Instant Pot vegetable biryani
Long-grain basmati layered with warmly spiced vegetables and cooked in one pot, then crowned with crispy onions and served with a cool cucumber raita.
- 60 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.18 a serving
- 490 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- 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
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1½ cups cauliflower, small florets
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1½ cups plain yogurt, divided
- 1½ cups frozen mixed vegetables
- ½ cucumber, grated
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups water
Each serving has about 490 calories, 14 g protein, 81 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $2.18 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 plain yogurt? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No frozen mixed vegetables? Frozen peas or frozen corn or frozen green beans work.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice until the water runs clear, cover it with cold water and soak 20 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: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: Soaking gives you long, separate grains that don’t break.Meanwhile, the onions, the garlic, the ginger and cut the cauliflower into small florets.
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.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Set the Instant Pot to and heat the oil.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Cook half the onions, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes, until deep and .
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.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: These crispy onions are the classic topping. Pull them out when they’re golden brown, before they turn dark.Scoop them onto a paper towel.
Add the rest of the onions and cook 4 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic, ginger, bay leaves and all the spices for 1 minute, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Timer: 5 min
Stir in ½ cup of the yogurt, the cauliflower, mixed vegetables and salt and cook 2 minutes. Press Cancel.
Timer: 2 min
Pour in the water and scrape the bottom well. Spread the rice on top and press it gently under the liquid without stirring.
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.
Dolly’s tip: Leaving the rice in its own layer keeps it fluffy and stops it sticking to the bottom.Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing and cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes.
Timer: 6 min
Let the pressure come down on its own for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep your hand and face away from the valve. The steam is very hot.Meanwhile, stir the rest of the yogurt with the cucumber and of salt to make a raita.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Fish out the bay leaves, fluff the biryani gently with a fork, and top with the onions, cilantro and mint. Serve with the raita.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
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.
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