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close up side shot of instant pot chicken pulao
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5 from 1 vote

Instant Pot Chicken Pulao Recipe

This is a truly delicious and easy Indian chicken pulao recipe that gets ready in under 20 minutes. Learn how to make it in a few simple steps.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 2
Calories: 802kcal
Author: Hina Gujral

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

Ingredients For Chicken Marination:

  • 250 gram skinless, bone-in chicken pieces
  • 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
  • 4 cloves (laung)
  • 1 blade of mace (javitri)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • 1 tablespoon garlic
  • 2 green chili chopped
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • ¼ Cup plain yogurt or curd
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder
  • 1 tablespoon red chilli powder

Ingredients For Pulao:

  • 1 Cup basmati rice
  • ¼ Cup ghee or cooking oil
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
  • 1 cinnamon stick (dal chini)
  • 1 Cup sliced onion
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 ¼ Cup water
  • 2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
  • 2 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
  • 2 green chili sliced

Instructions

Chicken Marination

  • Make Paste A. Blend cardamom, cloves, and mace to a coarse spice powder. Keep aside in a bowl.
  • Make Paste B. Blend ginger, garlic, and green chili to a wet paste using two tablespoons of water. Keep aside in a bowl.
  • Clean, wash and pat dry chicken pieces. Marinate the chicken with curd, salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, Paste A, and Paste B. Mix nicely to coat each piece with the marinade. Let the chicken sit in the marinade for 1 - 2 hours.

Prepare Pulao:

  • Wash and soak basmati rice in water for 30 minutes.
  • Set the SAUTE mode for 10 minutes. Add cooking oil, whole spices to the inner pot. Fry for 10 – 20 seconds to release their aroma.
  • Add sliced onion. Fry till the onion turns light golden.
  • Next, add marinated chicken and fry till chicken pieces turn pale white. This takes 2 - 3 minutes. It ensures the flavors of the chicken are sealed and the pieces are seared nicely. Do not skip this step.
  • Add soaked rice without any water and salt. Stir to combine. Saute for a minute.
  • Add 1 ¼ cups of water. Stir to combine. Taste, if required add more salt. Add mint leaves, coriander, and green chili. Close the lid of the IP. Cancel the SAUTE mode.
  • Set PRESSURE COOK Mode for 5 minutes. After the set timing, let the steam release naturally from the pressure cooker. Open the lid, fluff the rice using a fork, cover the IP with a lid, and serve the pulao after 5 minutes.
  • Serve Chicken Pulao with mint raita and salad.

Video

Notes

  • Use long-grain basmati rice or any other variety of rice with less starch for making the pulao.
  • The ratio of rice to water that works for me is 1: 1 ¼ Cups. Adding too much liquid to cook rice always results in a mushy and sticky pulao.
  • Juice chicken thighs, breast, or leg pieces are the best for making pulao. Make sure all the pieces are of the same size for even cooking.
  • Marinating the chicken makes it tender, more flavorsome, and reduces cooking time.
  • You can make this pulao in a stovetop pressure cooker, electric pressure cooker, or an instant pot. 

Nutrition

Calories: 802kcal | Carbohydrates: 98g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 1660mg | Potassium: 761mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1537IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 4mg