Indian Curry Bean & Spinach Stew with Chicken {Electric Pressure Cooker Recipe}

I haven’t written a blog in a looooong while.  I may have forgotten how to so please bear with me.  I am around, I just cook and eat carefully these days, and don’t use my pressure cooker as much anymore.  But I am still here in the big world of the web and always available for questions if anyone has any.  So don’t be afraid to ask away.

This recipe is Indian inspired.  Using wonderful aromatic curry powder and rich and creamy coconut milk.  So be prepared for your house to smell like a delicious Indian restaurant.

I signed up for one of those online recipe websites that actually ship you the ingredients to make their meals.  And this stew was from one of their meals.  I fell in love with it and decided to make my own version of it.  You can also feel free to change it up as well if you like.  Omit the chicken and it becomes vegetarian.  Add a filet of grilled salmon or even grilled tofu!  Cooking is always wonderfully adaptable.

There is a particular ingredient that I had to actually go to an Indian market to find, and that is the Ghee.  Ghee is a type of clarified butter, it is prepared by simmering butter and removing the residue.  If you cannot find it at a store near you, you can always substitute it with regular butter.  Once you heat ghee up in a pot, the smell is pure decadence.  You’ll get this uncontrollable urge to dip a spoon into the jar of ghee and drink it down.  PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOUR BRAIN TELLS YOU TO!  I mean it!  Don’t do it!

The original recipe from the Cooking Website also used Cranberry Beans which I had the hardest time finding.  So I just used Great Northern White Beans.  But if you are lucky and can get your hands on these beautiful pink zebra print beans, please use them.  I did find them online, I just didn’t want to wait for them to be shipped to me.  I was impatient.

So here are the cast of characters.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Yellow Onion
• 1 Cup Dried Cranberry Beans (Or Great Northern White Beans)
• 1 Cup Light Coconut Cream Milk
• 1 Cup Baby Spinach (Chopped)
• 1 Tablespoons Ghee
• 2 Teaspoon Madras Curry Powder
• 4 Cups Water (Not Pictured)
• Salt

Let’s cook the chicken breasts first, separately.  Add one cup of water into the main cooking pot of the pressure cooker.  Season the water with salt and pepper and plop the chicken breasts in.  Shut the lid and turn to lock it into place.  Program the pressure cooker to cook for 12-minutes.  Press the START button.

While the chicken cooks, you can dice the onions.  That won’t take long, so the rest of the time you can twiddle your thumbs or go do something else.

Once the chicken breasts are done, release the pressure by turning the Release Valve to Exhaust.  Once the float valve has dropped, the lid can be unlocked.  Remove the chicken carefully with a pair of tongs and set onto a plate.  Put into the refrigerator so it can cool down.  Discard the cooking water inside the cooking pot.  Wash off any unwanted cooking residue.

Place the cooking pot back into the pressure cooker.  Press the START button to start the browning process.  Add the Ghee into the pot and allow it to melt.  Add the chopped onions to the ghee and stir gently to saute the onions for about 1-2 minutes.  Then add the Madras Curry Powder and mix.  Press CANCEL to turn off the browning feature.

Now you can add the Coconut Cream Milk, the Beans and the remaining 3 cups of water.  Do not add the spinach yet.  Stir gently.

Shut the lid and turn to lock it into place.  Program the pressure cooker to cook for 30-minutes.  Press the START button.

That’s about it for now.  Time to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes!  Or maybe kick back and watch some TV? How about Netflix?  I got a great recommendation for you.  AN IDIOT ABROAD!  Watch the India episode.  It’ll get you ready for this meal!  Okay, not really, it’ll make you afraid, very afraid.  But it’s super funny.

Actually, I almost forgot about the chicken!  Take it out of the fridge and shred it into small pieces.  Set aside until the stew is done.

When the pressure cooker is finished doing its pressure cooking thing, it’ll beep and automatically set itself to Keep Warm.  I recommend letting the unit drop down in pressure by itself.  It’ll take about 20-30 minutes.  Once all the pressure has been released, it’s time to unlock the lid!

Be careful.  It’s hot!  Give everything a stir and toss in the chopped Baby Spinach and the shredded chicken.  Fold everything gently and carefully into the stew.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Leave the lid open but let the stew sit for about 10-minutes before serving.  The beans will start to absorb the soup and thicken up slightly.

Enjoy!  Namaste!