Instructions

Char the vegetables: Warm a comal or dry cast iron skillet over medium heat until it is hot to the touch. Place the tomatoes, the quartered onion, and the unpeeled garlic cloves in the warm comal and let cook, undisturbed until they are charred and blackened on one side, flip and continue until all the vegetables are charred on all sides. The garlic and tomatoes will char faster than the onions, so keep turning and remove the individual vegetables as they are done. Let the garlic cool a bit, then peel off the skin and place in a blender with the other charred vegetables.  Next, add the dried chiles to the comal and toast, stirring frequently, until fragrant and starting to brown.

Soak chiles. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add toasted chiles and push them down to submerge them under the water. Remove pan from the heat and let chiles soak until they are soft, about 15 minutes.

Blend the sauce. Remove the chiles from cooking liquid (saving the liquid) and place in blender with the tomatoes, onions and garlic. Add the cilantro, ground coriander, ground cumin, dried oregano, teaspoon of salt, and 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid. To prevent explosions, take the lid of the blender and remove the plastic circle in the middle. Place lid on blender and place a clean dish rag over the open hole. With one hand on top of the rag, slowly turn your blender to high and blend until a smooth sauce forms. Add more of the cooking liquid, if necessary.

Air-fry the tortillas. Place the air fryer basket insert in the Instant Pot. Add the tortilla wedges, separating them into as much as possible. Spray for 4 seconds with cooking spray, stir and spray again for 4 seconds with cooking spray. Season with salt and spread as much as you can in the basket—it's okay if they are not in a single layer, you will stir them around later. Select the Air Fryer setting and set the temperature to 350°F. Cover with the Air Fryer lid and set the timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the lid to the protective pad—be careful the bottom of the lid will be hot— and give the chips a stir. Cover again with the lid and set the timer for 3 minutes. Stir once more, cover again and cook for another 3 minutes or until the chips are crispy. Using kitchen mitts or towels, carefully remove the air fryer basket and pour chips into a heat proof bowl to cool.

Brown the chicken and vegetables. Using oven mitts or kitchen towels carefully remove the Instant Pot insert, rinse it out and dry. Return to the Instant Pot, select the saute setting and add olive oil. Let heat for a couple minutes then add the chopped onion, carrots, and chicken pieces. Season generously with salt and ground black pepper and let cook until starting to brown.

Fry the sauce. Add the blended chile sauce and let fry, stirring continuously, until it is fragrant and turns a deep, reddish brown.

Pressure cook the soup. Add chicken broth and bay leaf and cover with the pressure cooker lid. Select the pressure cooker setting and set the timer for 10 minutes on high. It will take the machine about 15 minutes to heat up and then the timer will begin.

Release the pressure. Let the pressure slow release for at least 5 minutes before pushing the quick release button or you can let it slow release until you are ready to serve. Carefully remove lid and season again with salt (about a teaspoon or so more) taste and add more salt if needed. 

Serve. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with separate bowls of tortilla strips, avocado slices, lime wedges and cilantro so your friends can enhance their soup to their liking.