Time: 45 minutes
Feeds: 2-4 people
Ingredients:
For chicken meatballs:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
For the sauce:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 cloves garlic about 5 teaspoons, minced or crushed
- 2 inch (5 cm) fresh ginger root, grated (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon chili powder, optional
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed
- 1 15-ounce can (425 grams) tomato sauce
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
- Naan or rice, for serving
Directions:
For the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together with a fork or with your hands. You want everything well combined but not so mixed that it gets dense. No one likes dense balls. Portion out the meatballs into 2-3 tablespoon balls and add to a parchment lined cookie sheet.
For this recipe, we’ll just par bake the meatballs since you’ll be adding them to the instant pot to cook in the sauce. Par baking is going to be important so they don’t fall apart during the rest of the cooking process. They will not be cooked all the way through but will maintain their shape. Bake the meatballs in the oven for 8-10 minutes and then set aside to add into the sauce later.
For the sauce: On the Instant Pot press the saute button and melt the butter. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add all of the spices, and the salt, stir, and cook for a minute. You might want to deglaze the pot at this point if the mixture is stuck to the bottom of the pot, just add a splash of water and scrape off any stuck bits with a wooden spoon. Then add the tomato sauce (passata) and a ¼ cup of water. Switch off the saute setting.
Add the par baked chicken meatballs and give everything a good mix.
Secure the lid and set the vent to sealing. Select the pressure cook/manual setting and set the cooking time for 6 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 10 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
Carefully remove the lid, and press on saute. Stir in the cream, and allow the sauce to reduce a little, about 10 minutes. Taste the sauce and see if you need to add a little bit more salt. Serve warm with naan for dipping or over rice.
Notes: This recipe originally calls for cubed, raw chicken thighs (about 1 1/2-2lbs) which is added at the same step as the par baked meatballs in our version. It’s great with either so experiment and enjoy!