Biryani is a labour of love (think homemade lasagne) but it's so worth it. Not the fastest or the least hands on Instant Pot recipe but it's very, very good and a *lot* faster than making on the stove!
Serves two for a filling meal or 4 as part of an Indian feast.
- 300 g chicken thigh fillets, chopped in 1.5 inch pieces (3-4 small ones)
- 60 g Greek yogurt (full fat is best)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp dried methi leaves
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cashews (blanched not salted)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 inch fresh ginger, finely minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 rounded tsp biryani masala (recipe in post to make your own)
- 2/3 cup white basmati rice
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- 1 tsp dried mint
- A few small pinches of saffron
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
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Start by mixing all the marinade ingredients together. Cover and chill for an hour in the fridge. If preferred, you can do this overnight but leave the lemon juice out until you are ready to cook and just mix it in at that stage instead.
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Put the Instant Pot onto Sauté and lightly toast your cashew nuts for a minute or two until they are lightly browned in places. Remove and reserve for now.
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Add in the butter and oil and when melted, add the onions and bay leaf. Cook, stirring regularly until the onions are well browned. This is an important step and it does take some time.
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Add in the ginger and garlic then cook until fragrant. Scrape in the chicken and all of it's marinade, and cook until almost fully cooked. You'll need to stir this regularly and again, takes a bit of time but it's worth it!
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Sprinkle over the biryani masala and mix well. Cancel the Sauté mode.
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Take out half of the chicken and spread what's left in the pot evenly. Sprinkle over half the rice. Add back the remaining chicken. Sprinkle over the rest of the rice.
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Sprinkle over the coriander, mint, a few little pinches of saffron and the toasted cashews. Mix the sea salt into 1/2 cup (125mls) of water and pour gently over the biryani, trying not to disturb the layers.
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Put the lid on, set to Manual High for 5 minutes and do a QPR. Scoop into a serving dish, including any little bits of crunchy rice on the bottom - that's one of the best bits of a proper biryani!
- It's really important to brown the onions well - this maximises the flavour of the finished dish, given that you are diluting the flavour by adding the rice and water and cooking everything as one dish. Deep fried, sticky and brown onions are a frequent (and delicious) addition to many a biryani!
- It's also really important to ensure that the chicken pieces are almost fully cooked before adding the rice and water as with such a short pressure cooking time, there isn't enough time to cook chicken which has only just been "sealed. If you have a thermometer, you can check your chicken has reached at least 70˚C before serving.