Get ready to eat this mouthwatering, aromatic brown rice beef/lamb biryani. Tender pieces of meat and perfectly cooked, springy grains of rice are coated in a perfect blend of spices.
Before getting an instant pot, I’d only make biryani on special occasions. Now, we can make this one-pot brown rice and meat dish on a whim.
I shared a recipe for chicken biryani a while back, but have gotten many requests for beef biryani and lamb biryani. I decided to use brown basmati rice in this recipe because it cooks perfectly in the same amount of time as either beef or lamb.
If you read my post on cooking brown basmati rice in an Instant Pot then you already know it takes 22 minutes. Thankfully, you can cook beef and lamb cubes in that amount of time as well. The result: tender morsels of meat mixed in nutty brown rice.
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with my Instant Pot, especially when it comes to Indian cooking. In fact, I wrote a blog post with 5 Reasons Why Instant Pot is Perfect for Indian cooking. The main reason: what traditionally took several pots and pans plus several hours to cook can now be made in a single pot!
Biryani is an example of one of those recipes that used to take hours to make, a dish reserved for special occasions. Now we eat some type of biryani almost weekly – sometimes we’ll have shrimp biryani and other weeks we’ll enjoy egg biryani, keema biryani or veggie biryani.
Some background on biryani: there are two main methods to making biryani: pakki biryani and kacchi biryani.
With pakki biryani, you cook the meat separately and partly cook the rice then you have to layer them together then cook the whole thing together. A lot of steps, right? The only reason I would ever use this method is if I have leftover curry that I want to use (like my leftover goat curry biryani).
With kacchi biryani, you marinate the meat for a long time then cook it with the rice over low heat.
Then there’s my method. Skip the marinating and cook both the meat and rice together in ONE pot in an electric pressure cooker. This new method is clearly my favorite one. You get all the same flavor of traditional lamb biryani (or beef biryani) with the least amount of work.
That said, my method works with brown rice because the cook time for the meat and the rice works out perfectly.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this dish! If you love it, then be sure to check out my Instant Pot Cookbook: Indian Food Under Pressure for more Indian recipes!
Instant Pot Brown Rice Biryani with Beef or Lamb
Instant Pot Brown Rice Biryani with Beef or Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown basmati rice soaked 15 minutes
- 2 tablespoons oil
Whole Spices
- 5 cardamom pods
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaf
- ½ cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 pound beef stew meat or lamb the meat should be cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
Ground Spices
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 cup water
Optional Garnish:
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- ⅓ cup cashews halved
- Cilantro leaves chopped
- Mint leaves chopped
Instructions
- Soak the brown basmati rice in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Press the sauté button, adjust the heat to high, and add the oil to the pot. Allow it a minute to heat up, then add the whole spices and stir. Once they begin to sizzle, add the meat and the onions. Stir-fry for 5-7 minutes, or until all sides of the meat have browned.
- Add the garlic, ginger, ground spices and stir, then add the rice and water to the pot. Give everything a good stir.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 22 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Discard the whole spices, add garnish if desired and serve.
Optional Garnish:
- While the rice is cooking, melt ghee in a pan over low-medium heat on the stovetop. Add the cashews and raisins and stir-fry until the cashews begin to turn golden.
- Sprinkle the ghee-coated cashews and raisins along with the cilantro and mint on top of the biryani.
Yaseen says
Love all your Indian Food Recipes you sent.
I cook like the regular Indian cooking Method on the stove, so my house can smell with all the Indian Spices, my neighbors Love the Heavy Curry smells, but sometimes I use the Instant pot if I have to cook quickly.
I like our Old Indian Traditional Way of Cooking, cos back home in my Village they cook outside using the Traditional Indian Way by using the fire wood.
Happy Mother’s Day to You and your Family, and Happy Indian Cooking, Bye for Now.
Linda says
I tried making the beef biryani with white basmati rice. I made it up to the point of adding the rice. I added the water and pressure cooked on high for 16 minutes. When done I quick released the pressure. I added the rice and pushed it down into the fluid. I then pressure cooked it on high for 6 minutes. When done I let it naturally release for 10 minutes. I then released the pressure and it turned out perfect.
Thanks for your great recipes.
Merv says
I adhered to all the instructions and timings, but found that more than one cup of water is needed
M, otherwise you are like to end up with a mess stuck to the bottom of the pressure cooker. It was still edible, however a bit of a disappointing outcome. I used brown basmati rice.
Cheers,
Merv
Sonia says
Hi Ashley,
I tried your beef biryani recipe today after making your chicken biryani multiple times. Love both of them! I’ve a quick question, usually all rice or pasta dish IP recipes say not to stir the ingredients. This one says to ‘give everything a good stir.’ I didn’t, for fear of spoiling it. It came out tasty. Can you please explain?
Also, did you try to make this recipe with regular basmati rice? If so, what’s the time required? I prefer regular basmati to brown one.
Thank you so much!
Sonia.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Sonia! I’m so glad you tried and liked this recipe and that you like the chicken biryani too. 🙂 For this recipe, I think because of the brown basmati, I wanted to make sure it was fully submerged – but even if you didn’t stir, as long as it’s submerged it’ll be fine. For a more authentic biryani, you wouldn’t stir – so you’d end up with layers of meat and rice, but that’s up to you. As for making this recipe with regular basmati, I haven’t tried because I believe it would overcook with such a long cook time. I haven’t experimented with a shorter cook time so I’m not sure how it’d go.
Taliohh says
I am just adding an update to my original comment for anyone reading this prior to making this recipe. The additional 10 minutes in the IP along with an extra cup of water helped with the rice softening situation but the recipe was still way too salty to eat. I ended up transferring the contents to a pot with yet another cup of water and a potato, cut into quarters to absorb the salt. I really didn’t want to waste this recipe. The potato helped a bit but not enough. I ended up adding a lot of coleslaw to a bowl of this recipe in order to eat it, but I’m sure I’ll still be drinking a lot of water.
The final consensus is that I actually would make this recipe again. The flavours are delicious but I would use a quarter of the salt and pressure cook it for at least 32 mins with a 20 min natural release.
Taliohh says
I had high hopes for this recipe considering its 5 star rating so I’m not sure where I went wrong. Admittedly, I could not find the whole cardamom pods and cloves but I looked up the ground substitutions. In any case, my issue is not with the spice flavouring. The recipe turned out to be intensely salty and the rice is crunchy. I’m hoping to save it by adding more water and running the instant pot for another 10 minutes but at the moment it’s sadly, inedible.
Bhargavi says
Hi Ashley! I’m having difficulty finding a vegetarian, instant pot, brown rice basmati recipe. That could perhaps be because the cooking time of brown rice is different from the cooking time of the yogurt marinated vegetables in biriyani. Can you provide a recipe, even if it means a mix of stove top and IP for brown rice basmati vegetable biriyani?
Barb says
I made this with lamb sausage, and it was delicious. I have to say it was too salty though – probably it didn’t help that I used sausage. I love that it used brown rice. I thought one cup of water wouldn’t be enough but it was the right amount.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Barb, that’s great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out 🙂
Neeta says
Hi Ashley
Thank you so much for making our lives easy with the Instant Pot with such yummy recipes
I’d love to make this biryani tonite but only have chicken thighs-would that be ok? And do I keep it still at 22 mins?
Thanks so much
Neeta
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Neeta, I’m sorry for the late reply – hopefully you made it and enjoyed it! I’m sure chicken thighs will be great – and yes, I’d keep the same cook time if you’re using brown rice.
Allen James Jones says
Dumb question (I’m a guy). Should the whole spices be kept together tied in a piece of cheesecloth? Thanks.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I get asked about this so often that I wrote a blog post explaining what to do with whole spices: https://myheartbeets.com/do-i-remove-whole-spices-before-serving-indian-food/ Personally, I would add them directly to oil and just eat around them.
Keith says
The flavor is excellent! However, I am having the same issue as Kamna where my rice is still practically raw even after the 15-minute pre-soak and 22 minutes pressure cooking. I use ground beef instead of beef stew meat but that’s the only change I make. Might this be the culprit?
I am using Lundberg brown basmati rice. I do have brown jasmine rice so I might try that next time and increase the soak and cook times.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Keith, glad you like the flavor! As for the rice being raw – I do think in this case it’s because of the ground beef. Stew meat releases more liquid than ground meat – I typically use 1 ¼ cup water when making brown basmati rice, so if you use ground beef next time then I would suggest adding an extra ¼ cup of water. Now that I’m thinking about it, in Kamna’s case, since goat meat is leaner than beef and lamb, perhaps it didn’t release enough liquid too.
Keith says
I added more water and it definitely helped! The rice was still a bit under-done but I used lean ground beef (it’s what I had) and I think this rice is old. I’ll try fattier beef and a new bag of rice, and hopefully with the extra water that’ll do the trick! Thank you!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s good to know – hopefully it’ll be perfect the next time around 🙂
Kamna Kanesh says
Hi Ashley. Thank you for the amazing recipes using instant pot. I have been using instant pot for some Indian recipes but not everything. I am in the process of trying your recipes to save time. Today i tried brown rice biryani and used one cup brown rice with one cup water. I used goat meat with bones. I used 22 minutes pressure cook but after I opened the lid, the meat was tender but rice was still raw. Can you please suggest how do I fix that? I am not sure if you would be able to reply tonight but thought of trying. Thanks in advance
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Kamna, I’m glad you’re liking my recipes. To answer your question, it’s odd that the meat was cooked and the rice was raw – I have no idea why that would happen. Have you had any trouble with that rice before? Please let me know if you were able to figure it out! If not, you can always try asking in my facebook group (Instant Pot for Indian Food) – sometimes it helps to see photos.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Kamna, after replying to another reader, I started thinking about your issue and I think that because goat meat is leaner than beef and lamb, perhaps not enough liquid was released from the goat meat in order to cook the rice. If you make this again with goat, try adding another ¼ cup of water. I know it’s been a while but I hope that’s helpful!
Kamna Kanesh says
Hi Ashley. Thank you for your reply. I am sorry I didn’t see your reply in February. I kept checking after I left comment but then I thought i would receive some sort of notification from you in my email. Anyway, today I am again trying to make brown rice lamb biryani but with boneless lamb…hope same timings and same quantity work this time. Food chemistry always amazes me..trying to learn more. I am part of facebook and you are right, it does help with the photos..
Once again thank you so much for amazing recipes. Last time I tried roghan lamb for dinner party and it turned out so good (my first time experience with cooking lamb at home) and every single person loved it.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Kamna, I thought my site sent email notifications too – sorry about that! I’ll have to look into it. So happy to hear that the Rogan Josh was a hit! Let me know how it goes this time with the lamb 🙂
Pratibha says
I’ve never thought brown rice could be so tasty. We recently shifted to brown rice and after trying this recipe I’m in love with that. This biryani recipe is super easy and yummy. Even my 4 year old fuzzy eater loves this recipe. Thank you Ashley for such amazing recipes. It makes my work so mush easier to put delicious food on table with little effort.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Pratibha, that’s so great to hear! I’m glad you and your 4-year-old like this. 🙂 Thank you for letting me know how this turned out for you.
Emily says
I love this recipe! I just make it on the stove, so I adjust the cooking times. But it comes out very nice.
Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Emily, that’s so great to hear 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how much you like this recipe!
Srishti Bhagat says
Tripled the recipe and it came out perfect except the raisins were chewy. I think I’ll include them in the rice next time and fry only the cashews. Browned the meat in two batches to allow it all to brown properly. Every last bite got eaten among a family of 10.
My Heart Beets says
Srishti, I’m so glad you liked it (minus the chewy raisins)! I’m guessing the raisins needed more time in the ghee to plump up? Cooking them in the rice should do the trick – that’s a good idea. Great to hear that your family of 10 enjoyed this!
Alvina says
Hey Ashley,
I really want to make this dish, but what if I only have regular brown rice? How will that affect the cooking time? I am trying to work with what I have during this quarantine!
I just want you to know I have shared your recipes to many people and your recipes have always worked so well for me. They have made me way more confident with Kerala/Indian cooking in the kitchen!
Thanks so much, Alvina
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Alvina, I’m so sorry I missed this comment! Did you end up making it with brown rice? I think that should be fine. Also, thank you for sharing my recipes with others – I appreciate it 🙂
Carolin says
Hi there! I *love* every recipe I’ve come across this site, but I tried the same ratio of just California brown rice (because I didn’t have brown basmati) and it just didn’t seem like there was enough rice in the dish. The spices were great but overpowered the entire meal (for Keralan me, anyway, my sayyipp hubby seemed to enjoy). The flavors were good .. maybe the pre-soak wasn’t necessary or the water ratio was off?? In any case, I love the use of brown rice and will try again!
Christine de la Cruz says
Luckily, even in quarantine 🙂 I had all the ingredients (except I used ground chicken) WOW!!! So happy to have found this recipe and for it to be in the instant pot and using brown rice, I just can’t say enough great things about it, thank you, thank you, thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Christine, I’m so glad you were able to make this and happy to hear that you liked it 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Stace says
Hello,
We tried this recipe today with white basmati rice and it was perfect
Stace says
I should mention it was leftover slow cooked lamb we used
My Heart Beets says
Stace, so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out with the white rice!
Lorna says
Hi
I made this for the first time in my Pressure cooker (different make from the Instant Pot) the rice was a bit soggy. Could it be that I didn’t rinse it enough and it was to starchy? Also I think 1.5tsp if black pepper is too much of the wrong type of heat.
Farah says
Hi Ashley – by 1 cup of water do you mean a standard cup or the cup that comes with the Instant Pot Duo? Thanks
My Heart Beets says
Hi Farah, standard US measuring cup 🙂
Sheena Tan says
Hi,
I have tried your butter chicken recipe and it turned out amazing in my instant pot!
I was just wondering..with this biryani recipe how many ml is 1 cup? I am using UK measurements.
FAH says
Hi – I want to double the quantity of meat and rice. Should I also double the amount of water? Thank you.
My Heart Beets says
Yes, to double this recipe double all ingredients but keep the cook time the same 🙂
gemerald says
I have no brown basmati rice, but I do have a lot of brown long grain rice. Will this be a good substitution?
Alvina says
I am interested in this question, too!
Thanks!
Tina says
I doubled this recipe and had no issues. This was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I recommend using the optional garnishes, it just adds more depth. I will make this again!
My Heart Beets says
Tina, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Cecilia says
This was my first instant pot recipe after the water test and it was DELICIOUS! Just about to make it again a little over a week later. Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Cecilia, that’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear that you liked this biryani so much 🙂
Regina says
Hi can I follow this same method for stovetop? Do any adjustments need to be made
Clara says
Hi Ashley,
I’ve really enjoyed the simplicity and flavor of the recipes of yours that I have tried. Will definitely be trying more in the future! You mentioned the possibility of developing a biryani recipe that includes the step of marinating the meat overnight so it can be cooked with white rice. I would love to try a recipe like that, especially with coconut milk marinade. Thanks for sharing all your delicious recipes!
Clara
My Heart Beets says
Clara, so happy to hear that you like my recipes 🙂 Thank you! And great to know there’s interest in that kind of a recipe – I hope to share something like that soon!
Clara says
Thanks Ashley! One quick question on this recipe; when removing whole spices, are you mainly focusing on the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods? I assume the cumin and fennel seeds are left in? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Yes leave the cumin and fennel seeds and just remove the larger whole spices. I actually wrote a blog post about removing whole spices because I get asked about this often: https://myheartbeets.com/do-i-remove-whole-spices-before-serving-indian-food/
Kimberly says
Hi,
I made this with grass-fed beef stew meat. I made a half batch in a 3 quart instant pot. Unfortunately, the meat came out very tough. Could you suggest why this might be?
Thank you,
Kimberly
My Heart Beets says
Hi Kimberly, I usually make this with grassfed beef stew meat too so I don’t think* it would have to do with that… the only thing I can think of is that perhaps it has something to do with the 3-quart? Did you halve the quantity of the beef too? And you kept the cook time the same, right?
Lynn says
How serendipitous to find your website while searching for recipes to use up a pound of beef in my refrigerator. Thankfully I had all of the other ingredients (except for the mint, ghee & cilantro), and in no time I had dinner made. The only change I made was to add a bit more turmeric and about 1/8 cup water. The water wasn’t necessary, it’s just a personal preference to have some sauce. I warmed up the golden raisins in a tiny bit of salted butter. This is definitely one I’ll be keeping for family and company. Thanks! I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
My Heart Beets says
Lynn, so happy you found my website and made this recipe! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try!
Vicki Smith says
Can you use regular white basmati rice? Why is the brown specifically used? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Vicki, the brown is used because it has a longer cook time and so does the beef/lamb. I plan to share a white rice version soon too but it will be a bit different as I’ll have to marinate the meat in order to get it to cook in a faster time.
Zion says
Hi Ashley,
I’d like to try this recipe but wondering if you have a recommendation for brown basmati rice brand?
Thanks,
Zion
My Heart Beets says
I typically buy brown basmati rice from Trader Joes 🙂 It’s good but seems pretty similar to other brands I’ve tried. If I find a brand I love, I’ll be sure to update the post!
Leon says
Hi Ashley,
I would like to try this recipe out but have a few questions.
The recipe asks for 1cup water under the “Ground Spices” section. I am assuming this is for cooking the rice. Is that much water enough?
I don’t have an Instant Pot but do have a Tefal Neo5 Secure pressure cooker. I am assuming the recipe and cook time would still remain the same right? Do you see any changes that you would recommend if any?
Thanks
My Heart Beets says
Hi Leon, yes 1 cup of water is enough – the meat releases some water as well. Is your pressure cooker an electric pressure cooker? If so then it should work 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Deepa M says
I was really looking forward to making this. Flavours are great but the resulting biryani was too liquidy- what could have been the issue?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Deepa, I’d love to help troubleshoot if I can. Did you add more meat by any chance? If so that could have been the issue as meat releases water. If that’s not the issue, please let me know if you made any other changes to the recipe…
Puja Khanna says
Ashley Singh Thomas, for your brown rice goat biryani, how long would you pressure cook the goat if the meat was on the bone? I thought 45 min like your kerala goat curry may be too much?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Puja, I haven’t tried this with goat on the bone but I think if the pieces are small that it’ll work with this recipe 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Elton says
Hello! I’m a fan of a few of your other recipes and excited to try out biryani! I was wondering about increasing portion size. If i want double the amount of food, can I just double all the ingredients but keep the pressure cook time the same? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Elton, glad to hear you like my recipes! I haven’t tried doubling this but I think it’d be okay – and yes, I’d keep the cook time the same. Please let me know how it turns out for you!
Maneesha says
Hi Ashley! I tried your kheema recipe numerous times, with turkey, chicken, and lamb – all SLAM DUNK SUCCESSES!! I love your recipes and i LOVE your cookbook! I bought three of them – one for myself, then for my mother, and then for my cousin!
My Heart Beets says
That is awesome!! Thank you so much!! 🙂 I appreciate all the support!!
Maneesha says
Hi Ashley, is this recipe possible with ground lamb?
My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, I am sure it’ll taste great with ground lamb! Also, if you have my cookbook you can also use ground lamb in my keema pulao recipe! Let me know if you try either recipe!
Priya Aurora says
Love your recipes!!! Healthy and yummy!!!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks Priya!! So happy to hear that 🙂
Maneesha says
Ooh I would definitely be interested in the recipe with white rice!
My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, adding that to my list! May even try it this weekend if I can 🙂
Maneesha says
ooh looking forward to your recipe! I love your blog!
Niki says
Have you done one with white rice? I couldn’t find it!
My Heart Beets says
I have several other biryani recipes using white rice: shrimp, veggie, chicken and egg 🙂 You can find those here: https://myheartbeets.com/?s=biryani