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Instant Pot Keema Biryani (Spiced Ground Meat and Rice)

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This flavorful and mouthwatering keema biryani, a spiced ground meat and rice dish, is about to become your new favorite meal! Instant Pot Keema Pulao

Keema biryani or keema pulao is a one-pot dish made up of spiced ground meat, long-grain basmati rice and aromatic spices. It’s a weeknight favorite at our house as well as a dish we serve when we have company. It’s so easy to make and impressive too!

If you have my cookbook then this recipe might look familiar to you. In my book, I called this dish keema pulao. The word keema means ground meat (have you tried my instant pot keema yet?!) and pulao or pilaf is just rice cooked with spices. I decided to change the name of this dish to keema biryani here on the blog because apparently there are more people who search for “keema biryani” than “keema pulao.” These are things that food bloggers have to think about… This dish is very flavorful so I suppose it really is more like biryani since pulaos are typically a bit more subtle in flavor. You can call this keema biryani or keema pulao or keema rice or ground meat pualo. Or just call this “that scrumptious rice dish from myheartbeets” 😉 Whatever you call it, know that it’s absolutely delicious.

keema biryani instant pot

If I’m making this keema biryani on a weeknight, I’ll sometimes leave out the herbs (I usually have cilantro in the house, but I don’t always have mint). If you’re serving this on a special occasion though then be sure to add the herbs. They add a bright fresh flavor to the dish. My goal for the spring/summer is to grow my own cilantro, mint and parsley so hopefully I’ll always have fresh herbs nearby. I have a brown thumb (both literally and figuratively) so I’m hoping I don’t kill my new plants right away. It makes me so happy to see pretty green herbs every day.

If you’ve tried my chicken biryani or my shrimp biryani or my lamb/beef biryani then you know I know good biryani. Biryani has been one of my favorite things to eat for as long as I can remember so I know what good biryani should taste like. This keema biryani is so dang good. You are going to love it!

keema biryani instant pot

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!

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Instant Pot Keema Pulao

Keema Biryani (Keema Pulao)

★★★★★ 4.9 from 15 reviews
  • Author: My Heart Beets
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Description

This one-pot dish of spiced beef and rice is both a weeknight favorite at our house and a dish we serve when we have company. It’s flavorful and really quick to make. I’ll sometimes leave out the chopped cilantro and mint, but if you want it to taste extra special then don’t forget to add the herbs.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups basmati rice, soaked for 15-30 minutes
  • 2 tablespoons oil of choice

Whole Spices

  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ cinnamon stick
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

  • 1 pound ground meat of choice
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 5 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons minced ginger
  • ½ – 1 Serrano pepper or green chili, minced, adjust to taste

Ground Spices

  • 3 teaspoons coriander powder
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne

  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
  • ¼ cup 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, then add the oil to the pot. Allow the oil a minute to heat up, then add the whole spices to the pot and give them a stir. Once the spices begin to sizzle, add the ground meat, onions, garlic, ginger, Serrano pepper and cook until the meat is mostly browned.
  3. Add the ground spices, mix well, then add the tomatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until they have softened.
  4. Dump the rice on top of the meat (do not mix) then pour water on top. Sprinkle half the cilantro and mint on top of the rice.
  5. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
  6. Naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
  7. Remove whole spices and sprinkle with remaining cilantro and mint.

Instant Pot Keema Pulao

Comments

  1. ummm just wow! I made this last night for me and my fiancé (who absolutely LOVES biryani) and we were both pretty much speechless. It was DELICIOUS! It tastes like it took hours to make the way the flavors all come together.
    I also made your Instant Pot Saag (half the recipe quantity) and added paneer to it at the end.

    What a meal! We have so many leftovers and we can’t wait to eat it again tonight.

    Ashley! I’ve tried a few of your recipes and I just love them all! Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Bindi, I’m so happy to hear that you and your fiancé liked the keema biryani!! And the saag! Thank you so much for letting me know how the recipes turned out for you guys!! 🙂

      Reply

  2. Hi Ashley. Could you specify what type of tomatoes you are using (or a weight?) I’m afraid I will mess up the liquid content if I use the wrong kind…

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Don’t worry, it’ll turn out well! Any type of tomato will work – I usually just use whatever is available at the grocery store 🙂 You can look for medium sized tomatoes. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  3. Hi Ashley!

    I love all your recipes, but have been limiting myself from the ones that call for whole spices. I know I am missing out by not trying some of these! 🙂

    Where would you recommend I get whole spices? I can double check my local grocery store, but I have a hunch they won’t have all of what I’d need. We do have local Asian markets that are a little bit of a drive from me..would that be a good place to look?

    Also, for the 2 tomatoes – would canned diced tomatoes work as well for this recipe?

    Thanks so much!! I am on a “Staycation” for a couple of weeks here and I really want to do some more cooking, your website is the first place I go for new things to try!
    Carrie

    Reply

    • Hi Carrie! So happy to hear that you like my recipes 🙂 You can find whole spices at any local Indian grocery store if you have one or on Amazon. I am not sure about an Asian market – I would call ahead to see if they carry whole spices. You can also try the Pure Indian Foods website – their spices are great! And Yes, you can use canned diced tomatoes – my guess would be to use half a (14 ounce) can or perhaps a little less than half. Let me know how it goes! Enjoy your staycation 🙂

      Reply

  4. Do you think it’ll taste just as good the next day? I wanted to prepare the night before for guest coming over for dinner the next day.

    Reply

    • Zahraa, yes it’ll be just as good if not better! Indian food always tastes better the next day in my opinion because the flavors have more time to mix together 🙂

      Reply

  6. I made this on Friday night, SO GOOD! My first Indian dish, and my whole family loved it. Will be a regular recipe in our house. ♥️ Thanks Ashley!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Dana, I’m so happy to hear that you made this – and that it was your first Indian dish!! Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out for you and your family 🙂

      Reply

  7. REALLY good. Kind of tastes like a kofta kebab. Was nice with a bit of greek yogurt.

    One issue is that the my instant pot duo 6 qt couldn’t quite get up to pressure due to the low amount of water. Since it’s just steaming the rice I let it sit at whatever pressure it got to for 15 minutes before releasing the steam and it turned out fine. But you may want to adjust the recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Charles, glad you liked this biryani! As for the pot not reaching pressure – just to confirm, you used the same cup to measure both the rice and the water, correct?

      Reply

  8. This was delicious. My 85 year old grandmother who has never really eaten Indian food AND my fuss-pot toddler both loved it too. And so easy!

    Reply

  9. Very enjoyable! I made the biryani with brown basmati, canned tomatoes and only cilantro, though I’d like to try it with the mint also next new. After i released the remaining pressure, i stirred in a couple cups of frozen green peas and let it hang out for a few mire minutes – lovely 🙂 thanks Ashley!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  10. Make this now!!
    I make a lot of Pakistani/Indian food but am admittedly lazy about it. 90% of my recipes use boxed spice mixes, yesterday I was searching for a new recipe to try out and came across this. My initial reaction was nope, I’m not even sure I have actual individual spices but as I read on I figured I’d give the recipe a try. Not only was it easy (thanks to my mom’s recent visit I found all but one of the spices in my cabinet) it tastes AMAZING. Both my kids, my hubby and I all loved it! Now I’m even contemplating cooking over the weekend (unheard of!) just so I can try out another recipe. Thanks so much!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  11. This looks so good! I just recently purchased an instant pot and was searching for desi recipes, so glad to run across your blog and see so many instant pot recipes!!! As a newlywed and new chef, it makes cooking for the in-laws less daunting 😄 Wondering if I can substitute the minced ginger and garlic w ginger and garlic paste, and if so, how much of each? Also, are fried onions ok to use in these recipes or should it be fresh? Can’t wait to try this recipe!

    Reply

    • Aisha, so glad you found my blog! I can’t wait to hear what you think of my recipes! You can use minced/paste interchangeably – it’s fine 🙂 A tiny bit of extra ginger or garlic won’t make too much of a difference. And do you mean the fried onions you get at the Indian grocery store? You can use those as a topping for this biryani 🙂

      Reply

  12. Amazing! Loved this recipe and am looking forward to trying more of your offerings. I live in a tiny town, and ground cardamom and ground cloves were what I had to settle for. Wondering about the whole cloves…after cooking, would they need to be avoided like the cinnamon stick and bay leaves or would they be softened?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thank you!! I can’t wait to hear what you think of more recipes that you try 🙂 As for whole cloves, yes definitely avoid eating them. Also, if you are replacing ground spices for whole spices – use very little, just a small pinch 🙂

      Reply

  13. Hey Ashley, made this once and loved it! I need to double or triple this recipe for guests coming over do you recommend any changes to proportion (or just double/triple everything?) or time? Thank you for all your hard work in creating the perfect recipes 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Nida, so sorry for the late reply! You can double the ingredients but leave the cook time the same – it’ll just take longer to reach pressure 🙂 I haven’t tried tripling the recipe but I think it’d be the same – to leave the cook time the same. I hope your guests loved it!

      Reply

  14. Excellent share ,really enjoyed the biryani.Your recipes are amazing.My husband really enjoyed it.
    Thanks

    Reply

  16. Hi! I love the look of this recipe and want to try. But I don’t have an instant pot. Is there any way I can make this in just a regular pot on the stove? Please do guide me. I would really appreciate it. 🙂

    Reply

  17. I made this for the first time this week, subbing in 15 oz diced tomatoes and cutting the onion down to just a few tablespoons, and it was fantastic.
    One request: My husband has asked me to try a chicken biryani next, but that page is broken. It loads, but you can’t scroll down and read it. I’ve tried in different browsers, with no luck.

    Reply

    • Mary, I’m so happy to hear that you liked the keema biryani! And thank you so much for letting me know – apparently there’s a glitch with my video! I just updated the post and it should work for you now 🙂

      Reply

  18. Sorry if I missed this answer elsewhere, but do you measure the rice by the measuring cup, or by the instant pot/rice cooker cup?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  19. Hi!
    I’m sorry if I am posting again (computer snafu) or if I missed this answer elsewhere. When you measure the rice, are you using a measuring cup, or the instant pot/rice cooker measuring cup (since the “cups” aren’t equivalent).
    Thanks!

    Reply

  21. Hi Ashley, for chicken biryani recipe how many cups of rice can be used in 6 qt instant pot. I want to make it for a party. I want to make biryani for 10-12 people.

    ★★★★

    Reply

  23. Hi Ashley,
    I made the kheema biryani with Soya chunks instead. And it turned out so awesome. Best biryani I have ever made. Thanks a ton!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  25. Hi, i dont have a pressure cooker, do you have any idea how long i should put it in the oven for and what tempurate? Thank you

    Reply

  27. As you know chicken keema cooks real quick. And by following the recipe above, the chicken keema will surely be overcooked.
    Any recommendations on how best I can make this dish without making the chicken keema dry?
    TIA

    Reply

  28. Wow Ashley, what a recipe!!!! I made this for my family as part of my experiment with my new Instant Pot, and we were all blown away. This is going to be a regular meal at our house, as my kids have already asked me to make it next week again. Can’t wait to try out your other recipes!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  29. I don’t see any information about how many the recipes serve unless I am missing it. I am planning a menu for 14 and need to know. Thank you.

    Reply

  30. I added a few extra spices but followed all the other instructions exactly and it turned out so well! Thank you!

    Reply

  31. I made this today not using the IP or rice. I substituted riced cauliflower and 1 cup of cooked quinoa. Super good, or as good as something can be without using real rice! Thank you for your always wonderful spice combintaations.

    ★★★★

    Reply

  32. I tried to make this and followed the recipe but my rice came out totally uncooked! So I have added another 2 cups water and put it back on. Hope it works! Any ideas what could have gone wrong?

    Reply

  33. Ashley, I can’t thank you enough for such wonderful and easy recipes. Will try this keema biriyani today.
    Have 1 quick question…
    How many tomatoes and what size please?
    It’s not listed under ingredients.
    Thanks so much 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Sreeparna! The tomatoes are listed in the recipe card underneath the cayenne – as for size, I’d try to go with medium if you can – it shouldn’t make too much of a difference. I hope that helps and that you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply

  34. Hi! Can I use my frozen Onion Masala for this recipe too? I have so much of it from making it and freezing it from your recipe, and i’d like to try a few new things. If so, I assume hold the onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes, but where would i add the frozen pucks?

    Reply

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