Authentic and flavorful chicken biryani ready to eat in an hour? Yes, it’s absolutely possible with an Instant Pot!
This aromatic and mouthwatering chicken biryani is a family-favorite. In fact, I think I like chicken biryani just as much – possibly more than my butter chicken. That is saying A LOT y’all. But really, what’s not to love about perfectly seasoned chicken + rice in one pot?
I’m sharing this recipe for the most amazing Instant Pot Chicken Biryani from my cookbook, Indian Food Under Pressure. It’s a recipe that deserves to be on the blog because I believe that everyone should be able to make authentic and delicious chicken biryani in one pot if they want to. Think: tender pieces of chicken and perfectly cooked rice all coated in a perfect blend of spices. SO GOOD.
I LOVE biryani. I’ve been eating biryani all my life (now I won’t tell you exactly how long that is, ha) and have tried so many different types of biryani. I have already shared a veggie biryani, egg biryani, shrimp biryani and a lamb/beef biryani on the blog and am so happy to be adding chicken biryani to the list!
If you are familiar with biryani, then you know it typically takes a very long time to prepare and requires dirtying several dishes. With my recipe + your Instant Pot, you can make a one-pot recipe that is just as good as the traditional version and creates less mess! It takes just 10 minutes of prep time and can be ready-to-eat in under an hour.
This dish is easy enough to make on a weeknight and impressive enough to serve to your guests at a dinner party. So invite me over for dinner, won’t you? 😉
Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice soaked 15-30 minutes
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- ⅓ cup cashews halved
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
Whole Spices
- 5 cardamom pods
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaf
- ½ cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 ½ pounds skinless and boneless chicken thighs cut into quarters
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
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves chopped
Instructions
- Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
- Press the sauté button. Add the ghee to the pot. When it melts, add the cashews and raisins. Stir-fry until the cashews begin to turn golden. Remove the cashews and raisins. Set aside.
- Add the whole spices and stir. Once they begin to sizzle add the onions. Stir-fry for 6-7 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
- Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and stir-fry 6-7 minutes or until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink.
- Add the ground spices and mix to coat the chicken.
- Dump the rice on top of the chicken (do not mix). Add water.
- Sprinkle half the cilantro and mint on top of the rice.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Discard the whole spices. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and mint and garnish with the ghee-coated cashews and raisins.
Video
Notes
- I love this brand of basmati rice - the rice grains are always perfectly cooked!
If you love my chicken biryani, then be sure to check out my Instant Pot Cookbook: Indian Food Under Pressure for more tasty Indian recipes!
Lucinda says
Thank you so much for sharing this!
I really enjoy biryani and while I love cooking and all the time that normally goes with it, with a chronic illness, sometimes I just don’t have the energy to do it.
I made this twice in two weeks and each time it was absolutely delicious! I save plenty of leftovers that became lunch and dinner for the rest of a week. I was unsure about the raisins, but they added so much flavor and a nice bit of sweetness. (And the second time I did the cashews and raisins, I sprinkled in some garam masala and extra cinnamon!)
This is definitely going into my book of recipes!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Lucinda, happy to hear that you like this biryani recipe! Thank you for letting me know how much you like this 🙂
Allison says
For someone who has been intimidated about attempting biryani for the longest time, this recipe is a gift! This recipe is so, so good. Your guidance is so helpful as well, following it exactly produced something that my partner and I enjoyed very much. Thank you!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Allison, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know how much you like this recipe 🙂
Rinku Sharma says
Thank you Ashley! I’ve been pondering on this recipe for a while now & finally got down to making it today 🙂 Tripled the quantity overall & used bone-in chicken instead. Rice & Chicken were cooked to perfection & flavor was spot on!
The best part with your recipes (I’ve made others dishes too) is that they are tried and tested! No experiments what so ever as you have nailed down the cooking times & the flavors to a T 🙂 That’s huge when you are trying out a new dish or an alternate method to traditional dishes.
Keep the recipes coming & Good luck!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Rinku, I’m so glad you made it! Great to know it worked so well when tripled! And I’m happy to hear that you like my recipes – hope you’ll continue to let me know what you think of new recipes you try 🙂
Autumn says
Hands down better than the biryani I have had at any restaurant. I’ve tried so many times to make Indian dishes that taste as good as you get at a restaurant and I can never get the spices right. But this takes the cake, perfect every time. Will be trying the vindaloo next! SOOOOOO DELICIOUS.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Autumn, that’s so great to hear! Glad you like this biryani so much! Can’t wait to hear what you think of the vindaloo 🙂
Richard says
Excellent Biryani! The flavour is truly restaurant quality.
Thank you from a Locked Down United Kingdom
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Richard, I’m so glad you liked the biryani! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Kartina Beckmann says
Followed the instructions but I cooked with rice cooker and it turned out well and taste very yummy. (since I dont have the Insant Pot) . My husband loves the taste and he asked me to cook again next 2 days-
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Kartina, I’m so glad you and your husband liked this! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out 🙂