Best Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani made in one pot with aromatic Basmati Rice, vegetables and spices. A delectable Main Course Rice Recipe for family lunches and gatherings! Garnish with lots of Birista and serve it with Raita of your choice or plain yogurt.
Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani - Traditional Indian main course recipe made with Basmati Rice, vegetables and spices in an Instant Pot or Electric Pressure cooker. This dish comes together easily under 30 mins and serves a crowd.
The dish is super versatile and each region across India lends its own flavors and depth to this dish, making it one of the most sought after main course recipes. Biryani has many fans and rightly so!
Since we are opting for modern method of cooking, Instant Pot makes Biryani possible within 30 minutes. Leftovers last for a couple of days which makes it perfect for meal-planning.
After purchasing Instant Pot, Vegetable Biryani was the first dish I experimented with. My first attempt was not satisfactory. The rice and vegetables were over cooked.
Within the next two attempts, I got a hang of things (difference between QPR and NPR), rice to water ratio etc. Hence, this post includes plenty of tips which will help guide instant pot beginners.
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Difference between Biryani and Pulao
Traditionally, Biryani is made with eggs, meat or poultry.
Biryani purists claim that there is no such thing as Vegetable Biryani. However, over the years, the vegetarian version has clearly gained a lot of popularity.
Dum Biryani which is the most popular version of Biryani has layers of rice and vegetables cooked with herbs, spices and aromatics. Birista or crispy onions is the perfect topping and gives it that caramelized and sweet taste.
Slow cooking method of biryani has maximum flavors. However, this requires patience, time and expertise.
If you have a sudden biryani craving, stove-top pressure cooker or instant pot does full justice. The cook time reduces to 1/4th and needs zero supervision.
Pulao on the other hand is a one-pot rice dish. It is simpler than biryani, uses whole spices, saffron, vegetables, coconut milk etc.
Ingredients
Please refer to the full list given in the recipe card
- Basmati Rice - Always rinse the rice couple of times until the water is clear. Soak it for 20 minutes. After 20 mins, drain the water completely and proceed with the next steps.
- Mixed Vegetables - Potatoes (peel and dice them into thick cubes for instant pot cooking), carrots (cut into thick sticks), frozen green peas and green beans (cut into 1 inch length). Soak the potatoes in water until you are ready to cook.
- Other vegetables - Cauliflower, broccoli florets, sweet corn can be used. For protein element, you can add Paneer cubes. If using Mushroom, cut them in half (button mushrooms especially).
- Spices - I have not added whole spices for this recipe. I have used Shaan Biryani Masala which really amped the taste and aroma of this Biryani. Together with Biryani Masala, I have used Turmeric and Kashmiri Red chilli powder.
- Yogurt - Use fresh yogurt. If you are on a vegan diet, feel free to use a suitable substitute or skip the ingredient.
- Herbs - Cilantro or Coriander Leaves and Mint Leaves
- Birista - A key component for Biryani is Birista or crispy fried Onions. I have used Air Fried Birista for this recipe.
Please note that the recipe is nut-free. However, feel free to add nuts like cashew, raisins and almonds fried in ghee as final garnish before serving.
Water to Rice Ratio
- For 1 & 1/2 cups of Basmati Rice, I have used 1 & 1/2 cups of water. Additionally the Basmati Rice is soaked for 20 minutes with 2 cups of water.
- If using 1 cup Basmati Rice, use 1 & 1/4 cup of water. I have tried both the options as this recipe was tested multiple times.
How to Make Vegetable Biryani In Instant Pot
Wash and soak the Basmati Rice for atleast 20 minutes in 2 cups of water. After 20 minutes, drain the water, rinse and keep aside.
Switch on the Instant Pot. Press "SAUTE" mode and once it displays "HOT" or "ON", add oil and jeera or cumin seeds.
Once the cumin roasts slightly, add one finely sliced onion. Sauté for couple of minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon of onion garlic paste followed by mixed vegetables.
Now add turmeric, kashmiri red chilli powder, Biryani Masala and yogurt. Mix well.
Add the soaked and drained rice and finely chopped coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves. Mix gently.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups of water and salt to taste. Mix well and ensure the rice is at the bottom. Scrape all the rice, vegetables and masala stuck on the sides of the instant pot. Add 2 tsp of ghee.
CANCEL "SAUTE" MODE. Close the Instant Pot Lid, set the pressure release valve to "SEALING.
Select "PRESSURE COOK" at "LOW PRESSURE" for 6 minutes. Once pressure cooking is complete, manually release the pressure (move the pressure release valve to VENTING). This helps in preventing the rice from overcooking and fluff up easily.
Once the float valve (shiny silver object) comes down, you can open the lid and remove the steel insert using mittens. You can now switch off the Instant Pot.
Allow the Biryani to rest for 5 minutes before you fluff the rice using a fork.
Tips to cook fluffy non-sticky vegetable biryani in Instant Pot
- Wash basmati rice couple of times and soak for atleast 20 minutes. Prevents the rice from sticking at the bottom, gets rid of excess starch, eases digestion and results in fluffy rice grains.
- For cooking biryani or pulao in instant pot, ensure vegetables are chopped or diced in uniform / equal size. Due to pressure cooking, vegetables tend to disintegrate and turn mushy when cut in small size.
- Always do a manual OR Quick pressure release (QPR) to avoid the rice grains from overcooking.
How to Avoid "Burn" message
- Correct Rice to Water Ration prevents this mishap.
- Always deglaze your instant pot steel insert when sautéing vegetables with dry spices. A splash of water helps. Scrape the bottom using a silicon spatula.
- If for some reason you get "BURN" message, Press "CANCEL" which will stop the pressure cooking. Do a manual pressure release and open the lid. Remove the steel insert and salvage whatever possible (mostly the top layer). Soak the steel insert with some warm water and dishwashing liquid to remove the burnt bits.
- Please ensure you read the Instant Pot Manual completely before experimenting.
Serving Suggestion
Biryani is served with Yogurt Mint Chutney and pickled onions in most restaurants. At home, we serve it with papad, pickles and Raita.
Raita Recipes - Onion Raita, Beetroot Raita, Vegetable Raita, Pineapple Raita and Okra Raita are some of our favorites at home.
Other Instant Pot Rice Recipes
Rajma Pulao (Kidney bean)
FAQ's
Just skip the yogurt and ghee from the recipe. Use Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil.
Biryani stays fresh for more than a couple of days in the refrigerator. Can be easily re-heated in a microwave and eaten. In fact, Biryani tastes very good the next day.
Nuts can be fried in ghee and oil and added as garnish. Popular ones are cashews, raisins and almonds. I have kept the recipe nut-free as we don't prefer the same.
Paneer cubes can definitely be added to make it more delicious. If using store bought paneer, just soak it in some warm water and drain it before adding to the vegetables and spices. It prevents the paneer from becoming chewy in texture.
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Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
1 cup is 250 ml, 1 tbsp is 15 ml, 1 tsp is 5 ml
- 1 ½ cups Basmati Rice to be soaked for atleast 20 mins
- ¾ cup Green Peas frozen used here
- 10 French Beans stringed and cut into 1 inch thick pieces
- 1 Potato (medium size) peeled and chopped into big chunks
- 2 Carrots cut lengthwise
- ¼ cup Thick Curd or Yogurt
- 1 ½ tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoon Ghee
- ½ teaspoon Jeera or Cumin Seeds
- 1 Onion sliced
- 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder optional
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 tablespoon Biryani Masala
- 1 ½ cup Water
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon Coriander and Mint Leaves finely chopped
For Garnish
- 2 tablespoon Air Fried Onions or Birista
- Few Coriander and Mint Leaves as required
Instructions
- Wash and soak the Basmati Rice for atleast 20 minutes in 2 cups of water. After 20 minutes, drain the water, rinse and keep aside.
- Switch on the Instant Pot. Press "SAUTE" mode and once it displays "HOT" or "ON", add oil and jeera or cumin seeds.
- Once the cumin roasts slightly, add one finely sliced onion and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add 1 tbsp of onion garlic paste and the mixed vegetables.
- Now add turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, Biryani Masala and yogurt. Mix well.
- Add the soaked and drained rice and finely chopped coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves. Mix gently.
- Add 1 and 1/2 cups of water and salt to taste. Mix well and ensure the rice is at the bottom. Scrape all the rice, vegetables and masala stuck on the sides of the instant pot. Add 2 tsp of ghee.
- CANCEL "SAUTE" MODE. Close the Instant Pot Lid, set the pressure release valve to SEALING.
- Select "PRESSURE COOK" at "LOW PRESSURE" for 6 minutes. Once pressure cooking is done, manually release the pressure (move the pressure release valve to VENTING). This helps in preventing the rice from overcooking and fluff up easily.
- Once the float valve (shiny silver object) comes down, you can open the lid and remove the steel insert using mittens. You can now switch off the Instant Pot.
- Allow the Biryani to rest for 5 minutes before you fluff the rice.
Notes
- Wash your basmati rice couple of times and soak it for atleast 20 minutes. It helps the rice to cook evenly and fluff up easily. Excess starch in rice causes it to stick so rinsing and draining helps.
- Always cut your vegetables into thick pieces. Instead of adding thin carrot julienne's, add thick pieces that will retain its shape after cooking. Same is the case for potatoes. If adding cauliflower or broccoli florets, add a thick floret instead of a tiny one.
- Do a manual pressure release to avoid the rice grains from overcooking.
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Vidya Narayan
Congratulations Vidya on getting an Instant Pot. I have the same here and plan to get one in India later. Vegetable biryani looks amazing and your easy to follow steps will turn everyone over to getting an IP 🙂
Thank you Vanitha. IP is really useful and quick and I hope the post helps anyone who is planning to buy one.
Love IP Biryani - They are so easy and one of the best!
Absolutely Sandhya, makes a fab weekend meal. Thank you.
I got the same model (altho mini) from my sis last fortnight, Vidya and can't wait to try your delicious biryani recipe. thanks for the tips (esp the pressure release) as am still learning the ropes around this new kitchen toy!
Glad you found the tips useful Kalyani. Good luck with IP, it is one of the best appliances to invest.