Nice variation Livo. I never cook that much chicken so would reduce the amount of pastes by half when I give it a go.  Using pastes isn't something I've tried yet with this new found pressure cooking technique.

Robbo

Definitely on the list Mick.  Speaking of magic ingredients, just this past week I visited a local Asian supermarket, to track down Terasi shrimp paste to make my favorite fried rice dish, Nasi Goreng. As I wandered down the aisles filled with jars of stuff, many with no English on them at all (always a good sign), I noticed a bottle of rose water and told the missis I was sure I'd read that was used in Biryani, so picked up a bottle. Now need to find if I was right...
Wouldn't surprise me if there's a little packet of powdered unicorn horn lurking somewhere in there.

Robbo

Trader Joe's is a supermarket where all their food is own branded. I used to buy fresh naan from Stonefire but they were very lack luster and nothing like proper naan.  Finding these frozen versions was a godsend.  Saves the faff of making them myself although it is easy.
Hope your balti turns out good and you can post the recipe.

Robbo

Next day leftovers for lunch for me have rapidly gone from lunchtime to elevenses to near tenses these days. I always have rice left over and frying up a couple Thai chillies, a little onion, ginger and garlic then throwing in an egg before adding the rice (to which I already added a little Tamari) is the perfect breakfast.  Splash a little fish sauce and I could be in Bangkok again.

As I write, the Instant Pot is doing its thing to make dinner for tonight. Adding fresh spinach after the pressure cook stage for a saag type dish. Serving with these amazing frozen naan breads we found in Trader Joe's. Seriously good naan bread, straight from the freezer.

Keep calm and cook curry everyone.  Spring is almost here and I'll be outdoors on the grill doing BIR before you know it.

Robbo

Good to see Livo.  It very much is something that can be tinkered with and still get pretty good results.  I've had similar experiences as you mentioned.

1. Chicken
I now just dump in a pack of skinless, boneless thighs whole.  Much less fall-apart and no need to chop raw chicken, so less clean up.

2. Consistency
I found that switching to canned crushed tomatoes instead of diced gives a much better result and no need for blending.   Just this week I tried rinsing out the can of tomatoes with 1 cup of water and adding to the pot but that made for a very thin result, so I ended up blending.

3. Cayenne
Agreed. I use 0.5 tsp extra hot chilli powder and 0.5tsp Kashmiri.  Much better. I also find adding 5 or 6 thai chillies, sliced lengthwise after the pressure cook work very well, although not when cooking for the missis.

All in all though, as a simple technique to get a decent curry out, I'm finding this a great basis for experimenting.  Glad you had a positive outcome.  More to follow.

Robbo

Good work Mick, thank you. Saved for later.  Instead of the hour long boil, I'll be pressure cooking in my Instant Pot. I get good results with that for base.  I'll be interested to see how my spoon measures and weights tally ( or not).

Robbo

Mick, this makes me so happy to see you nail it.  I'd sworn off making base but now have to try this. Looks very inviting for breakfast.  Once my new grill arrives so I can do my usual outdoor BIR in the back yard, this will be first on the list.

Robbo

Looking good George. Curry leaves are great in some dishes and I'm looking forward to planting season for those and chillies galore.  Let's see pics of your curries with them?

Robbo

Phil,
As far as I know, the less / normal / more settings change temperature when using the sauté function and time when using some of the preset cooking functions like soup, yoghurt etc.
I'm sure you can still use yours once you get used to it.  The butter chicken recipe only requires cooking at high pressure for 10 mins. None of that sauté palaver etc.

Robbo

Hey Phil, when are you going to cook a bloody curry in it?!
Speaking of added benefits, it's also possible to cook 'pot in pot'.  Cook your meat or stew or whatever in the main stainless pot, add a trivet and stand another pot on top with your rice or spuds etc and cook both at the same time but keep them separate. In truth I haven't tried that but sounds like a good thing.

Robbo