Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Chicken Biryani, a favorite in most Indian households, gets a makeover in Instant pot. Its easy, gets done super quick and you don’t have to do loads of dishes to achieve this lip-smackingly delicious Biryani, Instant pot is all you need!
So what is Biryani? Lets start there…
Biryani is a mixed rice dish made using any meat or vegetables and rice. It is believed to be originated from the royal kitchens of Mughal empire. But now, it is famous all over the world and enjoyed by many. Biryani is also prepared in lots of variations and Hyderabad-style Dum biryani is the most popular one. I have my authentic hyderabadi style chicken dum biryani recipe here, click the picture below to check out the authentic version of Hyderabad style dum biryani.
So how is this Instant pot biryani different than dum biryani?
Biryani, though super delicious, has multiple steps. The steps are definitely easy but are lengthy and a bit tricky to know exactly when to stop cooking the rice, when to stop cooking the chicken, etc. Since there is no exact time to get the right consistency of rice, I keep checking the rice until its 80% done, and its definitely a hit or miss. With Instant pot, we have exact time, exact water measurements and the rice is perfect every time. The only difference is, this biryani is not a layered dum biryani, so you wont be seeing those different layers of rice in here. The rice is beautifully grainy though, I believe that’s the most important part of biryani.
So, is this biryani Pulao?
Technically, yes! Biryani and pulao are almost interchangeable but with a ton of difference in the grain texture. Dum Biryani is cooked in layers in a slow cook process where as pulao is meat/vegetable cooked all together with rice. But pulao is also mildly spiced and there is no marination of meat or anything that is required for a pulao. Here, in this recipe, we are imitating the complete flavor profiles of a biryani but keeping it simple to make in Instant pot. Its easier, gets done really quick and tastes delicious!
How to make the Instant pot Chicken biryani?
- First, we need to marinate the chicken, let the chicken marinate for at least 1 hour. I usually marinate it overnight, just to make my life easier. These are all the ingredients you need:
- Bone-in chicken (about 2 to 2.5 pounds / 1 Kg)
- Coriander powder
- Mint
- Cilantro
- Salt
- Lemon
- Plain Yogurt
- Turmeric
- Red chili powder
- Homemade Ginger garlic paste
- Homemade Garam Masala
- Mix up all the above ingredients and keep it aside or refrigerate if you are marinating overnight.
While the chicken is marinating, we need few things before we get started with biryani:
- We need whole garam masala, I use cinnamon, Black cumin/ Shah Jeera, Bay leaves, cloves, star anise and cardamom. Its okay if you don’t have all the spices, just use cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
- Slice one big onion into thin slices.
- Rinse and drain basmati rice and soak it for 15 minutes. I like using Royal Chef’s Secret Extra long grain Basmati rice to attain that pearl like texture. The aroma is so amazing, that you can eat the rice as is.
- I also like using a little biryani masala in my biryani just to spice it up. This is completely optional, skip it if you don’t have it.
Making the biryani:
- Now, we have everything ready, lets get started on instant pot biryani. I am using a 6 quart Instant pot here for 1 kg chicken and 1 kg rice. Turn the sauté mode on high (more in some models) and add ghee.
- Once the ghee is melted, add cloves, cinnamon, shah jeera, bay leaf, cardamom and star anise. Sauté them for 30 seconds or until they turn aromatic.
- Add sliced onion to the pot and sauté till they are brown in color like in the below picture. It will take about 15 minutes.
- Remove the browned onions from the pot and keep them aside.
- Add marinated chicken and sauté for 7-10 minutes. Make sure you deglaze the browned bits of onion while sautéing the chicken. Note: I am using medium size pieces of chicken here, so I sauté it for 7 minutes. If you are using big chunky pieces or drumsticks, sauté for 10 minutes. If you are using small pieces, sauté only for 5 minutes.
- After 10 minutes of sautéing, add 1 cup water and deglaze or scrape the bottom to make sure the chicken gravy isn’t stuck to the pot.
- Add half of browned onions and chopped cilantro.
Adding rice to chicken:
- Drain the water from the soaked rice and layer it on the chicken, make sure to spread into one flat layer.
- Add salt just enough for the rice, biryani masala, remaining browned onion and cilantro.
- Add 3 cups water and DO NOT STIR. The rice to water ratio is 1:1. I am using 4 cups rice in this recipe, I used 1 cup water to deglaze the chicken and am adding remaining 3 cups at this point.
- Turn off sauté mode and close the lid. Turn on Pressure cook mode, vent in sealing position for 6 minutes and let the biryani cook. You can let the pressure release naturally or quick release it after 20 minutes.
Frequently asked questions about Instant pot Chicken Biryani:
Biryani rice has to look separate and should scatter like pearls. Mushy rice in biryani is just not right. The color of the biryani depends on your gravy, your chili powder and basically how you handle the rice. You have to be very very gentle when serving the biryani, just fluff it and don’t rush with the mixing, even though your family is starving 😀. Its really important to take it gently from the pot, so we don’t mush the rice. Do you see the texture of rice below: 
1. A good basmati rice, the aroma of basmati rice just sets it apart. I like using Royal Chef’s Secret Extra long grain Basmati rice to attain that pearl like texture.
2. Browning the onions: You can speed up the process by browning the onions separately on the stove-top.
3. A little bit of mint and lots of cilantro or coriander leaves
4. Plain Yogurt: It can be homemade or store bought.
5. Whole garam masala spices: If you don’t have a whole lot of spices, we can manage with only cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.
Please use a bone-in chicken. I use a whole chicken(preferably skinless) cut up into big chunky pieces and that works great in this biryani. I also like using drumsticks because its dark meat and drumsticks taste so good in biryani. Pick your meat carefully for best results. This is the size of chicken piece I am using here:
The biryani will work better if the gravy is 1/3 of the cooked rice. That will make each bite as flavorful as the next. I am using 2.5 pounds or about 1 kg of chicken for 4 cups of basmati rice(about 1 kg chicken to 1 kg rice).
Biryani is served with Mirchi ka salan and Onion raita with onion and lemon slices on the side. Mirchi ka salan is a tangy side that goes perfect with any kinda biryani. My mirchi ka salan recipe is here: Mirchi ka Salan – Blissful Bites by Tay
Deglazing the pot is very very important, make sure you deglaze or scrape the bottom when you are sautéing the chicken and before you add the rice. Its very important to do that so you don’t get the “Burn” signal.
Yes! Follow the same steps till adding the rice and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
Instant pot Chicken Biryani
Warm and wonderful flavors of chicken biryani in a super easy one-pot recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for marinating the chicken:
- Bone-in chicken (about 2 to 2.5 pounds / 1 Kg)
- 2 tablespoons Coriander powder
- 1/4 cup chopped Mint
- 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
- Salt to taste (just for the chicken)
- Juice of half Lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 cup Plain Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons Red chili powder (or to taste)
- 3 tablespoons homemade Ginger garlic paste (Store-bought ginger garlic paste linked below)
- 1 tablespoon Homemade Garam Masala (Store-bought garam masala linked below)
Ingredients for Biryani:
- 1 teaspoon Cloves
- 1 whole Cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon Black Cumin/ Shah jeera
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 Star anise
- 1/4 cup Ghee
- 1 large onion, cut into thin slices
- 4 cups Basmati rice
- Salt to taste (just enough for rice)
- 2 tablespoon Biryani Masala (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 4 cups water (1 cup added before adding rice to deglaze the pot, 3 cups added at the end)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients under the "marinating the chicken" section for at least an hour.
- While the chicken is marinating, rinse and drain basmati rice and soak it for 15 minutes.
- Turn the sauté mode on high on your Instant pot and add ghee.
- Once the ghee is melted, add cinnamon, Black cumin, Bay leaves, cloves, star anise and cardamom. Sauté them for 30 seconds.
- Add sliced onion to the pot and sauté till they are brown. It will take about 15 minutes.
- Remove the browned onions from the pot and keep them aside.
- Add marinated chicken and sauté for 7-10 minutes, deglazing/scraping the pot all along to remove browned onion bits. Sautéing time changes based on the size of your chicken pieces. Please see notes below.
- After sautéing, add 1 cup water and deglaze or scrape the bottom to make sure the chicken gravy isn't stuck to the pot.
- Add half of browned onions and half of cilantro.
- Drain the water from the soaked rice and layer in on the chicken, make sure to spread into one flat layer.
- Add salt just enough for the rice, biryani masala, remaining browned onion and cilantro.
- Add 3 cups water and DO NOT STIR.
- Turn off sauté mode and close the lid. Turn on Pressure cook mode, vent in sealing position for 6 minutes and let the biryani cook. You can let the pressure release naturally or quick release it after 20 minutes.
Notes
- I am using a 6 quart Instant pot for this recipe. If you using a 3 quart one, reduce the quantities to half.
- Using bone-in chicken is advisable for biryani, but boneless chicken thighs can be used too.
- If you don't have all the whole spices, just use cinnamon, cloves and cardamom before you are browning the onions.
- Make sure you deglaze the browned bits of onion while sautéing the chicken. Its very important to do that so you don't get the "Burn" signal.
- I am using medium size pieces of chicken here, so I sauté it for 7 minutes. If you are using big chunky pieces or drumsticks, sauté for 10 minutes. If you are using small pieces, sauté only for 5 minutes.
- The rice to water ratio is 1:1. I am using 4 cups rice in this recipe, I used 1 cup water to deglaze the chicken and am adding remaining 3 cups at this point.
- I like using a little biryani masala in my biryani just to spice it up. This is completely optional, skip it if you don't have it.
- Deglazing the pot is very very important, make sure you deglaze or scrape the bottom when you add the chicken and before you add the rice.
- Biryani is served with Mirchi ka salan and Onion raita with onion and lemon slices on the side.
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