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Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

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Authentic and flavorful chicken biryani ready to eat in an hour? Yes, it’s absolutely possible with an Instant Pot!

Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

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?

Check out my chicken biryani video here:


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 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!

Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

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 handy dandy 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

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Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

★★★★★ 5 from 64 reviews
  • Author: My Heart Beets
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Description

This flavorful chicken biryani is a family-favorite. Biryani, a well- seasoned meat and rice dish, typically takes a long time to prepare and requires dirtying several dishes but this one-pot recipe 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. It’s easy enough to make on a weeknight and impressive enough to serve to your guests at a dinner party.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup basmati rice, soaked 15-30 minutes
  • 3 tablespoons ghee
  • ⅓ cup cashews, halved
  • 2 tablespoons golden raisins

Whole Spices

  • 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

  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
  • ½ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Instructions

  1. Soak the basmati rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain, rinse and set aside.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
  5. Add the chicken and stir-fry 6-7 minutes or until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink.
  6. Add the ground spices and mix to coat the chicken.
  7. Dump the rice on top of the chicken (do not mix). Add water.
  8. Sprinkle half the cilantro and mint on top of the rice.
  9. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
  10. Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
  11. Discard the whole spices. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and mint and garnish with the ghee-coated cashews and raisins.

Notes

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!

Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

 

Comments

  1. This looks amazing, will definitely be making it next week! Sorry if this information is somewhere, I couldn’t find it – how many portions does this make?

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Why did I end up with cooked chicken and uncooked Basmati Rice? I thought maybe I needed to stir the rice into the water even though you said not to, but then I watched the video and you didn’t. Bummer! I was so excited to open the pot and eat! I’m now trying to figure out how long to recook the rice (after having to pick out all the chicken!)

      Reply

      • I’m not sure why the rice was uncooked… you followed the times and the vent was sealed, correct? Did you fully cook the chicken while stir-frying? It sounds like there was an issue with the pot coming to pressure but that is just my guess. Please let me know if you try this again!

        Reply

  2. I have made this chicken biryani many times now, and it is SO good. I’ve also made your shrimp biryani and the brown rice and beef biryani, and the chicken is my favorite. Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes! I bought your cookbook, and have made several recipes, all very good. I do have a question for you – I have a slight allergy to onions and garlic and have been reading about asafetida; do you have any recipes using this as a subsitute for alliums? I would love to find a good one!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Jess, it makes me so happy to hear that you’ve tried all of my biryani recipes (more to come, soon)! Glad you like the chicken biryani so much – thank you for letting me know! To be honest, I haven’t used hing in cooking because it’s very difficult to find a gluten-free asafoetida (although I may be getting my hands on some soon) so I’m not very familiar with it. Are you in my Instant Pot for Indian Food facebook group? Someone in there recently asked about no garlic/onion recipes and it was quite a long discussion – they discussed asafoetida as well. It may be helpful for you!

      Reply

      • This recipe is really good 🙂 But what I really came here to say is that I bought some gluten-free asafoetida a while back and I’ve been loving it.

        It’s blended with fenugreek, so I think that’s pretty reasonable! I don’t think I can taste the fenugreek.

        ★★★★★

        Reply

  3. I made this tonight and it was delicious! My 7yo loved it. I couldn’t figure out what made it so spicy since I didn’t use cayenne or chili powder. Not sure if it was the paprika or Garam Masala. It was a bit spicy for my son but the flavor was so good he kept eating it anyway!!

    Reply

    • Kristen, I’m so happy to hear that you and your kiddo liked it! As for reducing the heat next time though, try leaving out the black pepper. Garam masala already has black pepper in it so maybe the extra bit made it too spicy for him? Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂

      Reply

  4. I’m so excited to try this recipe! I have ground cloves, but not whole – can i substitute that? Online it’s seems to say one teaspoon of whole cloves is 3/4 teaspoon of ground cloves. Do you think that would work, or would it change the dish too much? I also don’t have the cinnamon stick – would cinnamon powder work?

    Reply

    • Hi Ani! I would say to just leave the cloves out — ground cloves are much stronger in my opinion and it’s really easy to overdo it. It’ll still be good even without it! As for the cinnamon, you can just add a pinch of powder. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the dish!

      Reply

    • Jon, if you want to use brown rice with this recipe then I suggest using quick cooking brown basmati rice – it takes the same amount of time as white basmati rice. I think using regular brown basmati rice could result in overcooked chicken but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. If you try, please let me know!

      Reply

  6. I don’t eat chicken but made this for my husband and son. Now, thanks to you, our local restaurant will be losing business because they have declared that they will never be ordering from the restaurant again. The fragrance and taste was amazing and the boys said the chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender (we used drumsticks, didn’t have thighs). The only disappointing thing is that I have owned my InstantPot for over two years, and have only just now realized it can do this – all this time I had exclusively been using it only as a pressure cooker 🙁

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Varusha, haha wow!! I’m so happy o hear that they like the biryani so much!! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try with your instant pot!

      Reply

  7. This was a big hit in our household. Living in Hawaii the humidity got to some of my spices, so I had to leave out the paprika and substitute caraway seeds for the fennel, but the dish was still super delicious. My 10 year old asked for seconds and was happy is finished as her friend was being picked up so she didn’t have to share – that alone speaks volumes. Have definitely made it into our favorites rotation. Thank you!

    Reply

  8. If I want to increase the rice to 2 cups, will I need to increase any of the spices and cooking time? I assume I must increase the water though.

    Reply

    • You can double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients – keep the cook time the same though. The pot will take longer to reach pressure due to more contents in the pot – so you can keep the cook time the same.

      Reply

      • I made the recipe the first time following the exact instructions and it turned out sooo delicious! So I decided to make it again next week and doubled everything but kept the cook time the same. When I opened the top layer of rice was still uncooked so I cooked it again (pressure 4 minutes this time). This time the top layer was cooked but looks like the layer beneath got overcooked. I hadn’t realized the layer below was cooked before. What can I do differently for double the quantity?

        ★★★★★

        Reply

  10. The unofficial, national dish of Trinidad and Tobago is called Pelau. It’s a one pot rice and chicken (or whatever meat) meal. We take it to the beach for an all day “lime”, or cook it up for whatever occasion when there’s a large group hanging out. This recipe is similar to a pelau, but with deeper flavors. It doesn’t taste quite Indian, it doesn’t taste quite Trini. It hits that sweet spot in between where when I make this for my family, they will say…”I didn’t know you had such a sweet hand!” I’m not known for my cooking skills in the family. 🤣🤣❤

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  12. Thank you for this and all your recipes! It was delicious. My 7 year old gave it an 8/10 (and it’s really spicy). My kids (and I) love Indian food but I was way too intimidated to make it until I came upon your blog. Thank you!

    Reply

  13. I loved the recipe! How would you make a vegetarian/tofu biryani? Just substitute the chicken for the tofu?

    Reply

  15. Hey, thanks a lot for the recipe! I made it and now it tasted really good. However, it turned out more like chicken and curry mixed with rice. It wasn’t dry like Biryani is. It was very wet. Wonder what I did wrong!? 😟

    Reply

  16. i keep forgetting to pull chicken out of the freezer. i’m newer to instant pot. what are you throughts on frozen chicken? some bloggers say its fine to use? thanks!

    Reply

  17. Hi Ashley this was great. Could you post a chicken biryani recipe for the instant pot that uses a yogurt marinade?ped

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  18. The last step instructs you to “Discard the whole spices.” But the “Whole Spices” section includes several types of seeds and minced ingredients. How do you discard such things after they’ve been mixed together with everything else?

    This looks pretty tasty.

    Reply

  19. Hi this is nyla i am new to this community and also to instant pot ans its recipes. I like your biryani recipe. Plz tell ne the ratio of rice n water for intant pot. As when i cook on stove top i add 1 is to 2.for example 1 cup rice 1 and hslf cup water.somy question is what wull be ratio in instant por.
    Thanks in advance
    Regatds. Nyla

    Reply

  20. Hi Ashley, I made this last night, and it turned out great!! I love your biryani recipes – I tried this chicken one and the shrimp biryani. The instant pot recipe makes it so easy and efficient to make the biryanis without sacrificing taste!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  22. Hi Ashley, can the chicken biryani be made with chicken drumsticks instead of boneless chicken? If yes, what would be the cooking time? Thanks, love your recipes ❤️

    Reply

    • Hi Swapnil, you can use chicken drumsticks but I’d suggest removing the skin as it’ll get soggy in the IP. It should cook in the same amount of time. Let me know how it goes!

      Reply

  23. This was delicious! I used brown basmati rice and about 20 minutes was a good cooking time (plus 10 minutes of the natural pressure release). I might double the raisins next time but otherwise, this was a wonderful recipe. We just moved to a rural area and we miss having an Indian restaurant nearby. I’m looking forward to working through more of your recipes as I try to learn more about Indian cooking. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Sarah, that’s great to hear!! Thanks for letting me (and others reading this) know how it turned out with brown basmati rice! Can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes you try!

      Reply

  27. what rice do u use..? any particular brand. Also, r u using brown rice in this recipe, y is the color so brown? I never get that color..

    Reply

  28. I received my Instant Pot just a few days ago..after almost memorizing the manual I made this Chicken Byriani recipe as my first meal.

    I order this dish every time I go to an Indian restaurant..I was happy to discover the recipe makes it even better than my favorite restaurant does.

    Thanks for the recipe and looking forward to making more….I love Indian food.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  29. This was awesome! Made a double batch with brown rice cooked for 20 minutes and 10 minutes natural pressure release. Thanks for another yummy version of chicken and rice in the instant pot for this busy mama. The 1.5 year old and 4 years old loved it too!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Elizabeth, I’m so glad you and your kiddos loved it! And good to know that it worked well with brown rice! Thanks so much for letting me know how this turned out for you all 🙂

      Reply

  30. I received the instant pot yesterday ( I ordered it after seeing all your recipes), I made the chicken biriyani today. It’s delicious and full of flavor, the best biriyani I have made so far. I ordered your cookbook and looking forward to trying more recipes . Thank you.

    Reply

    • Tina, that makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks so much for letting me know how the biryani turned out for you 🙂 I hope you love all the recipes you try from my book!

      Reply

  31. OH MY GOSH THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! I rarely brag about my dinners but I’ve told everyone in the office about this one. I didn’t have the “whole” version of a few spices (cinnamon, cumin, and cardamom) so I used 1/2 to 1 teaspoons of the “ground” version (eyeballed it) – still absolutely amazing recipe!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  33. Love most of your recipes but sadly this is a pulao, not a biryani. I am not sure which “gharana” of biryani has cashews and raisins in it – neither the authentic Awadhi, nor the diluted Lucknow/Calcutta derivative. Also, this recipe will definitely pass as an excellent pulao, but not really biryani.

    However, I will give it a go and I am sure I will love it “as a pulao”

    Reply

  34. We really loved this recipe. We like heat, so added a few sliced serrano chilies and upped the cayenne a bit. It was a perfect consistency. I also added a touch of cayenne and the cinnamon to the nuts and raisins. (Then threw the cinnamon back in per the directions. I will make this recipe again. Thanks.

    Reply

  35. Just made this and it is fantastic! I reduced the chicken to 1 lb and threw in a cup of frozen peas and two carrots sliced into sticks (I borrowed from your veg biryani recipe!). Also, raisins fried in ghee – YUM.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  36. Made this for the first time yesterday. Biryani has always seemed like too much work for me but this Instant pot Biryani turned out great and so much less work. Big hit with my family. Thank you

    Reply

  37. Hi! I want to make this with boneless beef stew cubes. Should I pressure for 7 minutes still? Or maybe 10?

    Reply

  38. What about yogurt? My mom says it’s a mystery to add yogurt to the meat but I didn’t see it in your recipe. How can I incorporate it?

    Reply

  39. I have made this twice now. Today I’m planning time number three. It’s so good, so exquisitely delightful, that it makes me proud it came out of my kitchen! I haven’t found an Instant Pot curry recipe so far that has rocked my world, but this biryani recipe is one of the best meals I’ve ever made, and maybe the best. Thank you Ashley!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

      • Oh a dry curry in the Instant Pot. I have to try it! Thank you Ashley! I just joined your Facebook group, and I’m very excited to try more recipes. I’m actually making this biryani again today.

        Re: the curries, we have tried your Instant Pot butter chicken, and the one from Two Sleevers, and neither was quite like the restaurant experience for our tastes. Maybe it’s not possible with all these shortcuts? They both told my brain “this is curry!” when I ate them, but there was something missing compared to the restaurant style. I don’t know what. It’s still so wonderful to cook food that tastes authentically Indian without the long slow steps that are traditionally involved.

        Reply

        • Matt, awesome! I’m glad you joined the group and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the bhuna if you try it! So when it comes to butter chicken, the method is mostly the same but everyone does things differently – just to confirm though, you’re definitely using the fenugreek leaves, right? Because that makes a surprisingly big difference when it comes to the flavor of butter chicken. If there’s a restaurant whose BC you really love, I suggest asking them questions about it – ask if they use a lot of heavy cream or ghee or ask if they add nuts in the butter chicken (this will give you an idea of whether they add cashew paste – some folks do this). Some restaurants will even use tandoori chicken instead of cooking chicken in the curry and call it butter chicken – that can also make a difference. I hope you’re able to achieve that butter chicken flavor you’re seeking! Keep me posted 🙂

          Reply

  40. Hi I tried the recipe today.but the rice was over cooked.first time i’m Using instant pot.don’t know what I did wrong…but the taste was yummy..is the same time frame for all IP?

    Reply

    • Hi Rose, rice can definitely vary – I have tried several brands and they’ve worked with the timing but my absolute favorite rice is aahu barah – I link to it in the post. If you can, I’d suggest trying it with that rice 🙂 Or you can also try quick releasing pressure after 5 minutes – that may help too!

      Reply

      • Ok thank you. I made it with the green and it smelled amazing. Sadly it smelled much better then it tasted. I couldn’t really taste the spices. I will try adding a little extra next time.

        Reply

  42. I’m so excited to try this recipe! I don’t have cardamom pods but I have ground cardamom-will it be a problem to substitute in ground cardamom?

    Also your butter chicken recipe is my husband and I’s absolute favorite dish ever!!!

    Reply

    • Hi Kristin, if you use ground cardamom just use a pinch as it’s more concentrated than the pods. I hope you love this! Let me know what you and your hubby think!

      Reply

  43. So delicious! I’d never tried this dish before but will certainly be making it again! Husband loved it too and he is so picky I usually don’t share with him, but he was so impressed he took some over to share with neighbors.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kristin, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for letting me know how much you guys liked it 🙂 And how nice of you to share with your neighbors – I hope they loved it too!

      Reply

  44. This was my first time ever making biryani-had heard that it was a very time consuming process so was amazed when it turned out really well. Even my teenage daughter said it was okay and she has very high standards. I used butter with a dash olive oil as it didn’t have ghee and I was a bit worried that the rice on top hadn’t cooked but when mixed it seemed fine in the end.

    Reply

  45. I absolutely love this. I think the next time I make it I will leave the salt out completely. I’m not a big salt person and I don’t think it needed any. I am allergic to black pepper and so I made my own garam masala. The spices were absolutely amazing. That’s why I love Indian food. The thing I love the most is every bite had a new explosion of flavor.

    I have an instant pot Ultra and I sometimes have difficulty with it burning the bottom of anything that has basmati rice in it. I made sure that I rinsed the rice very well after soaking for 30 minutes. The nice thing about this recipe is the rice is not on the bottom at all. I also lifted the chicken up a bit to let some of the water down underneath.

    Thank you and I look forward to making more of your recipes.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  46. I bought your book Indian food Under Pressure online and made this last week – it was lovely and now have found your site so will be making a lot more of your recipes. What I would like to know is when you specify cashews as in your chicken Korma for the creamy cashew sauce do I buy raw or already roasted cashews.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  47. Hi Ashley – I tried your veg biryani and it came out awesome. I want to try the chicken biryani tomorrow. can I use breasts instead of thighs?

    Reply

    • Hi Nayan! I’m so glad you liked the veg biryani 🙂 I haven’t tried using chicken breast in the chicken biryani so I can’t say for sure but I think it’ll turn out fine. Let me know what you think if you try it out!

      Reply

  48. Hello! Looking forward to making this recipe tomorrow! I’m a new IP user, just got one a few days ago! In the instructions it says “stir fry” when cooking. I don’t have the button on my IP…how do I go about doing so?

    Reply

  50. delicious! thank you for the recipe. it’s the best chicken biriyani I’ve ever made. Appreciate it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  51. Hi! Im a new instant pot convert and just bought one, what size do you use for the recipes you post? mine is the 6 quart one. excited to try some of these and wanted to make sure itll be the right size:)

    Reply

    • Hi Divya! I test all of my recipes using the 6 quart (that’s all that was out when I first bought mine lol) so try any recipe on the site 🙂 Let me know what you think!

      Reply

      • just made it today and it looks and taste amazing! my picky 3yo and 1.5 yo daughters also agree!:)my 1st ever biriyani attempt! my family is from kerala but im born and brought up here so only now venturing into indian cooking. love that u have a mix of north and south indian recipes!!!
        would i be able to double this recipe and still safely make in the 6 quart..? if so any other adjustments needed? thanks ashley!

        ★★★★★

        Reply

        • I am so happy to hear that your kiddos loved the biryani! That makes me so happy to hear 🙂 Yes you can double the recipe – just double the ingredients but keep the cook time the same. I can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes that you try!

          Reply

  52. Ashley, I just want to take the time to say how much I am obsessed with your website, especially this recipe. I was born in Hyderabad so I’m super picky about biriyani. This recipe is perfection! I’ve made it countless times. I just made the veggie version too! I also loooove your Chana Masala and chicken curries. The measurements are perfect for everything. I just ordered your IP cookbook on amazon and can’t wait for it to come. Thank you so much for everything you do!!!

    Reply

    • Veda, that makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad you like the biryani so much! And the chana masala and curries 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of any other recipes that you try!

      Reply

  54. Flavor was amazing! I used the correct rice to water ratio but the basmati rice came out mushy . Any idea why? Thanks

    Reply

    • Monica, so happy to hear that you liked the flavor 🙂 As for the rice – I have found that it really depends on the brand. I recommend the brand I use in the post but if you’re using another brand of basmati rice you may have to play around with the times – perhaps try a 5 min cook time and a 5 min npr next time? Let me know if that works better for you!

      Reply

  55. Turned out excellent! Even my 15 months old toddler loved it :). Thanks for the perfect recipe! 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  56. This is a very good recipe and makes biryani relatively easy to make. I was wondering if you can marinate the chicken beforehand to give it even more flavor. If so, how would you suggest marinating it? Thanks again and I am going to try more of your recipes!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  57. How do you suggest removing the whole spices at the end? Are we seriously supposed to dig through the rice and chicken mixture, picking out cardamom pods and fennel and cloves and cumin seeds?

    Reply

  58. I are this tonight and just loved it. Thank you for posting it—it’s definitely going to be part of our rotation!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  60. Thank you for this recipe! I have made the chicken, shrimp, and egg biriyani and all three turned out great! I love the way you format your recipes online and the exact measurements so it is very simple to follow. Your biryani recipes are definitely my favorite biriyani recipes to make!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  61. This was delicious! My super picky husband and kids even enjoyed it. We decided it would make a great make ahead meal to pack for work lunches throughout the week! Will definitely be making this again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  63. Can you tell me how spicy this dish is? Unfortunately I can’t have much spice- the mixture sounds great, but can you suggest what to do to make this a mild dish? Thank you!

    Reply

    • You can leave out the cayenne and it’ll be a mild dish 🙂 For any of my recipes – if you leave out cayenne or green chilis (if a recipe calls for it) then the dish will be mild. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  65. This is the best chicken biryani I’ve ever had – it even beats restaurants! Every one of Ashley’s recipes is a winner, but this one is definitely my favorite. It’s easy, directions are simple, and it comes out perfectly every time.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  66. Hi, how do you discard the whole spices in ththe last step if they are mixed in with the chicken? Cinammon and bay leaves I can understand since they are larger, but now about the small ones like cloves, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, etc? Thanks!

    Reply

  67. I made this recipe from your book last night and I will definitely be making it again! It was so quick but still tasty. I even used frozen chicken and it still turned out perfectly.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  68. Thank you for this recipe! It’s straightforward to make and the flavors are delicious. However, I’m having one slight problem — I’ve made it twice now, and both times the rice came out too wet and mushy. I reduced the water a bit the second time (closer to 3/4 cup) and still got the same result. I didn’t use extra chicken (which I know releases water) and I followed the recipe exactly. Could it be the brand of basmati rice I’m using (Whole Foods brand)? I’m afraid if I reduce the water any further the pot won’t come to pressure. Or maybe I should release pressure sooner? Appreciate any thoughts you might have!

    Reply

    • Hi Diane, hmm it could be the brand, I haven’t tried whole foods basmati rice (is it the one that’s called texmati because if so I’ve seen it and I’m not even sure if it’s really basmati?) but if you prefer it then I would cook the chicken a bit more and reduce the pressure cook time to 4-5 minutes with a 5 minute quick release (which will also help get rid of any extra water). If you give that a try please let me know how it goes! I link to a brand that I really love if you are looking to try another brand of basmati! They all can be a bit different.

      Reply

  69. I just got my IP yesterday and this biriyani was the first recipe that I tried in it. I’ve never used a slow / electronic cooker. This dish was fantastic!! My 6 YO loved it. and best of all I was done in 1.5 hours : prep, cooking and clean up! As a working mom of 2, that’s an achievement for me!! Thank you, Ashley

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  71. Oh my goodness. This is the most wonderful meal.
    So full of flavour with just a hint of afterburn.
    I just love your recipes.
    They are truly amazing.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  73. I can burn water but have always wanted to learn to cook Chicken Biryani since tasting it at a local Indian restaurant years ago. The simplicity of the My Heart Beets recipe prompted me to give it a go. Mmmm, now that it delicious! Thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  74. Made it three times this week. Guess everyone in the family and work liked it a LOT 🙂
    Great recipe!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  75. Hey Ashley- super excited to try this recipe. I don’t have an instant pot, but I do have a pressure cooker. Would you keep the pressure cook time the same?

    Reply

  76. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely give this another try.
    Suggestions/considerations:
    1. You didn’t mention what sautee function you used. I used High.
    2. Opt for 1/4 cinnamon stick instead of 1/2. The cinnamon flavor using 1/2 of a cinnamon stick was too overpowering for me.
    3. I wouldn’t add the extra water. I didn’t add any water and it still came out a bit watery due to the juices from the chicken. Perhaps next time, I will drain some of the juices before pressure cooking OR increase the amount of rice from 1 cup to 2 cups. However, it should be noted that I used parboiled rice instead of basmati rice.
    4. It’s practically impossible to remove the whole spices (especially the cloves), considering it was mixed with the chicken. I didn’t even bother.

    Reply

  77. I made this chicken biriyani today for dinner. Hassle-free, fool-proof recipe this is. Cooking biriyani was never so much fun! I call this ‘instant biriyani’. Thanks so much for this recipe. Will try out more recipes from your site.

    ★★★★★

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  78. Your recipes are great!! For chicken Briyani – can I use chicken boneless breasts cut up instead of thighs and do I have to adjust cooking time with breasts? Thanks!!

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    • Anu, thank you! I haven’t tested it with chicken breast but I think it’ll be fine – you can shorten the sauté mode step a bit when cooking the chicken. let us know how it goes if you try!

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  79. The biryani was delicious, however the raisins got too hard when fried with the cashews, and the rice came out very sticky. Wonder if I did something wrong?

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  80. This is absolutely delicious! It’s the best Instant Pot recipe I have made. Since we don’t tolerate too much hot spice, we left out the cayenne and used 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. It was still super delicous and full of flavor. It’s a great warm, comforting meal. Thank you.

    ★★★★★

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  81. I am excited to try this recipe!! wondering how you remove the whole spices. Do you just pick them out?
    Thinking the cloves are pretty small. Thanks for your help!

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  82. I am a Biriani Lover. I bought an instant pot this thanksgiving and currently trying different dishes in the pot. I tried your chicken Biriani and veg Biriani, Both came out to be perfect. like I used to do Dum. but slightly with more flavor and much faster. Thank you so much for the detailed recipes.

    ★★★★★

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  83. Tried it. I liked how easy it was.
    I did feel that something was missing.
    Just so you know, the things i did different were i used
    chicken breasts instead of thighs
    red onions,
    did’nt have cilantro
    did’nt have enough fresh mint so used combination of some fresh and some organic dry mint leaves
    substituted milk for water and added saffron
    no cumin powder because my garam masala has it in it
    thoughts? I would like to try it again….

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  84. Oh my…I’m so excited to pass on this recipe to my daughter. Her boyfriend is Pakistani, and she was looking for easy recipes to make for him that he would enjoy & appreciate. This just might be her new go to recipe! Thanks for sharing! Will let you know how it went!

    ★★★★★

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  85. Great recipe. I was slightly unsure off it initially as I have tried a similar method before with good bit not great results. I am surprised that this combination works very well. Excellent recipe

    ★★★★★

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  86. You must have added curd after you add chicken. I found more flavourful when I add fried chicken insted of raw one! Video looks great. I prefer little bit dry Biriyani 😊

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  88. Hi Ashley,

    Thank you for demonstrating that Biryanis can be made in Instant pot without a hitch or else I would have never tried it so early into my experiment with this Smart machine :))
    The biryani was tasty, almost same as I make on stovetop, the rice grains were separate and the chicken was moist and juicy!!
    I faced one glitch – burn ( my first time seeing that on IP). I own a 6qt 7 in 1 model. I was cooking 4 cup rice with enough water ( rice was 817 brand Basmati rice)
    with similar amount of spices as mentioned in your recipe + 3 tbsp yogurt + 2 tbsp tomato paste.
    Water was 4 cups and I pushed Pressure cook for 8 minutes. Any guesses where I went wrong? Was 8 minutes too much?
    Shiba

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  89. ok, so today was the third time i’ve made this dish. I made it before the traditional way with the layering and the parchment paper and other than the nice crispy rice on the outside there is virtually no difference in deliciousness. the only change I made was doubling the recipe because it’s so freaking good. thanks for this recipe and I’ll be sure to check out your others

    ★★★★★

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  90. This recipe was wonderful: the recipe’s recommendations on cayenne and black pepper provided exactly the heat level I was looking for. I felt it had absolutely beautiful flavors (this was soooo much better than the store bought biryani mixes). I used chicken breast instead of thighs, and I did not use raisins. So glad to have come across this recipe – will be sharing with everyone I know!!!

    ★★★★★

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  91. Biryani is a dish made of fish, meat, or vegetables and cooked with the flavourful rice especially with saffron. Making pot chicken biryani is very simple and quick. I generally make instant pot chicken biryani for the great taste and flavour.

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  92. This recipe is absolutely delicious! So kid-friendly, I omitted the cayenne pepper and stuck to the rest of the recipe as is and it turned out wonderful! It was so easy to make yet it the dish looks so rich and flavorful like I have been working on it for hours. This recipe will definitely be going into my recipe box, that’s for sure !

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  93. Can I sub in chicken breast instead of thighs? I prefer dark meat but all I’ve got today is chicken breast. And do I need to adjust anything as far as measurements or time?

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  94. Hi Ashley, I tried this recipe, it was delicious!!
    However, we found it very spicy, what can we change to make it more mild?

    ★★★★★

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    • Raj, I’m glad you liked it! To reduce the heat, you can omit the cayenne (or red chili if you’re using any) and reduce the black pepper to avoid any heat – that should do it 🙂

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  95. Hi Ashley! Excited to try this recipe. Could I double it? and if so, would I need to make any adjustments with the cooking time?

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  96. I LOVE this recipe and would like to share it with my mom who has a slow-cooker but not a pressure cooker. Can you advise me how to adapt it to a slow-cooker?

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  97. Hi I make this dish all the time and it never fails to impress! Just one question though – what paprika do you use? Smoked, sweet or hot? Please advise! Thanks

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  98. Hi Ashley, glad I found your site! I approached this biryani with a bit of trepidation. I couldn’t believe that just throwing things in the pot could come out like a ‘real’ biryani. Wow, was I surprised! It was amazing! My wife said it was the best Indian meal I’ve ever made, and I’ve been cooking Indian food for quite a few years! I can’t wait to try some more of your IP recipes, that was so good!
    Just as an aside, would it work to put cardamoms and cloves in a muslin bag in the IP, to make it easier to fish out, or would that concentrate the flavors all in one spot?

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    • Peter, I’m so happy to hear that you and your wife like this recipe! As for putting them in a muslin bag, I think that’d be fine but I haven’t tried it myself… I think it adds flavor to put the whole spices directly into the hot oil but that’s just my two cents!

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  99. This recipe is fantastic. A couple suggestions based on some comments above: (1) the highest sauté setting can get very hot very fast and sneak up on the raisins. You might try starting at the medium sauté setting or even doing the cashews/raisins separately in a small skillet. (2) If you’re worried about stray whole spices, cut a small square of cheesecloth and tie your cloves and cardamom pods in it (and other seeds if you want). The ghee will carry the flavor of the spices in the bag.

    ★★★★★

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  100. this is part of our weekly rotation! my malayalee father in law who never comments on ANY food even said it was good ! best part are my two toddler daughters regularly ask mama to make biryani!:) thanks for making this US born girl cook tasty kerala food!

    ★★★★★

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    • Divya, I’m so happy that your girls love it!! And I’m glad your FIL likes it too! It always makes me happy when Indian dads’ like my recipes lol – I feel like they’re such tough critics!

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  101. Great recipe! I have tried several different Biryani recipes and never had success so I gave up and our Biryani always came from takeout. I bought a 6qt IP a few days ago. Our first meal was the curry fish recipe in the recipe book that came with the IP. Second IP meal was this biryani and it turned out perfect. My husband followed the recipe exactly and I would not change a single thing. We will make this often!

    ★★★★★

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  102. I cooked this recipe for a family of Irish/Canadians who have lived in London UK ( a major indian curry city) and we were blown away by how good this recipe was. Can you please tell me how I can increase the recipe to fill an 8 quart instant pot. This recipe feed 5 people comfortably but I’d like to feed as many as i can with an 8 quart. Thanks again.

    ★★★★★

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    • Michael, I’m so happy to hear that everyone liked the biryani so much!! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked it 🙂 I don’t have an 8 quart but I can tell you I’ve successfully doubled the recipe in my 6 quart! You can try asking this question in my facebook group (Instant Pot for Indian Food) – hopefully someone will be able to answer!

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  103. Amazing recipe! Thanks so much for sharing! Tried it today and it came out so good! I did mix the rice in the water and it came out well! What is the reason for not mixing the rice in the water?

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    • Thanks Anne! I’m so happy to hear that! You can certainly mix it! The only reason I don’t is because traditionally biriyani is known for it’s layers – but really it doesn’t matter 🙂

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  104. I doubled the recipe and froze half (it froze really well!). My husband said that it was one of the best biryanis he is ever tasted and he eats a lot of Indian food!

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  105. So is it equal parts rice:water? I know your recipe calls for 1 cup rice and 1 cup water but if I want to make it maybe 1.5 cups rice should I just do 1.5 water?

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  107. My husband loves Chicken & Shrimp Biryani at Indian restaurants so I decided to give your chicken recipe a try. It turned out delicious!! I had to add more ghee and oil as I went (after adding chicken) to avoid chicken from sticking to the IP while on saute. Awesome recipe, the spice measurements are perfection.

    Do you have a better measurement for the amount of garlic instead of in teaspoons? I found this tricky as I cut it up fresh. Thanks so much!

    ★★★★★

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  109. Made this yesterday – we love briyani (any kind) – but our daughter has a life threatening dairy-protein allergy. This was the first recipe that I have seen that didn’t require marinating the meat in yogurt. We loved it and our daughter even went back for a 2nd helping (she is a picky eater too). Really easy & quick to make. And super yummy too.

    ★★★★★

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    • I’m so glad you and your family liked the biryani 🙂 Also, just so you know – if a dish calls for marinating in yogurt – you can always use dairy-free yogurt or canned coconut milk (the thick creamy part at the top works best). Hope that helps!

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  110. This was delicious! I definitely recommend beginning this recipe mise en place – there are too many ingredients to do this on the fly. I watched the video and, as I often am when watching other people’s instant pot videos, I was surprised at how my instant pot seems to saute things so aggressively while other people’s instant pots seem to sautee gently with nothing sticking to the bottom of the pot. I can’t have anything on saute and then walk away for even 10 seconds. Anyway, thank you so much for this recipe! I love biryani and I never thought that I would make it at home. It was truly delicious and my family enjoyed it, too. I did serve it with sliced red onion, thin slices of lime. hard boiled egg, and slices of jalapeno on top. I also used brown jasmine rice since that was all i had. I let it go 20 min. after the 6 min. cooking was up and it was a NR. Amazing & ready in an hour.

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    • Amy, I’m so happy to hear you that liked this! And yes, I completely agree and highly recommend gathering together all ingredients for any recipe – especially Indian recipes as the spices can take awhile to gather and can burn easily. I’m so glad your family loved the biryani too! I hope you’ll let me know how any other recipes you try from my site turn out for ya 🙂

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  111. Just made the chicken biryani and it was perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe.

    Just curious- what does soaking the rice actually do? When I make rice on the stove I typically cook with extra water and then drain it when the rice is done instead of letting the rice absorb all the water like most American dishes use. Is this kind of the same concept by soaking it?

    ★★★★★

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  112. Hi Ashey
    I’m looking forward to cooking this recipe tonight, I’m new to the insta pot cooking and wanted to ask if the cook times would change if I used a bone in cut up whole chicken?

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  113. This looks delicious, but I laughed out loud at the “10 minutes of prep time.” Now THAT is a video I’d like to see!

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    • Thanks Rob! There’s a video in the post – it’s one of those short videos though so doesn’t show the dish being made in real time. That said, I think you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can prep this! The part that takes the longest is measuring out the spices and putting them in a bowl. Make it and let me know!

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  114. I don’t have a pressure cooker. I do have a very heavy and big cast iron pot with a ceramic interior. Can you suggest how I could use this instead please?

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  115. Hi Ashley,

    I tried two of your biryani recipes- keema biryani and chicken biryani. I followed the recipe word by word but somehow the rice remains uncooked. I add more water and pressure cook a bit more but the rice still remains dry and uncooked whereas the bottom burns. What am I doing wrong? It tastes amazing and but the texture is all wrong. *sigh*

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    • Gargi, have you made sure the seal is on the lid properly? And that the valve is closed? If the valve isn’t properly closed, it could be that the water is escaping in the form of steam – sounds like that might be the case?

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  116. Best thing I’ve made in my IP so far. Told friends about it and several of them have already made it multiple times. Thanks, Ashley!

    ★★★★★

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  117. This was so great! I always make modifications to the recipes I find online (mostly adding lots of extra spice), but I didn’t with this one, and it was perfect! Definitely making again, thank you!

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  118. Thank you for this wonderful yummy recipe. This was my first read of your recipe and i tried it. My family and I love it. I do have one question if i want to add more rice to this recipe, how would my masala proportion change.. say for 2 pounds chicken and 3 cups of rice? TIA

    ★★★★★

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    • If you want to make more biryani you can just double/triple the recipe but keep the cook time the same – I have doubled the recipe but haven’t tried tripling it in my 6 quart so not sure if that will fit! I typically use equal amounts of water + rice but again haven’t tried it differently than what I’ve tested/written in my recipe. Let us know how it goes if you change it up!

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  120. Hi there!

    I am not able to find the video to this recipe. It takes me back to this site. Could you upload the video again?

    Reply

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