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.
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: easy, instant pot, one pot, pressure cooker
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.
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Notes
Chicken: I used chicken thighs to prepare this biryani; you can also use chicken breasts or legs. 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 instant pot versions are more sensitive and 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 the stovetop. Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method: Pressure cook on high flame for 3 whistles in the stovetop cooker. Then, let the pressure release naturally.