Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

What is Chicken Biryani?

Biryani is a popular Indian rice dish that’s mainly made up of rice, meat, vegetables, and Indian spices.

There are many types of biryani, as well as many variations on what ingredients to use depending on the regions, the history, and availability of spices. Biryani can be quite different even between different families!

Even regions outside of the Indian subcontinent such as Middle East, Indonesia, Burma, Singapore…also serve their own tasty versions of this beloved biryani dish.

And so many people love biryani because the distinct luring aromas & richness of flavors combine to make a tasty & comforting dish that is so satisfying to eat! 😀

Aromatic . Flavorful . Comforting

What we look for in a good Chicken Biryani?

• Rice – We developed this Chicken Biryani with Long Grain White Basmati Rice (best to use high quality rice). Great Chicken Biryani yields rice that are firm with bite, fluffy, light, flavorful with special aroma; not mushy, dry, wet, or hard. Each grain of rice has fully absorbed the rich flavors & aroma from the chicken & spices.
• Chicken – We like to use bone-in chicken thighs & drumsticks for more tender, flavorful, & juicier chicken and rice.
• Spices – Try to use high quality bold & distinctive aromatic whole spices (or even better if you can create your own spice blends) that elevate the chicken biryani with different layers of flavors & aroma.

Time for cooking Tasty Chicken Biryani in Instant Pot!

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

Prepare the ingredients for cooking chicken biryani in Instant Pot.

*Pro Tip – Avoid Mushy Biryani: If you are rinsing your rice, make sure to drain it really really well!

Tools for Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

• Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
• Wooden Spoon
• Pyrex Measuring Cups

Brown Chicken in Instant Pot

First, press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” function to heat up Instant Pot. It will switch to “ON” on the screen.

Wait until it says “HOT” on the screen (takes roughly 8 minutes).

*Pro Tip: Make sure Instant Pot is as hot as it can be in order to induce a maillard reaction.

Now, add 2 tbsp (30g) ghee or unsalted butter in Instant Pot.

Pat dry the chicken thighs with a paper towel, then season one side of the chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper.

Place the chicken thighs in Instant Pot (seasoned side face down), then brown for 5 minutes.

Season the other side of chicken thighs with salt and black pepper, then flip the chicken & brown this side for another 5 minutes.

Now, set aside the browned chicken thighs.

Saute Onions & Spices

Add sliced onions in Instant Pot, then saute for 3 minutes. 

Add 2 tsp (9g) garam masala, 1 tsp (3g) turmeric, 3 cloves, 3 (0.75g) bay leaves, 1 (1.5g) star anise, 6 (1.8g) green cardamom pods, and garlic in Instant Pot, then saute for another minute.

*Optional: If you want to make your chicken biryani spicy, add in ¼ – ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper as well.

*Pro Tip: You may want to use a cheap wooden spoon, silicone spatula, or yellow spatula for this recipe (or you can dedicate a spatula just for this tasty chicken biryani) because the turmeric will naturally dye it yellow. 😉

Deglaze Instant Pot & Add Soy Sauce

Now, pour ½ cup (125ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot (as shown in below photo).

*Pro Tip: Make sure to deglaze really well for this biryani recipe.

Add ½ teaspoon (3g) fine salt and 1.5 tbsp (22.5ml) regular soy sauce in Instant Pot, then give it a quick mix.

Pressure Cook Chicken Biryani

Add the browned chicken thighs with all its juice back to the Instant Pot, then add the well drained rice in Instant Pot.

*Pro Tip: Make sure to add the chicken in Instant Pot first and then the rice on top to avoid the “Burn” error.

Pour 1½ cup (375ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot, then ensure all the rice is fully submerged in the stock.

With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

• Chicken Thighs – Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure 7 minutes + Natural Release 10 minutes
• Chicken Drumsticks – Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure 8 minutes + Natural Release 10 minutes

After 10 minutes, release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position.

When Floating Valve drops, open the lid carefully.

Oh~ love how the aromatic spices filled the room as we open the lid. It smells amazing!

Fluff & Season

Now, fluff the deliciously aromatic chicken and rice with a wooden spoon. 

Finally, don’t forget to taste the Chicken Biryani, then adjust the seasoning accordingly. 🙂

*Pro Tip: For reference, we added roughly 1 – 2 pinches of salt to open up the flavors & season the dish properly. 

Serve Instant Pot Chicken Biryani

Garnish the chicken biryani with chopped cilantro, then you’re done!

Serve this tasty chicken biryani steaming hot!

Enjoy this deliciously flavorful & aromatic Instant Pot Chicken Biryani~ 😀

More Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice