Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani

This Instant Pot shrimp biryani is so flavorful and delicious! It’s a one pot Indian recipe that you can have ready to eat in under an hour.

I make shrimp biryani at least once a month because my husband and I both love it so much. It feels like a treat meal even though it’s so easy to make.

We try to sit down together and eat as a family as often as possible, but on the nights I make this biryani (or any biryani), Roby and I wait to eat until after we put Tony to bed.

Then one of these two scenarios occur:

1. We pour ourselves two glasses of wine (Roby usually ends up drinking mine) and fill our plates with shrimp biryani, light a candle to be fancy and sit at the dining room table.
2. We grab our plates (and wine), relax on the couch and watch netflix.

It usually ends up being the second scenario. This is a celebration meal and for us, as new-ish parents, there’s no better way to celebrate than relaxing at the end of a long day with a good movie and a good meal.

Those who are familiar with cooking biryani know that it’s traditionally made by first cooking the rice and protein separately then layering the two together and then cooking it all again. Such a long process, right? That’s just not feasible for me as a new-ish mom. (Unrelated: how long can I call myself a “new-ish mom?” Tony is 11 months old… I think at least a year is appropriate?)

And so while I typically don’t cook seafood in an Instant Pot because seafood already cooks so quickly, this shrimp biryani is an exception. That’s because you can cook the shrimp and the rice at the same time. The best part is, I can make this dish on a whim as long as I have shrimp in the freezer. There’s no need to thaw the shrimp – I just throw frozen shrimp right into the pot. Easy.

If you like this shrimp biryani, then you must try one of my other biryani recipes: chicken biryani, egg biryani, vegetable biryani or lamb/beef biryani!

Enjoy!

Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani

Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani

4.74 from 23 reviews

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

Servings 3 -4

Ingredients

 

• ▢ 1 cup basmati rice soaked in cold water for 15-30 minutes (I love this brand of basmati rice)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon halved raw cashews
• ▢ 1 tablespoon golden raisins
• ▢ 2 red onions sliced

Whole Spices

• ▢ 4 cardamom pods
• ▢ 3 whole cloves
• ▢ 1- inch piece cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ginger
• ▢ 1 Serrano pepper or green chili minced, adjust to taste
• ▢ 20 curry leaves
• ▢ 1 to mato diced

Ground Spices

• ▢ 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoons black pepper adjust to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 1 pound frozen jumbo or extra jumbo raw shrimp

Add Later:

• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro garnish
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped mint garnish

Instructions

 

• Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
• Press sauté, add the ghee or and once it melts, add the cashews and raisins. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the cashews turn golden. Remove and set aside to be used later as garnish.
• Next add the onions and whole spices. Stir fry for 10-12 minutes, or until the onions start to brown.
• Add the garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper, curry leaves, stir, then add the tomato and ground spices. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the tomato begins to break down.
• Add the rice and water, stir, then add the shrimp.
• Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
• Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
• Garnish with cilantro, mint and ghee-coated cashews.

Notes

• I love this brand of basmati rice if you want to try it!
• If you can't find curry leaves, you can leave them out. I like the flavor they add to the dish but the biryani will still be good without them.
• Please use jumbo or extra jumbo shrimp as indicated. If you use smaller shrimp, they will most likely be overcooked.

Did you make this recipe?Tag @myheartbeets on Instagram and hashtag it #myheartbeets!

If you’re interested in more Instant Pot Indian recipes, check out my Instant Pot Cookbook: Indian Food Under Pressure!