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Spicy Braised Chicken with Coconut Milk, Turmeric and Cashews
This curry-like chicken braise is our adaptation of a recipe in “Buttermilk Graffiti” by Friend of Milk Street chef Edward Lee, who featured the dish in a chapter on Houston’s Nigerian-American community. The combination of coconut milk and cashews gives the sauce a delicious richness. Whole habanero chilies add a balancing backdrop of spiciness but not searing heat. If you want to turn up the dial, cut one, or both, of the chilies in half, keeping the seeds, but make sure to remove the halves before serving. Steamed rice is the perfect accompaniment to soak up all the creamy sauce.
4
Servings
Tip
Don't drain the tomatoes; their juices are needed for proper cooking and so that the finished sauce has the correct consistency. Also, make sure to press Cancel after the tomato paste and spices have cooked for about 30 seconds. This minimizes the amount of evaporation that occurs when the liquids are added.
FAST: 1 hour
Slow: 4½ to 5½ hours
35 minutes active
Ingredients
-
3
tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
-
1
medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
Directions
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01On a 6-quart Instant Pot, select Normal/Medium Sauté. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1½ teaspoons salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, ginger and turmeric, then cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Press Cancel, then stir in the tomatoes with their juices, the coconut milk, cashews, habanero chilies and ⅓ cup water, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle the chicken in an even layer, slightly overlapping the pieces, if needed.
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August 23, 2022
SUCCESS!
I was very hesitant to make this recipe since it seems like so many users got the burn message. I followed the recipe as prescribed with an extra splash of water before I started the instant pot just to be on the safe side. I never got the burn message and was greeted with a delicious smelling one pot meal when it was finished. The whole family loved it and will definitely make it again and again and again.
September 19, 2023
Easy and tasty
I followed the recipe as written but made it in a stovetop pressure cooker. Wouldn't hurt to add a little more of the coconut milk and cashews. A very easy and easy dish and like most braises, even better the next day.
A favorite recipe--and always ALWAYS a burn. As above, cancel, open pot, stir, maybe add a touch of water, and cross fingers. So, given how many of us have posted about this, any fixes? (PS--I started using this recipe from the Fast & Slow book and I'm glad it reappeared in the magazine so I can read about other cooks' experiences.)
Hi David -
Although we didn't have any issues in any of our testing (and re-testing), the recipe team had a couple of suggestions on what could help: 1.) Make sure to stir the onions frequently while they are cooking. If the onions are not stirred enough while sautéing, the fond will build up and could cause a burn warning; 2.) As the recipe tip suggests, make sure to hit cancel once the tomato paste has browned (if you find that your Pot is *really* hot I would hit cancel even before 30 seconds are up); and 3.) Stir the mixture when the tomatoes and coconut milk are added to stir up any browned bits that may have stuck to the bottom during cooking the paste and spices. We hope that, by following these suggestions, this recipe will be successful for everyone!
Best,
The Milk Street Team
I trusted that if I followed the recipe perfectly and took the Milk Street suggestions above into account, I would be fine. Nope. I started the pressure cook with no fond. I kept the onions on low saute to prevent a hot warning. I pressed cancel early to keep things a bit cool. I stirred the make sure nothing was stuck to the bottom. I ended up with a burn error. Opened. Stirred. Added some water. Tried again. This time it waited until it pressurized to give me the burn warning. I just transferred it to the stovetop in a dutch oven. The bottom of the instant pot is a black charred layer. Here’s hoping I can salvage this. Either way, it’s not the quick meal I was hoping for.
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