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 Butter Chicken and that’s saying A LOT. 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!
“I just made this recipe for the 3rd or 4th time…losing track now, but my wife and I absolutely love it. Perfect times, ratios, and proportions.”
Randolph
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? 😉
More Indian Recipes
Chicken Biryani Recipe (Instant Pot)
Chicken Biryani Recipe (Instant Pot)
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!
Judy says
Can this be made stove top ? Any particular steps for that.
Cam says
Hello, I may have missed this but how many people does this recipe serve?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi, it’ll serve 4 people.
Swagata says
Hi-
This recipe is always a crowd-pleaser, but I haven’t made it in some time. I can’t remember–
(1) Is is 1 cup of rice in a “regular’ measuring cup, or 1 cup in a “rice cooker” measuring cup, which is a little smaller, I think, and
(2) Do we use table salt, or Kosher salt?
Thanks!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Swagata, this recipe uses a standard US measuring cup – same goes for all recipes on this website. As for salt, you can always default to fine sea salt or table salt (both have comparable levels of sodium) unless I specifically mention a different type of salt (eg. black salt or kosher salt). Thanks for asking this question – I’m going to update my FAQ to include the information about salt!
Tanya says
Hi how do you find or separate the whole spices to remove before eating?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Tanya, most of the time I just remove it as I’m eating. I wrote a post about this if you’d like to take a look: https://myheartbeets.com/do-i-remove-whole-spices-before-serving-indian-food/
BP fun says
can I double up the batch? I want to feed a bunch of people and making twice the amount in the same instapot is something I want to do but don’t want to mess things up…….
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Yes, you can double this recipe – just double all of the ingredients but keep the cook time the same 🙂
Russ Adams says
This was delicious! I have travelled to South India many times but have struggled to find restaurants that prepare regional food back here in the U.S. A few more recipes like this and I won’t need to worry about that!
I do prefer using brown basmati though. How can I adjust this recipe to use it instead of white?
Thank you for the great recipes!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Russ, I’m so glad you liked it! I think brown basmati rice will work fine here – I’d adjust the cook time to 22 minutes and keep everything else the same. Since it calls for chicken thighs, the meat won’t overcook. Let me know how it goes! And let me know what you think of any other recipes you try 🙂
Gael says
Can you make this with Brown Basmati Rice?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Gael, I haven’t tried myself but don’t see why not 🙂
Randolph says
I just made this recipe for the 3rd or 4th time…losing track now, but my wife and I absolutely love it. Perfect times, ratios, and proportions.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Randolph, haha that’s awesome! Glad you’re starting to lose track 🙂 And happy to hear how much you and your wife love it!
Jainee says
I was named biryani disaster by my husband. I have tried so many ways to make biryani but failed continuously for 2 months. I took a break and tried your recipe last night. I couldn’t believe myself when I mixed the cooked biryani and tasted the 1st spoon – not burnt, not mushy, salt was perfect, spices perfect, ratio perfect!
Thanks a lot for taking the tag out, now I’m called the ip biryani queen 🤣
P.S. I added yougurt for marination and some coconut milk with water at the end to add some more flavor. Turned out excellent.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Jainee, I’m so glad I’ve helped you get rid of that terrible nickname, lol! Love the new one haha! Thanks for sharing this story with me lol – it was nice to read 🙂
Lig says
How would the cook time change if I wanted to double the recipe? And if I wanted to add more rice to chicken ratio should add more time to pressure cook?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Lig, you can double all of the ingredients and keep the cook time the same (the pot takes longer to reach pressure which makes up for the extra contents in the pot). I haven’t tried adjusting the ratios in this recipe – if you add more rice to chicken, I think that would be fine but may impact the overall flavor. I would still keep the cook time the same – just make sure to use equal amounts of rice and water.