Whole chicken biryani made in the Instant Pot; incredibly delicious…
Made this delicious whole chicken biryani for my Man’s birthday. After owning an Instant Pot, I always make biryani in the Instant Pot. After cooking the chicken and masala, basmati rice is cooked in the chicken stock; this will make the rice taste extremely flavorful.
This time, I’ve used whole chicken for making the biryani. After cooking the whole chicken, slightly pan-fried it- this will make the whole chicken taste better. Cooked basmati rice in the chicken masala. Served the whole chicken over basmati rice, topped with fried onions, cilantro, and mint leaves.
A great biryani to serve on any special occasion.
Instant Pot Whole Chicken Biryani- Instant Pot Biryani Recipe
Cook time
Total time
Author: Thasneen
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
For making Marinade
- Small onions- 5
- Garlic- 4 cloves
- Ginger- 2-inch slice
- Cilantro- ¼ cup
- Whole cardamoms- 3
- Whole cloves- 2
- Whole cinnamon- 2-inch slice
- Chili powder- 3 tsp
- Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
- Coriander powder- 3 tsp
- Salt- 3 tsp
- Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
- Water- ¼ cup
For making garlic/ginger/chili paste
- Garlic- 4 cloves
- Ginger- 2-inch slice
- Green chili- 2
- Whole cardamoms- 3
- Whole cloves- 2
- Whole cinnamon- 2-inch slice
For cooking Chicken
- Ghee- 3 tbsp
- Oil- ¼ cup
- Onion, sliced- 4, large
- Tomatoes, chopped- 2
- Curry leaves- 1 sprig
- Whole Chicken- 1.5 Kg or 3 lbs
- Cilantro, chopped- ¼ cup
- Mint leaves, chopped- 8 leaves
- Salt- 1½ tsp
For Pan-frying chicken
- Oil- ¼ cup
For cooking Basmati Rice
- Basmati Rice- 2 cups
- Saffron- 2 pinches soaked in 1 tbsp water
- Salt- 1½ tsp
Assembling
- Fried onions- ½ cup
- Roasted almonds or cashew nuts- 10
- Cilantro, chopped- ¼ cup
- Mint leaves, chopped- 5 leaves
Instructions
- In a blender, add all the ingredients 'for making marinade'. Blend to a smooth paste.
- Whole chicken I've used is around 1.5 kg or 3 lbs. Put gashes on the chicken.
- Rub the chicken evenly with the marinade.
- Cover chicken with a plastic wrap, keep in the refrigerator overnight or let marinate for 3 to 4 hours.
- In a food processor or blender; grind ginger, garlic, green chili, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon to a coarse paste. Keep aside.
Cooking Whole Chicken
- Turn on the Instant Pot. Turn on Saute Mode, Normal Temperature.
- Add ghee and oil to the stainless steel pot.
- Add sliced onion, season with 1½ tsp salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic/ginger/green chili mix. Combine well and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, saute for 3 minutes.
- Add curry leaves.
- Make sure onions don't turn brown and the bottom of the stainless steel pot is not brown- if it turns brown while cooking chicken burn sign will appear.
- Place the marinated whole chicken. Garnish with cilantro and mint leaves.
- Close the pot with the lid.
- Turn on Pressure cook mode at high pressure, set time to 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes of cooking, do a quick pressure release.
- Open the lid.
- Remove the cooked whole chicken from the pot.
- Keep aside the onion masala with chicken stock in it.
- Place a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add ¼ cup oil.
- Place the whole chicken over the oil and pan fry till all the sides turn golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate, cover with aluminum foil; keep aside.
Cooking Basmati Rice
- Soak basmati rice in 2 cups water, soak for 10 minutes.
- Rinse the rice with water, drain water.
- Add the rice to the onion-chicken stock.
- Add saffron water and 1½ tsp salt.
- Close the pot with the lid.
- Turn on pressure cook mode at high pressure, set time to 6 minutes.
- After 6 minutes of cooking, do a quick pressure release.
- Open the lid.
- Fluff the rice with a spoon.
- Cover the rice pot with aluminum foil. Keep aside for a few minutes.
- Into a large bowl, add cooked rice as the bottom layer.
- Place whole chicken over the rice.
- Garnish with fried onions, roasted almonds, cilantro and mint leaves.
- Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and keep aside for 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve along with raita and pickle.
