The popular Indonesian Curry Chicken (Kari Ayam) is pressure-cooked in the multi-purpose Instant Pot and fall-off-the-bone meat in a fraction of the time!
Turn on the Saute mode on the instant pot, when it displays HOT, add in cooking oil. Add onion, garlic, chili paste (if using) and saute until they are soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add star anise, kaffir lime leaves, curry leaves, turmeric powder and stir fry for another minute. Add the chicken pieces in there and stir to mix everything. Pour in the water. Add tomatoes. Close the lid of the Instant Pot. Make sure the steam release handle is turned to SEALED. Press the Pressure Cooker button and use the -/+ button to set it to 15 minutes.
The pressure mode takes about 5 minutes to get "ready" before it will start the actual cooking time. At the end of cooking time, use "Quick Release Pressure" method. Turn the steam release handle to VENTING and wait to let it releases all the steam and pressure, it will make that "hissing" sound. Once you don't hear that anymore, make sure the float valve near the steam release handle is all the way down (usually it is). If it's still up, wait! It's still pressurized.
Remove the lid and stir in the coconut cream and give it a good stir. Season with salt to your taste. Serve immediately or keep warm in the instant pot if you are not ready to serve yet
Notes
If you use bone-in big drumsticks or thighs, increase the pressure cook time to 25 minutes. If you use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast that is cut into bite-size, you can pressure cook in 7 minutes! The all-purpose chili sauce I made is not spicy at all because they are made with large dried Mexican peppers and it gives nice rich red colors without the heat. You can definitely add in 2-3 Thai chili to make it spicy