Stump Kitchen Collaboration

When I was messaged by Alexis Hillyard of Stump Kitchen on Twitter proposing a collaboration, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I agreed.  This is a good thing!

I love people that are able to just let loose and have fun.  Admittedly, that is not always me.  I am very introverted, so making an ass of myself does not come easily.  Alexis is one of these people.  She is awesomely comfortable in her own skin and just an all-around beautiful human being.

Alexis really likes to work with kids, and it shows!  Stump Kitchen is her career, and besides making the Youtube videos, she also does cooking classes with adults and children alike.

Youtube recently went through a whole monetizing shit-storm with all of its makers.  People that were previously monetized channels are having to figure out other ways to get viewers and subscribers.  YouTube completely changed their platform and their algorithms. This is where Patreon comes in.

A lot of YouTubers have started using Patreon to make money on their videos.  You can become a patron by donating a few dollars a month and get rewards from the artist in return.  Rewards will vary according to the artist and the amount that you are subscribing with.  This also enables them to get things that they need to produce the art (cameras, video recorders, editing equipment, etc.) Alexis has all of this set up on her Patreon page.

The Stump Kitchen channel is vegan and gluten free.  Being a meatatarian myself, it was an adventure looking for a recipe that we could make together.  I have tried doing the whole vegetarian diet, but my health started to decline as I am unable to digest most raw vegetables.

My latest obsession is the Instant Pot.  It is the cooking gadget that everyone is raving about.  It is a pressure cooker, or a slow cooker depending on what you want to do with it.  It can make meals super quickly and saves a bunch of space in your kitchen. They are also better for the environment because they use less electricity and less water for cleanup. I bought one with Christmas loot and very impatiently waited for it to arrive. Sno-maggeddon stopped parcel delivery for several days in early January.  I researched the hell out of it while I waited for it to arrive, so I already had a reference book and a recipe book compiled for the arrival.

Alexis had also received an Instant Pot for Christmas and had been too afraid to open it and try it. A lot of people are too afraid to open it and try it.  The very first recipe I tried was actually the one that Alexis and I used as well.  “The Butter Chicken Lady” came up with the recipe and published a vegan version as well as one with chicken.

So I packed up my Instant Pot and dragged my butt through an insane blizzard to record my episode with Stump Kitchen: Vegan and Gluten Free Butter Chicken

SUPER EASY INSTANT POT BUTTER CHICKEN

For the rice:

1 cup aged basmati rice, rinsed
1 cup water
1 tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter chicken:

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced ginger (minced and jarred is easiest)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (minced and jarred is easiest)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2-1 teaspoons cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons good-quality garam masala, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, left whole (We used vegan “mutton” from Orii Vegan Market)
4 ounces butter, cut into cubes (use coconut oil, if dairy free)
4 ounces heavy cream (use full-fat coconut milk, if dairy free)
1/4-1/2 cups chopped cilantro

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients for the rice, place in a 6 or 7-inch heat-safe pan, and set aside.

Place tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chicken, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, salt, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala, and cumin into the inner liner of your Instant Pot.

Mix the sauce a bit, then place the chicken.

You are putting in everything except the butter, cream, cilantro, and 1 remaining teaspoon of garam masala. Mix well.

Place a tall steamer rack/trivet on top of the chicken mixture, and place the uncovered bowl of uncooked rice on the rack.

Press the Manual or Pressure cook button, set the timer to 10 mins, and cook. Once it is done cooking, allow the pot to cool for 10 minutes, undisturbed. Then, release all remaining pressure and open the pot.

Remove and set the cooked rice aside. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Using an immersion blender, blend together the sauce until it is smooth. Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the cut-up butter, cream, cilantro, and garam masala.

Remove half the sauce and freeze or refrigerate for later.

Break up the chicken into bite-size pieces, add it to the sauce.

Serve with rice.

As you can see from the video, it was super easy to make and a lot of fun being in Stump Kitchen.  The recipe is a good one, it is also super tasty.  There is usually enough sauce left over to coat a second batch of rice.

It is super important to rinse the rice, it will turn out crunchy if you miss this step.  If you don’t have a trivet with handles, construct yourself a “sling” made from tinfoil so that you can take the rice pot out easily. My rice pot was purchased from a local Asian market.  It was a stainless spice container with a lid.  It is actually 8 inches in diameter and it will fit the Instant Pot.

I hope that you enjoy the recipe, I look forward to giving you some more recipes, Instant Pot and more!  Please “like” and “subscribe” to Stump Kitchen for more vegan hilarity.

I am also hoping to work again with Stump Kitchen in the future!

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