Instant Pot Chicken Pulao is a one-pot meal that comes together quickly.

On Sundays we usually have a special lunch, it’s always been that way. The most common dish on the menu is Chicken Pulao. Cooked in an Instant pot it is an even faster meal!

I just love the Instant Pot and use it very often to make quick meals.

It is basically a pressure cooker that does not make as much noise, aside from having preset buttons and a timer!

It’s more convenient than a pressure cooker as it switches off after the set time. So you don’t have to babysit it!

But if you do not have an Instant Pot, you can use a pressure cooker.

Amazon recommendations:

If you would like to buy an Instant Pot, these are the ones from Amazon that I recommend Instant Pot 6qt or Instant Pot Duo Mini 3qt

These are the 2 that I have and I use them so often! There is this Instant Pot Duo Plus Mini It is the newer version of the 3qt version mentioned above.

( The above links are affiliate links, which means that if you decide to buy the products using these links, I will receive a small commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you. Please know that I only recommend products that I love and are of great quality. Thanks for your support!)

What are the ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Pulao?

Chicken – You can use chicken thighs as it is the most flavorful part of the chicken. Chicken drumsticks can be used too or a mix of both.

Onions – Here in the US, we get white onions, yellow onions, and red onions. The most commonly used for cooking is the yellow onion. In this recipe, I used yellow onions thinly sliced.

Tomatoes – I used Roma Tomatoes as that’s what I buy. But you could use regular tomatoes.

Ginger garlic paste – You can use store-bought or homemade. Homemade is always best, but I used store-bought as I do not make my own.

Cilantro – You can use the stalks of the cilantro too as we are going to grind in a blender.

Mint – optional, you could use a few mint leaves if you have, this will be ground along with the cilantro and green chilies.

Green chilies – I use the green chilies bought from the Indian Grocery, they are Thai green chilies. I think a good substitute for these would be Serrano peppers.

Rice – Basmati Rice is the best rice to use for Pulao’s and Biriyani. Over here I use Royal Basmati Rice purchased from the Indian Grocery. I have seen Basmati Rice in the regular grocery store, it is pretty much widely available now. The rice is washed and soaked for about 20 minutes.

Whole Spices – Cardamom, Cinnamon, and Cloves

Kashmiri red chili powder, you could use just regular chili powder.

Salt to taste

Juice of 1 lime

Ghee is also known as clarified butter – Ghee gives it a very rich flavor, but regular oil can be used instead. I used olive oil as I did not have ghee.

How do you make Instant Pot Chicken Pulao?

Wash and soak rice. Cut the chicken into nice size pieces and keep them aside. Slice onions and tomatoes, and keep the spices ready.

Grind cilantro, mint (if using), and green chilies.

Heat ghee/ oil in the Instant Pot. When hot, add whole spices. Stir, add onions and fry well be till it turns brown, add ginger garlic paste and fry for about 5 minutes, add ground cilantro, mint, and green chili paste. Add tomatoes. Fry till soft.

Next add chicken, chili powder, and salt. Mix well, cover, and cook till the chicken is almost done.

Add drained rice, water to be added is 1 and a half cups for every cup of rice. So for 1 cup, it’s 1 1/2, For 2 cups it is 3 cups of water, and so on.

Another thing to note here is there might be some gravy that should be considered when adding water. So if you see that there is about 1 cup gravy, add 1 cup less water. Hope that makes sense! It is actually very important as the Pulao can become overcooked and soggy if too much water is added.

Also in place of water, you can add coconut milk. It will give the Pulao a rich taste.

Check the gravy for salt. Add if needed. Squeeze the juice of a lime. Mix it well. Put the lid on and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes.

Do a quick release after 10 minutes and gently mix it.

Transfer to a serving dish. Enjoy with some Cucumber and Onion Raita.

Instant Pot Chicken Pulao

Indian Spiced Chicken and Rice One Pot Meal

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Author Nandini

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

5 Chicken Thighs (each cut in half), or 1 Kg Chicken
2 cups Basmati Rice
2 Onions sliced (medium size)
2 Tomatoes sliced (medium size)
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
Cilantro (a handful)
Mint ( a few leaves) (optional)
2 green chilies (you can add more if you want it spicy)
1 tsp Red Chili powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Ghee or Oil
1 Lime

Whole Spices

6 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
4 Cardamom pods

Instructions

Wash and soak the Basmati Rice.
Cut the chicken into good-sized pieces and keep aside.
Slice onions and tomatoes.
Make a paste with cilantro, mint(if using), and green chilies in a blender. You can add a little water to grind it.
Heat ghee/oil in the Instant Pot. When hot, add the whole spices.
Add onions, fry well till they are slightly brown ( around 5 to 7 minutes), add ginger garlic paste and fry for another 5 minutes.
Next add the ground cilantro, mint, and green chili paste, give it a mix. Add the sliced tomatoes, fry till soft. (about 5 minutes)
Add chicken , chili powder and salt. Mix well, cover with a lid and cook till chicken is almost done.
Add drained rice, water or coconut milk(if using), and juice of 1 lime. Please refer notes about how much water to add.
Check for salt, add more if required.
Mix it gently. Put the Instant Pot Lid on and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes.
Press cancel when done, Do a quick release after 10 minutes.
Open the Instant Pot and transfer to a serving dish.

NOTES:

You can use a mix of chicken legs and thighs or even pieces of a whole chicken.
Mint is optional.
The spice level depends on the green chilies and red chili powder, so add more if you like it spicy.
Ghee gives this Pulao its rich flavor, but you can use oil too.
When adding the water or coconut milk, it is very important to check how much gravy is in the pot already. The ratio of rice to water is 1:1 1/2. So for every cup of rice, there should be 1 and a half cups of liquid. So if there is already 1 cup of gravy in the pot, you need to add only 2 cups of water or coconut milk for 2 cups of rice.
Coconut milk gives the dish a nice taste, it is optional.
Transfer to a serving dish as soon as it is done to avoid overcooking.

Hope you will try this easy one-pot recipe for your family. Please leave a rating and comment down below, I would love to hear your thoughts on this recipe.

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