Spicy Tandoori Chicken served on crispy lettuce and drizzled with cooling cucumber raita and crunchy red onions. Easy weeknight chicken dinner recipe that is low-carb and ready in under an hour.
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Why we love Instant Pot Chicken
- Tender and juicy chicken packed with all the flavors from the marinade that stays on the chicken.
- Consistent cook times as compared to grill or stovetop cooking.
- Easy cleanup.
With the upcoming summer holidays, here is a dish that can be made ahead that results in succulent and tasty chicken. No need to watch it on the grill or worry about it overcooking or have the fear of undercooking.
Tips to make the best Tandoori Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
- Pat dry chicken with a paper towel before marinating
- Using plain, full-fat yogurt for marinating
- Marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours, if using chicken breasts
- Marinate the chicken for at least 20 minutes, if using chicken thighs
- For an authentic taste, use fresh garam masala
- For the bright orange hue without adding extra heat use Kashmiri red chili powder
- Use fresh ginger and garlic
- Using Boston lettuce or iceberg lettuce to assemble the wraps
- Use greek yogurt or plain yogurt for the raita
- In addition, to red onions, add your favorite crunchy toppings while serving
Step-by-step Tandoori Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- First, marinate the chicken for at least 20 minutes. If, using chicken breasts, marinate them for 2 hours or overnight. Then, make 3 to 4 small horizontal slits for each chicken piece. This will allow the marinade to reach inside the chicken. Then, apply salt and lemon juice to the chicken. Next, whisk the yogurt and add all the spices, ginger, and garlic mixing well in a small bowl. Now, spread the marinade evenly on both sides of the chicken (photos 1 - 4).
- Then, add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot insert. Now, place the trivet in the pot and place the marinated chicken on the trivet. Apply, oil on top of the chicken with a small spoon or brush. In addition, it is ok to layer chicken if doubling the recipe (photos 5 - 6).
- Now, close the Instant Pot lid and Pressure cook for 8 minutes followed by 10 minutes natural pressure release. While, the chicken is cooking, rinse and dry the lettuce. Carefully, cut the bottom stem and peel 10 to 12 outer leaf layers of the lettuce. Then, set aside.
- Now, prepare the raita by mixing peeled and grated cucumbers in whisked greek yogurt. Next, stir in salt and cumin powder. Then, garnish with cilantro (photos 7 - 8).
- Open the Instant Pot and carefully take out the cooked chicken. Cut into bite-sized pieces (photos 9 - 10).
- Lastly, assemble the wraps, place 3-4 pieces of chicken over the lettuce, drizzle cucumber raita, and top with thinly sliced red onions.
Do you enjoy the warm tandoori flavors? Some of our favorite recipes are:
★ Have you tried this Tandoori Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe? We love your feedback, Please click on the stars in the recipe card below to rate.
Recipe
Tandoori Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Marinate:
- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts or thighs skinless and boneless
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon oil for basting
Raita:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 to 3 Persian cucumbers
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped
To Serve:
- 1 head Boston lettuce or iceberg lettuce
- 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel. Make 3 to 4 small horizontal slits to each chicken piece. Apply salt and lemon juice to the chicken. Mix yogurt, red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric, ginger, and garlic. Apply evenly to the chicken and allow to marinate for 20 minutes or refrigerate if marinating ahead of time.
- Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot insert. Place the trivet in the Instant Pot. Carefully place the marinated chicken over the trivet. Baste the chicken with oil.
- Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook for 8 minutes followed by 10-minute natural pressure release.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the Raita - Whisk the yogurt in a medium bowl. Peel and grate the cucumber. Add grated cucumber to the yogurt. Sprinkle salt and cumin. Mix well. Garnish with cilantro, keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to be served.
- Open the Instant Pot. Take the chicken and the trivet out. Optional Step - Broil Chicken in a preheated oven or grill for 5 minutes. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and keep aside.
To serve:
- Carefully remove 10 to 12 whole lettuce leaves from the head of the lettuce. Take 1 lettuce leaf, place 4 to 5 pieces of chicken in the center of the leaf. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoon raita over the chicken and top with sliced onions.
Nutrition
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Hans Susser says
Great Recipe 🙂
Thank you !
Archana says
Thank you Hans!
Arohii says
Yum, looks amazing.
Archana says
Thank you Arohii!
VP says
Excellent idea & TFS recipe.
Archana says
thank you!
chefkreso says
Looks and sounds so yummy!
Archana says
Thank you!
Neha Gattani says
I bet this will go well with roomali roti.
Archana says
Yumm! That sounds delish
Nisha Singh says
this looks great, and excited to try
quick question what would you consider " add your favorite crunchy toppings "
thanks
Archana says
I love onions, diced carrots and cucumbers.
Deb M says
We made this for dinner tonight. What a nice flavor. Not hot at all. Hubby is not a fan of lettuce wraps, so we had it with basmati rice. The raita, carrots, red onions and cucumbers were such a nice addition. Will definitely be making this again!
Archana says
Thank you for your lovely feedback!
Mira Mokhat says
How long should I cook this in the instant pot if I’m using chicken tenders (about half the thickness of a breast) and they are already chopped up?
Thanks!
Mira
Archana says
You can even just sauté them in the Instant pot or stove top. Or pressure cook for 1 min
Megha says
Hi. If you were to use an Indian stove top pressure cooker....the one that whistles.....how many whistles should one leave this for? I would love to try this recipe..don’t have an instant pot. Thanks
Archana says
Hi Megha! 2 whistles assuming you will place whole chicken breasts
Megha says
Perfect...loved it. Made a batch and carried it for my sisters to taste in India ( I live in Muscat..a 2 and a half hours flight from Mumbai). We had sandwiches that night and everyone loved it. Thanks again
Archana says
Hi Megha! Thats awesome. Thank you for posting the feedback.
Blanche Pinto says
Hi Archana,
If I'm using chicken breast cubes, how long can I put them in an oven?
Archana says
depending on the size, if you are planning to bake them in the oven I would say 10 mins at 400 degrees should do it.
Monika Agwani says
Hi Archana,
Tried this recipe ..it was yumm. Very easy to make it.
Thank you
Sin says
Hi
Is it on high pressure or low pressure? When I tried on high pressure chicken breast didn't come out very well cooked. They looked quiet moist and under cooked.
Archana says
Hi pressure. How big was your chicken? Make sure to cook 6 mins per pound.