Caramelizing onions

In my latest session of making chicken tikka masala I forgot to mention a problem I had/have re caramelizing onions.

The recipe says to caramelize the sliced onions by cooking them in oil for 20 minutes.

I cooked them for about 7 minutes before I decided to stop. The onions were getting burnt and I didn't think that was supposed to happen. My baseline is based on memory from my mom's cooking where she uses caramelized onions.

So just now I watched a video on how to caramelize onions. The onions in the video never got as black as mine. 

My best guess is that I was cooking with higher heat than was done in the video. And right now I don't recall what level of saute heat I used on my instant pot. I guess I used "high". Next time I'll use "low" and see how that works out.

Reviewing my recipe, I see that the recipe said I should have used saute medium. So I missed that during the cooking. So I changed the formatting of my recipe so that the "medium" word is easier to see. 

So here's the recipe now:

Chicken tikka masala - instant pot recipe

# INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 large onion cut into thin half wheels
• 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 2 jalapeño chilies roasted, seeded, and diced

Marinade

• 1 cup plain greek yogurt 
• 2 Tbsp garam masala
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice about half a lemon
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Spices

• 5 Tbsp garam masala
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric

Salt and pepper 

• 1 tsp freshly ground kosher salt 
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 

Sauce - blended 

• 4 tomato
• 4 onion 
• 10 cloves garlic
• Same amount ginger 

# INSTRUCTIONS

1. Marinade the chicken for at least 1 hour.
2. Grill: the chicken and chilies. 
1. Let chicken rest for 10 min before putting in pot. [1]
3. Saute **MEDIUM** mode: Set to sauté (medium). When HOT, 
1. Add oil. Heat until hot. 
2. add onion and sauce until caramelized. About 20 minutes. Needs CONSTANT stirring.
3. add garlic and chilies, and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
4. add Spices. Fry these spices with the onions for a minute to release their flavor. 
5. Add chicken. 
6. Add salt and pepper directly prior to adding sauce. This helps draw the flavor of the onions, spices, and tomatoes together.
7. Add Sauce and stir. Boil off enough water. About 10 minutes.
4. Pressure cook Mode: Manual for 7 minutes. Then QR. 
5. Saute mode: Set to sauté (low). When HOT, add cream and stir. Simmer until the sauce is thickened to your liking, a few minutes.

# NOTES

• [1] This seals in the flavor and ensures the tenderness of the meat. 

This recipe was adapted from these two recipes, plus feedback from a local Indian grocery store:

https://www.savorytooth.com/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala/

https://food52.com/recipes/13819-ultimate-chicken-tikka-masala