Urvashi Pitre isn't a classically trained chef — she's a former corporate consultant turned self-taught home cook whose blog, Two Sleevers, and a run of bestselling cookbooks (including The Indian Instant Pot Cookbook) turned her into one of the most trusted voices in the Instant Pot world. Her butter chicken recipe is the dish that put her on the map, and it's easy to see why: it strips a beloved restaurant classic down to pantry staples and one pressurized pot, without losing an ounce of its rich, spiced depth.
About the recipe
Butter chicken has always lived or died on balance — bright tomatoes for acidity, warm spices like garam masala and turmeric, a long simmer to round out the heat, and a finish of butter and cream that ties everything together. Traditionally, that balance takes hours of stovetop attention. Pitre's version leans on the Instant Pot's pressure to compress that simmer into minutes, cooking the chicken directly in the spiced tomato base so every bite absorbs the sauce instead of just sitting next to it. The result tastes like it simmered all afternoon, but it's ready in well under an hour.
Key tips
- Keep the chicken pieces large going into the pot — smaller cuts break down under pressure and lose the tender bite that makes the dish work.
- Canned tomatoes are the better choice here: their moisture content is consistent, unlike fresh tomatoes, which makes the pressure-cooking liquid far more predictable.
- Blend the sauce after cooking, not before — it smooths the tomato base and helps the butter and cream emulsify fully instead of separating.
- Layer the spices — turmeric, cayenne, garam masala — into the pot before sealing so the pressure has a chance to work them all the way through the chicken.
- Let the pressure release naturally for a few minutes before stirring in the final butter and cream; it keeps the sauce silky instead of broken.
Watch the technique
Pitre walks through the whole method herself in this short demo, breaking down exactly how she gets restaurant-level butter chicken out of a home pressure cooker.
An Artisan Cookware note
If you're doubling this for a crowd, our Stackable Insert Pans make the multitasking easy — cook the rice in one insert and the curry in another, both fitting inside the same pot footprint instead of juggling separate pans. Once the curry's done, ladling it into one of our Casseroles keeps it warm at the table and looks a lot better than serving straight out of the cooking pot.
Whether you're new to Indian cooking or just chasing a faster route to a favorite takeout dish, Pitre's butter chicken is one worth keeping in the weekly rotation. Happy pressure cooking!
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