Chicken Changezi

Chicken Changezi is a rich and creamy but mild chicken curry that is perfect with some fluffy naan bread. The sauce has milk, cream, and cashews, so save it for those times when you don't mind indulging a bit!

Chicken Changezi? Hmm. Why would a chicken curry be named after a fierce thirteenth century Mongolian warrior and ruler? The ruler in question being Changez Khan or Genghis Khan, as he is also known. I dug around a bit and found this interesting tidbit. Legend has it that the dish was prepared by one of the king's chefs in milk and cream in an attempt to tone down the spices. The king was duly impressed and the dish acquired special status in the royal kitchen.

I can't vouch for the veracity of this tale, but personally, I love chicken changezi for its quirky name, bright color, and subtle flavors. In its present avatar, it can be found in the many small restaurants dotting the bylanes of Old Delhi, where you can see the crumbling remains of the glorious Mughal period to this day. This is a world unto itself, distinct from the new city and a paradise for food lovers, especially Mughlai food. Do visit if you are in the area for the culinary experience of a lifetime!

I know, it looks a lot like butter chicken but there is no butter in it, for one. It tastes different too, so no fear there. Also, I have adapted and simplified the recipe for the instant pot since my aim on this blog is to bring you tasty and authentic food in an easy to make form. Nobody has the time to cook elaborate, multi-step meals any more, and if we can make our lives in the kitchen a tad bit easier then why not?

Have a look at the ingredients in the pic below. The exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down in the post.

A couple of notes about the ingredients:

• Ghee can be substituted with oil if you don't have ghee.
• Dried fenugreek leaves or kasuri methi (affiliate link) adds a lot of flavor so try not to skip this. It is available in sealed packs in most Indian or Pakistani stores as well as the international aisles of supermarkets like Walmart or Superstore.
• Ditto for the chat masala and garam masala (affiliate links). Easily available in most places. if you can't find them locally, however, you do have the option to order them online.

How to make chicken changezi

• Turn your instant pot to sauté and heat one tablespoon ghee in the steel insert. Add the sliced onions and cashews. Fry until the onions turn light pink. Take them out along with the cashews and when cool, grind to a fine paste. Keep aside.

• Add the remaining ghee to the instant pot and and add the ginger and garlic paste, tomato puree, the onion-cashew paste prepared in the earlier step and milk. Also tip in some salt and the powdered spices: red chilli, coriander, garam masala, and chat masala. Fry this masala on sauté until the ghee comes on top.

Tip: The masala might splatter all over your countertop, so add half a cup water and cover the pot with a glass lid. In about 8-10 minutes, you will see the ghee leaving the masala. I use this tempered glass lid made to fit the instant pot (affiliate link).

• Add the chicken and half a cup water and pressure cook for four minutes. Wait for the steam to release naturally (NPR). When the pin drops, open the pot and add cream. Garnish with kasuri methi and serve hot with butter naan. 

It's really that simple. The original recipe calls for marinating the chicken in spices and roasting it separately before adding it to the sauce, but I prefer not to do this because it's just one too many steps. The simple method I have outlined above works well and the results are delicious! So, go on and use that instant pot of yours to the full. It makes life easy in the kitchen for sure.

Here's what the chicken will look like once you open the pot:

And when you add the cream and kasuri methi:

More instant pot chicken curries you might like

• Dal Gosht - A hearty and filling stew made with goat meat and lentils. 

• Chicken Patiala - Another luscious, restaurant-style chicken curry with fresh fenugreek, green peppers and red onions.

• Chicken Madras - This one's a hot and vibrant number deeply flavored with Indian spices.

• Palak Chicken - Tender pieces of boneless chicken breast and spinach leaves simmered in an onion-tomato gravy is what palak chicken's all about.

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