Instant Pot keema biryani
Fragrant basmati rice and warmly spiced beef cooked together under pressure, topped with sweet golden onions and cilantro.
- 60 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.56 a serving
- 600 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups water
Each serving has about 600 calories, 29 g protein, 62 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $2.56 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No plain yogurt? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice until the water runs clear, then cover it with cold water and soak 15 minutes. well.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Soaking helps the long grains cook up separate and fluffy.While it soaks, the onion thinly, the garlic and grate the ginger.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Set the Instant Pot to Sauté, add the oil and onion, and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until deep . Scoop out half the onions for the top.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Deep golden onions are the sweet, savory heart of biryani, so give them the full time.Add the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then the beef. Cook 6 to 7 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left.
Timer: 7 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garam masala, cumin, turmeric, cayenne and salt for 1 minute, then stir in the yogurt.
Pour in the water and scrape the bottom of the pot until nothing is stuck.
Dolly’s tip: Stuck bits set off the burn warning. Scrape until the bottom feels smooth.Spread the rice evenly over the top and press it under the liquid. Don’t stir.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on high for 6 minutes. Let the pressure drop on its own for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest.
Timer: 6 min
Gently fluff with a fork, the beef up from the bottom, and top with the saved onions and cilantro.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Mexican beef and rice
45 min
Instant Pot beef biryani
110 min
Instant Pot tempeh jambalaya
55 min
Instant Pot chicken jambalaya
45 min
One-pan dinners ›Make-ahead and freezer-friendly ›What to make with ground beef and rice ›