thoroughly wash the coriander root and chop it off. We will be using it for flavour.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add the chicken, along with turnips, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, garlic cloves, sliced ginger, whole green chillies, and onions. Now, add salt, turmeric, and sugar. Mix everything well.
  3. Heat mustard oil in a pressure cooker. Temper it with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
  4. Once the spices turn aromatic, add the marinated chicken and vegetables, along with half a cup of water.
  5. Pressure-cook until the chicken is tender.
  6. Once the cooker releases the pressure and you are able to open the lid, adjust the amount of liquid by adding more water. We added another half a cup.
  7. Turn the heat back on and allow it to simmer.
  8. Add the halved beans, green peas, and butter. Mix everything well. Continue to simmer on low heat until peas and beans are cooked, and you have the desired consistency for the curry.
  9. Finish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Pressure cooker
Victorinox 3 inch paring knife

Victorinox 3 inch paring knife

Steel pressure cooker (induction-bottom)

Hawkins

Steel pressure cooker (induction-bottom)

4 L

Steel mixing bowl

Steel mixing bowl

9 inch

Appliances

  • Stove