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    Home » Recipes » Chicken, Lamb & Seafood

    Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

    February 8, 2023 . By Meeta Arora . 99 Comments | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe
    Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
    Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

    This Instant Pot Chicken Biryani has fragrant rice cooked with tender juicy chicken along with lots of warming spices and caramelized onions. This Indian chicken and rice dish is popular all over the world. This one-pot version made in a pressure cooker is easy to make even on busy weeknights in less than an hour.

    Chicken Biryani served in a plate garnished with onions, lime along with a side of raita

    This biryani has been on repeat in my house. My older daughter absolutely loves it. If you ask anyone to make biryani, all that would come to their mind is - first, the best, most flavorful rice dish, and then, it takes a long time to make and involves multiple steps.

    This recipe is different than the traditional biryani. It is made as a one-pot dish in the pressure cooker, similar to my vegetable biryani. Yes, that's right, I use just one pot to cook this biryani, and one bowl to marinate the chicken. And the biryani is just as flavorful with the complex flavors from mixing the rice, marinated chicken, caramelized onions, spices and saffron!

    Jump to:
    • What is Biryani?
    • Why you will love this Instant Pot Biryani?
    • How to make Chicken Biryani in Instant Pot?
    • Tips to make Perfect Chicken Biryani
    • Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

    What is Biryani?

    Biryani is one of the most popular Indian dish that is made with rice, meat and/or vegetables, and spices. Traditionally biryani has layers of meat and rice that are slow-cooked in a heavy bottom pot on the stovetop or in the oven. This is called Dum Biryani.

    It is believed that Biryani originated in Persia and was brought to India by the Mughals. There are many variations of biryani in different regions of India. Hyderabadi, Chettinad, Malabar, Sindhi, are few of the variations you might hear about.

    Why you will love this Instant Pot Biryani?

    • One-pot: This biryani made in the instant does not require to cook chicken and rice separately and then layer it together. This means we make it all in one-pot, which means less mess and dishes. But mind you, it is just as flavorful as the authentic dum biryani.
    • Takes less than an hour to make: This is including marination and pressure cooking time. So it is just 30 minutes of active effort to make this one-pot meal!
    Chicken Biryani served in a platter

    How to make Chicken Biryani in Instant Pot?

    When I think of biryani, layers of meat and rice, topped with lots of caramelized or fried onions, come to my mind. And I did not want that to change even if I was making this one-pot version of my Chicken Biryani. So let me show you how I achieve that in the instant pot!

    Let's start with getting the ingredients ready for the biryani.   

    ingredients for chicken biryani

    Onions: In this recipe, I am caramelizing the onions by sautéing in the pot before adding the other ingredients. Traditionally, fried onions are also added to biryani. However remember that store-bough fried onions are not gluten-free. So feel free to fry them separately at home if you like. You can add some fried onions when marinating the chicken and some on top after cooking the biryani.

    Chicken: I used boneless chicken thighs in this recipe. You can also use bone-in chicken when making biryani. Just pressure cook for 4 minutes before layering the rice. More details in notes.

    Marinating the Chicken

    We will marinate the chicken as that makes it much more tender and flavorful. Add the yogurt, spices, ginger, garlic paste, lime juice and mint, cilantro leaves. Mix all well and refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

    Marinating the chicken for biryani with yogurt, spices, and mint, cilantro leaves

    At the same time, rinse the rice with water and soak it. I always use long grain basmati rice for biryani. The final dish looks amazing with the extra long cooked rice.

    When you are ready to start cooking, soak the saffron strands in warm milk.

    Caramelize the Onions

    Start the instant pot on sauté mode and let it heat. Add ghee, and then the cashews, raisins and saute them for about a minute until they are lightly golden. Take out and reserve for later.

    Then add in sliced onions and caramelize them.  This is the cooking step that takes some active effort, as you need to stir the onions frequently as they caramelize. Once caramelized, remove and keep aside half the onions. We will use these to garnish at the end.

    Add the whole spices and saute for 30 seconds to release their aroma. Add in the marinated chicken and cook for 3 minutes stirring frequently.

    Steps to make biryani in the instant pot

    Pressure Cook the Biryani

    Make sure to deglaze the pot as you sauté the chicken. This is important to avoid the bur message. Then spread the chicken at the bottom of the pot.

    Add in the rice and spread it over the chicken. Spread the saffron soaked in milk.

    Then add the water, and pressure cook the biryani.

    Chicken Biryani being made in the instant pot step by step

    After pressure cooking, the rice should be well cooked and fluffy. They should not be mushy.

    Garnish with the reserved caramelized onions, cashews and raisins. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

    Do not overmix the biryani in the pot.  When you scoop out the biryani from the pot, do from the bottom of the pot, so you get both chicken and rice with each scoop.

    Chicken Biryani served in a platter garnished with onions and limes

    Enjoy this tasty Chicken Biryani with raita.

    Tips to make Perfect Chicken Biryani

    • Prep the ingredients: It helps to have all the ingredients ready before you start to cook biryani.
    • Marinate the Chicken for at least 20 minutes. It helps to make the chicken tender and flavorful.
    • Deglaze: Make sure to deglaze the pot well, so that you don't get a burn message.
    • Use high quality spices. If possible, make Garam Masala at home for the extra bold flavor. Here is my mom's Garam Masala recipe.
    • Use ghee to get the real flavor of biryani. I like to make ghee at home in the instant pot.
    • Enjoy this biryani with a cooling raita such as this Cucumber Raita. And serve Sheer Khurma as a dessert.

    Hope you enjoy this easy one-pot biryani. Do share how it turned out in comments or share a photo on instagram with #pipingpotcurry.

    Tried this recipe?Give a rating by clicking the ★ below
    chicken biryani served on a plate garnished with cilantro, onions and lime

    Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

    Meeta Arora
    This Instant Pot Chicken Biryani has fragrant rice cooked with tender juicy chicken along with lots of warming spices and caramelized onions. This Indian chicken and rice dish is popular all over the world. This one-pot version made in a pressure cooker is easy to make even on busy weeknights in less than an hour.
    4.93 from 88 votes
    Print Save Saved! Pin
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 453
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Indian
    Diet: Gluten-free
    Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
    Prep Time: 30 mins
    Cook Time: 30 mins
    Total Time: 1 hr

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 lb Chicken boneless cut into 1.5" inch pieces
    • 1 cup Basmati Rice washed and soaked for 20 minutes
    • 2 tablespoon Ghee
    • 10 Cashews
    • 12 Raisins
    • 1 Onion thinly sliced
    • 2 tablespoon Milk warm
    • 10 strands Saffron (Kesar)
    • 1 cup Water

    For marination

    • ½ cup Plain Yogurt I used full-fat
    • 1 teaspoon Garam masala
    • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
    • ½ tablespoon Ginger paste
    • ½ tablespoon Garlic paste
    • 1 teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
    • 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoon Mint leaves chopped
    • 2 tablespoon Cilantro leaves chopped

    Whole Spices

    • 1 stick Cinnamon (Dalchini)
    • 2 Bay leaf (Tej Patta)
    • 5 Green Cardamom (Elaichi)
    • ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
    • ½ teaspoon Black Peppercorns
    • 4 Cloves (Laung)
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    Instructions
     

    Marinate the chicken:

    • Add chicken in a bowl with all the marinate ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate it for 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours).

    Preparing the biryani:

    • Add the milk to a small bowl and warm it in the microwave. Add the saffron strands to it. Keep aside.
    • Start the instant pot on sauté mode and heat it. Add ghee, and then the cashews, raisins and saute them for about a minute until they are lightly golden. Take out and reserve for later.
    • Add in the sliced onions. Cook them for about 10-12 minutes until onions caramelize. Stir frequently, so they don't stick to the bottom. Take out half of the caramelized onions.
    • Add the whole spices and saute for 30 seconds. Add the marinated chicken. Mix well and saute for about 3 minutes minutes. Make sure to deglaze the pot well. Then spread the chicken evenly on the base of the pot.
    • Spread the rice evenly over the chicken. Spread the saffron soaked in milk on top of the rice. Then add the 1 cup of water to the pot. Close the lid with vent in sealing position.
    • Change the instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 4 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, do a 10 minute NPR. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the pressure manually.
    • Garnish with the reserved caramelized onions, cashews and raisins. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves. Serve chicken biryani with raita.

    Video

    Notes

    Chicken: I used chicken thighs to prepare this biryani, you can use chicken breasts or legs too. If using chicken legs, sauté as in the recipe, then pressure cook for 4 minutes before adding the rice and continuing the next steps. 
    Spice level: This recipe is for medium spiced biryani. Add or reduce the spice to your taste.
    How to avoid burn? The newer versions of instant pot are more sensitive and are prone to give a burn message for rice dishes. Make sure to deglaze the pot after sautéing the chicken. If you still face an issue, consider sautéing the onions in a separate pan on stovetop. 

    Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 453kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 31gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 752mgPotassium: 736mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 371IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 112mgIron: 2mg
    Keyword easy, instant pot, one pot, pressure cooker
    Tried this recipe?Share your photo and tag @PipingPotCurry or #pipingpotcurry

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Becky says

      March 03, 2023 at 6:58 pm

      This was super tasty!! However, I think 1 cup of water for 1 cup of soaked rice and chicken with marinate is too much. Rice was a bit too mushy, any way to make it more fluffy?

      Reply
      • Becky says

        March 03, 2023 at 9:27 pm

        I used Kirkland Signature Basmati rice and cooked it for 10min, no soaking. So maybe that was too long. Next time I will try 20min soaking and 4 min manual setting.

        Reply
        • Meeta Arora says

          March 09, 2023 at 3:23 pm

          Thanks for the details, Becky. You can also reduce the water just a little (about 2 tablespoons) so that the rice is not mushy. Happy to hear you enjoyed the taste of the biryani!

    2. Nabila says

      February 24, 2023 at 7:54 am

      Can we add potatoes to this? Same cooking time?

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        March 09, 2023 at 3:24 pm

        Hi Nabila - Sure, you can add potatoes to the biryani. Cut them into 1.5-2 inch pieces. I hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    3. Agill says

      February 04, 2023 at 8:19 pm

      Great recipe! Followed directions exactly other than sauté my onions in the lower setting half way through & using canola oil instead of ghee. I would probably want to make it a bit more spicer next time around. The results made me feel confident about cooking. Appreciate your detailed and accurate instructions!

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        February 06, 2023 at 4:37 pm

        Glad you enjoyed the biryani. Thanks for sharing your experience!

        Reply
    4. Ma says

      January 29, 2023 at 4:17 pm

      Thanks for sharing this recipe. From your notes it clear that we need to pressure cook for 4 minutes If using chicken with bone . But do we need to add some water at this step. First time using chicken in instant pot and not sure if water is needed. Please advise

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        February 06, 2023 at 4:46 pm

        Hello - Great question. You can add 1/2 cup of water at this point with the chicken. Then reduce the water you add later with the rice by 1/2 cup. Hope you enjoy the biryani!

        Reply
        • Jyoti says

          March 15, 2023 at 3:41 pm

          What are the measurements in pressure cooker?

        • Meeta Arora says

          March 22, 2023 at 4:25 pm

          Hi Jyoti - The same measurements would work for a stovetop pressure cooker too. Pressure cook for 2 whistles and then let the pressure release naturally.

    5. Sarah T says

      December 30, 2022 at 3:58 pm

      I made this today and it turned out great! My Desi husband will be so thrilled! (I am not Desi.) I ended up emptying out the IP after sauteeing the raisins/nuts as there was too much residual "nut crumbs" and I didn't want them to burn when doing the onions. Also, the onions started to burn for me on Normal sauté heat so WHEN I make this again, I will set the sauté feature to "low" instead. I didn't have cashews so I used slivered almonds instead and it was perfect. The flavors were great and just enough heat for me. My husband will probably want to add a little bit more heat though. I used about a 2" stick of cinnamon and that was the perfect amount. I want to double this recipe for next time as the portion was small for our family of five. I'm wondering how much longer I should cook for once I get to the pressure cooking part. Any advice?

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        January 04, 2023 at 10:57 am

        Hi Sarah - So glad that you enjoyed the biryani. The pressure cooking time will remain the same even if you double the quantity in the recipe.

        Reply
    6. Kunal says

      December 29, 2022 at 1:58 pm

      Would the pressure cook time increase if I use bone-in chicken?

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        January 04, 2023 at 10:58 am

        Hi Kunal - I have included details in notes. You will need to precook a little for bone-in chicken. Use the same time as chicken legs. Hope you enjoy the biryani!

        Reply
    7. Sheena says

      December 14, 2022 at 3:12 pm

      This is really delicious! Question: if I was using boned-in chicken would the cooking time change?

      Reply
      • Meeta Arora says

        January 04, 2023 at 10:59 am

        Hi Sheena - Glad you enjoyed the biryani. I have included details in notes. You will need to precook a little for bone-in chicken. Use the same time as chicken legs.

        Reply
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