An Instant Pot makes chicken thigh curry come together in a hurry. Where chicken breast can dry quickly, thighs don’t and make this chicken curry with coconut milk and potatoes juicy. You can use bone-in / skin-on chicken thighs for the best results. Or, use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, particularly if you’re looking to shred the chicken before serving it.
We use Sukhi’s Madras Curry Sauce paste for a South Indian chicken curry with coconut milk and potatoes. If you’d prefer more of a Northern Indian curry, use Sukhi’s Classic Indian Curry Sauce, omit the coconut milk and instead stir in several spoonfuls of yogurt before serving.
Also, if you don’t have an Instant Pot, no worries. Crank up your oven to 400F and proceed with step 3, roasting the chicken thighs, potatoes, and figs for about 40 minutes or until the internal temperature of chicken is 165F. Continue with step 4, cooking down the sauce to thicken it.
There’s an extra step with this chicken thigh curry that makes it extra good and worth the small addition of time. We reduce the cooking liquid down to 1 cup and then stir in coconut milk. That sauce reduction better incorporates bits of disintegrated potato for a sauce that thickens like gravy. Then, stir in coconut milk to your desired consistency. Spoon it over rice or warm naan to dip into the curry. Then, just before serving scatter on fresh cilantro.
Chicken Curry with Coconut and Potatoes
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup white onion chopped (about 1/2 large)
- 3 ounces Sukhi's Madras curry paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 1-inch chunks (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 7 ounces Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Dried Figs sliced crosswise (1 1/4 cups)
- 4 chicken thighs bone-in / skin-on (1 1/2 pounds)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Pour in oil. Brown chicken in an Instant Pot, uncovered, on the Saute setting. Set aside chicken on a plate.
- Saute onion for 6 minutes or until almost translucent. Stir in curry paste. Pour in water and salt. Combine.
- Stir in potatoes and figs. Top with chicken thighs. Set Instant Pot to sealing mode. Cook on poultry setting (high pressure / 15 minutes). Vent naturally for 5 minutes. Then carefully switch Instant Pot valve from Sealing to Venting.
- Remove chicken thighs and set aside. Strain liquid into a stockpot, reserving potatoes and figs in a bowl.
- Over high heat, reduce curry sauce until 1 cup yield—it will thicken. Turn off the heat. Stir in 1 cup coconut milk for a thicker sauce or up to 1 1/4 cups until desired consistency. Stir in potatoes and figs until combined. Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Place chicken thighs on top. Scatter cilantro over the top and serve with naan, millet, or rice.