Fast Chicken Biryani Made in the Instant Pot®

Ingredients 0/25

Step 1

Rins the basmati rice under cold water until it runs clear. Then, soak the rice in a bowl of fresh water and let it sit for about 30 minutes. While the rice soaks, mix the chicken pieces with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, half a teaspoon of garam masala, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Give it a good stir to coat everything well, cover it, and pop it in the fridge for half an hour.

Step 2

Once the chicken has marinated, drain the rice and get your Instant Pot ready. Turn on the sauté function and melt some ghee. When it’s hot and shimmering, toss in the whole spices—cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds—and cook until they smell amazing, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add sliced onions and cook them until they’re soft and fragrant, stirring often.

Step 3

Add the marinated chicken along with any leftover marinade to the pot. Sauté everything until the chicken is nicely browned on all sides, which should take around 5 minutes. Then, turn off the sauté mode. Add the soaked rice, chicken stock, chopped cilantro and mint, the remaining teaspoon of garam masala, turmeric, paprika, and chili powder. Stir gently to combine all the flavors.

Step 4

Seal the lid and set your pressure cooker to high pressure for 6 minutes. It’ll take about 10 to 15 minutes for the pot to build up pressure before the cooking time starts. When the timer goes off, carefully release the pressure using the quick-release method as per your cooker’s instructions. Once it’s safe to open, fluff the biryani with a fork and serve it up right away.