Quick Chicken Biryani in the Instant Pot®

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups basmati rice
• water
• 7 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 7 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• ½ tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala, divided
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons ghee
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 pods cardamom, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seed
• ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 large red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• ½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon red chile powder

Step 1

Rins the basmati rice under cold water until it runs clear. Then, soak it in a bowl of fresh water for about 30 minutes. While the rice is soaking, mix the chicken pieces with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, half a teaspoon of garam masala, salt, and pepper. Give it a good stir to coat everything evenly, cover, and pop it in the fridge to marinate while you prepare the rest.

Step 2

Once the chicken has had some time to soak up those flavors, drain the rice and set it aside. Turn on your Instant Pot to the sauté setting and heat up some ghee. When it’s nice and hot, toss in the whole spices—cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds—and cook them until they start to smell amazing, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add sliced onions next and sauté until they’re soft and fragrant, around 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add the marinated chicken along with any leftover marinade to the pot and brown the chicken on all sides for about 5 minutes. Then, turn off the sauté function and stir in the drained rice, chicken stock, chopped cilantro, mint, the rest of the garam masala, turmeric, paprika, and chili powder. Mix everything gently so it’s well combined.

Step 4

Seal the Instant Pot lid and set it to cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. It might take 10 to 15 minutes for the pressure to build up before the timer starts. When the cooking cycle is done, use the quick-release method to let the steam out carefully. Once it’s safe to open, fluff the biryani with a fork and serve it up right away.