Not a grain of truth to the perception that biryani takes hours to prepare. This Instant Pot version gives you all the authentic flavor in a fraction of the time – it will truly be the easiest biryani that you will ever make.
Ingredients
1.5 tbs oil/ghee/butter
3 bay leaves
3 curry leaves
½ stick cinnamon
3 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
Pinch ajwain
Pinch hing
1 tsp each ground ginger and garlic
1 green chili, minced
¼ cup peanuts (can sub cashews)
1 tsp each turmeric powder and red chili powder
1 tsp biryani masala (can sub with garam masala)
1 tsp salt (to taste)
2 cups basmati rice
2.5 cups water
1.5 cups total veggies, diced (potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers)
½ cup frozen green peas, rinsed
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Method
1 Wash and rinse basmati rice twice and soak while chopping veggies
2 Press sauté button on the instant pot
3 Heat oil and add ingredients in this order: cinnamon, cloves, cumin, ajwain, bay leaves, curry leaves, hing, green chili, and peanuts. Stir twice and add onions, ginger, and garlic, and saute for 1 min. Add all remaining veggies except the frozen peas, turmeric, red chili, and biryani masala and cook for 3 min
4 Add ½ cup of water and deglaze the bottom of the instant pot and loosen any burnt bits that may be there. Note: this part is very important to ensure the Instant Pot pressurizes
5 Add drained rice, salt, ½ of the cilantro and gently stir only twice
6 Add remaining water and do not stir. If you want, taste the salt and spices at this time and add more per your taste but do not stir the rice at all
7 Close the pot and pressure cook for 8 minutes or the rice function
8 Once cooking function is done, let the pressure naturally release for 5 min and then release pressure manually
9 Open the Instant Pot, add green peas, and fluff the rice with a fork. Close the lid and place on keep warm mode for atleast 5 minutes. Top with cilantro and enjoy the biryani with yogurt or raita
Tags: Instant Pot, Indian
