Holiday season is around the corner and most people tend to serve up the big bird-a turkey as the main course. We’ve run into quite a few people who just aren’t fan of turkey so we decided to make a whole chicken instead. We’ve spiced up this chicken and stuffed it with aromatics to give it tremendous flavor. Using the Instant Pot to cook your chicken frees up your oven on the big day to make all your other side dishes. This Indian spiced chicken is sure to be a surprise hit at your next dinner party!
Indian Spiced Whole Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (mine was 5 lbs frozen)- thawed for about 30 minutes
- 1 cup chicken stock or broth
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 box Shaan Chicken Tikka powder
- 1 tablespoon (lal mirchu) cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground/minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground/minced green chilies
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 small onion cut into 4-6 large pieces
- 1 small lemon cut in half
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon of dry thyme
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon of dry rosemary
- 1 sprig of fresh sage or ½ teaspoon of dry sage
Instructions
- Remove anything that may be inside the chicken such as neck parts. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel.
- Turn on the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode
- In a separate bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the rub: chicken tikka powder, cayenne pepper, garlic, green chillies, salt and oil
- Mix well until the ingredients form a wet paste
- Rub the spice mix all over the chicken
- Stuff the inside of the chicken cavity with onions, lemon and the fresh herbs
- Add coconut oil into the Instant Pot
- Allow it to melt and cover the bottom of the pot
- Put the chicken breast-side down into the pot
- Allow the chicken to sear for 5 mins
- Using two large utensils, flip the chicken to the other side
- Allow the chicken to sear for 5 more mins
- Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot onto a CLEAN plate
- Place the trivet in the Instant Pot
- Add the chicken stock to the pot
- Slide the chicken breast side up back into the pot on top of the trivet
- Place lid on pot and lock
- Close vent on lid to prevent steam from escaping
- Set pot to MANUAL mode
- Set to HIGH PRESSURE
- Set timer to 25 minutes
- Once the timer goes off on the Instant Pot, allow the steam to release naturally for 10 minutes
- After 10 minutes, manually release the steam by opening the vent. The silver prong will drop back into the lid. BE CAREFUL OF THE HOT STEAM
- Press CANCEL on the Instant Pot
- Open the lid
- Using mitts, grab the handles of the trivet and carefully lift out the chicken and place into an oven safe tray
- The new steps are if you want to crisp up the skin of the chicken
- Turn your oven to BROIL
- Place the tray with the chicken under the broiler with the oven door slightly cracked open for 5 minutes
- After 5 mins, remove the chicken and let it sit for 5 minutes
- Carve your chicken with a sharp knife
- You are now ready to serve!
Notes
Serving suggestion:
You can garnish your serving tray with fresh herbs and lemons.
Variations:
You can use any mix of spices you may like: cajun, italian, herbs, etc
You can also stuff the chicken with apples, oranges, celery or other aromatics.
You can garnish your serving tray with fresh herbs and lemons.
Variations:
You can use any mix of spices you may like: cajun, italian, herbs, etc
You can also stuff the chicken with apples, oranges, celery or other aromatics.
