What is Biryani?
Biryani is an iconic Indian dish that can be found all over the world. In fact, according to its Wikipedia page, it is the most ordered dish at Indian restaurants worldwide. Of course, Wikipedia isn’t the most reliable source on the internet. But it sounds about right to me, so I’m just going to stick with it for now.
In the simplest of terms, biryani is a seasoned mixed rice dish. And the most common ingredients are rice(often basmati), spices(both whole and ground), aromatics(like garlic, ginger, and herbs), and yogurt. All of which is layered and cooked with some form of either meat(chicken, goat, fish), eggs, or in today’s case vegetables.
Instant Pot vs. Regular Pot
Up to this point I have never shared a recipe that featured an Instant Pot. And don’t get me wrong, I have owned one for a couple of years now and frequently use it for many recipes. However, the truth is not everyone owns an Instant Pot. So making an exclusively Instant Pot recipe has always felt unfair to all the people that didn’t own one.
That being said I love using my Instant Pot when it comes to making biryani, or any rice dish for that matter. It’s just so much quicker than making it in a regular pot over the stovetop. So today I’m going to break precedent and show you how to make this dish in an Instant Pot.
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTT…… Big But.
I’m not going to forget about all of you fine folks that don’t own an Instant Pot. And will be providing instructions on how to make this dish in a regular pot over your stovetop as well. Because honestly there is nothing you can make in an Instant Pot that you can’t easily make in a regular old pot or vice versa.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestion
- The vegetables used in today’s vegetable biryani (potato, cauliflower, green bean, carrot) are some of the most classic vegetables used in this dish. That being said if you don’t care for one or two of those vegetables you can easily swap them out with something else. For example, you can use green peas, mushrooms, bell peppers, or even zucchini.
- While it’s not necessary I like to let the rice sit uncovered for 5 minutes after cooking. This will allow any excess moisture to steam off leaving you with extra fluffy biryani
- If you like this recipe then check out some of our other Indian recipes like Buttered Chicken, Aloo Gobi, Chana Masala, Spinach dal, and Chilli Chicken.
Vegetable Biryani Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
1 Cup of basmati rice
For saffron milk (Optional):
2 Tablespoons of milk, warmed
1 Pinch of saffron strands, crushed into a powder
Whole spices:
1 Bay leaf
1-inch piece of cinnamon
3 Green cardamom pods
2 Cloves
1 Teaspoon of cumin seeds
Vegetables & aromatics:
1 Large onion, thinly sliced
1 to 3 green chilies, slit in half (optional depending on how spicy you like it)
1-inch piece of ginger, finely minced
4 Cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 Small potato, peeled and cubed
1 Medium carrot, peeled and cubed
½ Cup of cauliflower, cut into florets
6 Green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
Remaining ingredients:
2 Tablespoons of oil or ghee
⅓ Cup of yogurt
1 Teaspoon of grama masala
½ Teaspoon of chili powder
¼ Teaspoon of turmeric powder
1h Teaspoon of salt, or more to taste
¼ Cup of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
¼ Cup of mint leaves, finely chopped
1¼ Cups of water for Instant Pot, 1½ Cups for stovetop
Instructions
- Soak the rice: Add the rice to a large bowl and cover it with 3 cups of water. Let the rice soak in the water for 15 minutes then strain it and set it aside.
- Make the saffron milk (Optional): Warm the milk in your microwave or in a small pot over your stove. Add the crushed saffron and let it steep in the warm milk for at least 10 minutes. Set this aside until later.
- Saute the whole spices: Pour the 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee into either your Instant Pot or a regular large pot. If you are using an Instant Pot then press sautee and let it heat up. If you are using a regular pot then simply place it over medium heat on your stovetop. Once hot add in all of the whole spices and saute them in the oil/ghee for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Saute the onion & aromatics: Toss in the sliced onion and stir it in with the whole spices.
Continue to saute all of these ingredients for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onions have started to caramelize. Then add in the sliced green chilies along with the minced ginger and minced garlic, and saute all of these ingredients for another minute or two.
- Cook the vegetables: Add the potato and carrot to your Instant Pot, or regular pot and stir to incorporate them with the other ingredients. Keep sauteing everything for another 3 to 4 minutes. Then toss in the cauliflower florets along with the green beans and continue to saute everything for another minute or two.
- Turn off the heat and add the yogurt, garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, and salt to your Instant Pot or regular pot. Stir well so that everything is coated in the yogurt and spices.
- Layer the vegetable biryani: Sprinkle half of the cilantro and mint leaves over the vegetables. Follow this up by spreading the soaked rice in an even layer over everything. Sprinkle on the remaining cilantro and mint leaves. Pour the optional saffron milk over the rice if you made it. Finally pour 1¼ cups of water around the rice if using an Instant Pot, or 1½ cups of water if using a regular pot on your stovetop.
- Cook the biryani: Place the lid on your Instant Pot and press “Manual/Pressure Cook (Low Pressure)” and set the time for 6 minutes. Once 6 minutes has passed quick release the Instant Pot, remove the lid, and fluff the rice. If you are using a regular pot then place it over high heat and let the water come to a boil. Then cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until all of the water has evaporated. Finally, take it off the heat, remove the lid and fluff the rice.
- Serve the vegetable biryani immediately and enjoy!
Vegetable Biryani Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup of basmati rice
For saffron milk (Optional):
- 2 Tablespoons of milk warmed
- 1 Pinch of saffron strands crushed into a powder
Whole spices:
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1- inch piece of cinnamon
- 3 Green cardamom pods
- 2 Cloves
- 1 Teaspoon of cumin seeds
Vegetables & aromatics:
- 1 Large onion thinly sliced
- 1 to 3 green chilies slit in half (optional depending on how spicy you like it)
- 1- inch piece of ginger finely minced
- 4 Cloves of garlic finely minced
- 1 Small potato peeled and cubed
- 1 Medium carrot peeled and cubed
- ½ Cup of cauliflower cut into florets
- 6 Green beans cut into 1-inch pieces
Remaining ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons of oil or ghee
- ⅓ Cup of yogurt
- 1 Teaspoon of grama masala
- ½ Teaspoon of chili powder
- ¼ Teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 1 h Teaspoon of salt or more to taste
- ¼ Cup of cilantro leaves finely chopped
- ¼ Cup of mint leaves finely chopped
- 1¼ Cups of water for Instant Pot 1½ Cups for stovetop
Instructions
- Soak the rice: Add the rice to a large bowl and cover it with 3 cups of water. Let the rice soak in the water for 15 minutes then strain it and set it aside.
- Make the saffron milk (Optional): Warm the milk in your microwave or in a small pot over your stove. Add the crushed saffron and let it steep in the warm milk for at least 10 minutes. Set this aside until later.
- Saute the whole spices: Pour the 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee into either your Instant Pot or a regular large pot. If you are using an Instant Pot then press sautee and let it heat up. If you are using a regular pot then simply place it over medium heat on your stovetop. Once hot add in all of the whole spices and saute them in the oil/ghee for 30 seconds to 1 minute
- Saute the onion & aromatics: Toss in the sliced onion and stir it in with the whole spices. Continue to saute all of these ingredients for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onions have started to caramelize. Then add in the sliced green chilies along with the minced ginger and minced garlic, and saute all of these ingredients for another minute or two.
- Cook the vegetables: Add the potato and carrot to your Instant Pot, or regular pot and stir to incorporate them with the other ingredients. Keep sauteing everything for another 3 to 4 minutes. Then toss in the cauliflower florets along with the green beans and continue to saute everything for another minute or two.
- Turn off the heat and add the yogurt, garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, and salt to your Instant Pot or regular pot. Stir well so that everything is coated in the yogurt and spices.
- Layer the biryani: Sprinkle half of the cilantro and mint leaves over the vegetables. Follow this up by spreading the soaked rice in an even layer over everything. Sprinkle on the remaining cilantro and mint leaves. Pour the optional saffron milk over the rice if you made it. Finally pour 1¼ cups of water around the rice if using an Instant Pot, or 1½ cups of water if using a regular pot on your stovetop.
- Cook the biryani: Place the lid on your Instant Pot and press “Manual/Pressure Cook (Low Pressure)” and set the time for 6 minutes. Once 6 minutes has passed quick release the Instant Pot, remove the lid, and fluff the rice. If you are using a regular pot then place it over high heat and let the water come to a boil. Then cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until all of the water has evaporated. Finally, take it off the heat, remove the lid and fluff the rice.
- Serve the vegetable biryani immediately and enjoy!
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