A very easy, one pot chicken biriyani made in the Instant Pot…
Hello, hello, Assalamu alaikum lovely people… I know I have been missing for the longest time again, even though I promised I would be back soon. In fact, the entire month of February, I was trying to do a post, so that I don’t feel like I have missed my blog’s thirteenth birthday, but I did miss it. The post is still in my drafts. And then came Ramadan, Alhamdulillah… One of my favorite Hadiths about this month is the below:
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Every (good) deed of the son of Adam would be multiplied, a good deed receiving a tenfold to seven hundredfold reward. Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, has said: With the exception of fasting, for it is done for Me and I will give a reward for it, for one abandons his passion and food for My sake. There are two occasions of joy for one who fasts, joy when he breaks it, and joy when he meets his Lord, and the breath (of an observer of fast) is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk. (Sahih Muslim 1151e)
It is Allah’s mercy on us that He has left the rewards for this month open. Let us all hasten to do our best to our abilities to please our Rubb…
As usual, my onus is on creating easy meals especially during this month when the onus is on doing more good. Recently, I gifted myself 😉 a Nutripot, which is a competitor brand for the Instant Pot at a better price, when I found it on a great deal. The timing couldn’t have been better – my big pressure cooker was giving up on me and this deal comes up, making me jump onto the purchase. I am really glad I did, I have been cooking in it every second day, if not every day. One thing I really wanted to try was to make a biriyani. I loved how easy it is. I already have a few pressure cooker biriyani recipes on the blog like this one, but since this is a electrical machine, the settings are different.
The ingredients are readily available in your pantry. The only thing is to keep the pieces of chicken smaller than usual to ensure proper cooking. The entire process gets done in around 40 minutes and keeps the biriyani warm till it is time to eat – I love this feature. If you get the chance and have some space on your counter, then I do recommend to get one. I am sure you will not regret it. Meanwhile, let me go share the recipe and I sincerely hope you will try it for yourself as well…
Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Ingredients
- 600 gm chicken cut into small to meduim peices
FOR MARINATION
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp yogurt heaped
FOR RICE
- 1 1/4 cup basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
- 2 tbsp ghee or oil I used mix, more if required
- Mix of whole spices cardamom, black pepper, clove, bay leaf
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 2 green chillies thinly chopped
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tomato chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped coriander and mint leaves
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Wash and drain the chicken well.
- Add all the ingredients under "for marination" and coat well. Set aside till time of use.
- Switch on the Instant pot, take off lid, leave the inside pot. Set on "Saute" mode. Mine automatically shows 15 minutes. Leave it at that timing.
- Once the inner pot gets heated, add the oil and/or ghee. Add in the whole spices if using and saute for a few seconds.
- Add in the onion with some salt and saute occassionally till wilted. Do note that Instant Pot cooks faster than your usual pan, so keep an eye on the same.
- Once wilted, add the ginger garlic paste and chillies and saute for a few seconds.
- Add in the tomato and give a good mix. Cook till the tomato is smashed. If the mixture is getting stuck at the bottom, sprinkle in some water and scrape the bottom well.
- Once the mixture is well cooked, add in the chicken along with all its marination. You may add a couple of tbsp of water to clean up the marination in the pan and add it to the pan.
- Saute occasionally, tossing the mixture well, till the chicken starts to look whitish in color. Cook for roughly 5 minutes.
- Add in the half the coriander-mint leaves and toss well.
- Add in the water, adjust seasoning, allow it to come to a boil. Let it boil for a couple of minutes, or till the "Saute" option goes off.
- Drain the rice. Add into the boiling mixture along with the remaining coriander-mint leaves. Put the lid on.
- Choose the "Pressure Cooker" mode, keep on high, keep the timer for 6 minutes and start the process.
- Once the cooking is done, keep the pressure on for 10 minutes and then release the pressure. If you want eldente rice, then keep for 5 minutes. (refer notes)
- Open the lid, fluff up the rice. Serve hot with sides of choice.