Easy and quick Pressure Cooker Chicken Biryani: tender chicken cooked with basmati rice and Indian spices in a Pressure King Pro or Instant Pot for an authentic takeaway-style meal at home.
This is a favourite in our house — fast to prepare and full of flavour thanks to the pressure cooker, which gets the dish on the table in record time.
You will find full ingredients and clear instructions in the recipe card below, plus a step-by-step slideshow showing how we make this Pressure Cooker Chicken Biryani.
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Pressure Cooker Chicken Biryani
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Equipment
- Pressure cooker (Pressure King Pro or Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 chicken thighs, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp garlic puree (or 3 cloves minced)
- 2 tsp chilli puree (or 2 bird’s eye chillies chopped)
Biryani Spices
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cardamom pods
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 450 ml vegetable stock
- 300 g basmati rice
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander (or dried coriander leaf)
Instructions
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Place the pressure cooker on fry/saute mode. Heat the olive oil and fry the diced onion for about 5 minutes until soft and starting to brown.
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Add the garlic puree, chilli puree and the chicken pieces. Stir to combine.
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Add all the spices and continue to fry for about 5 minutes until the chicken has browned. Then turn off fry mode.
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Spread the rice evenly on top of the chicken and pour in 450 ml of vegetable stock. Stir gently to combine the layers.
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Secure the lid and close the valve. Cook on manual/pressure cook mode for 8 minutes. Let the cooker release naturally for 10 minutes, then open the valve to release any remaining pressure.
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The cinnamon stick, bay leaves and cardamom pods should float to the top — remove them, then stir the biryani gently to mix the rice and chicken.
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Serve sprinkled with fresh coriander and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Chicken
We use chicken thigh in this recipe because the dark meat stays juicier and more tender than breast. If you prefer, you can substitute with chicken breast, but cooking times and texture will change slightly.
Is Chicken Biryani spicy?
You control the heat. This recipe uses 2 tsp chilli puree (about 2 small red chillies), which gives a medium level of heat. Adjust to suit your taste.
| Chilli Puree | Fresh Chilli Pepper (Serrano or Bird’s Eye) | |
| Mild | 1 tsp | 1 chilli |
| Medium | 2 tsp | 2 chillies |
| Hot | 3 tsp | 3 chillies |
| Extra Hot | 4 tsp | 4 chillies |
Which chilli peppers to use in the UK?
Serrano chillies are commonly available and often labelled as medium. Heat can vary, so we like chilli puree for consistent results. Bird’s Eye chillies are smaller but usually hotter than Serranos. Remember most heat is in the white membrane around the seeds.
What spices to add to Biryani?
Our spice mix includes paprika, ground cumin, ground allspice, ground ginger, turmeric and ground coriander. Whole spices used during cooking are bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods — remove these before serving. If you prefer, a good curry powder can be used instead.
What to cook Pressure Cooker Chicken Biryani in?
We cook this in a Pressure King Pro, but the same method works with an Instant Pot. The pressure cooker delivers consistent, hands-off results with minimal stirring.
What to serve with Biryani?
We serve this biryani with a simple tomato, cucumber and red onion salad, mango chutney and chapati. It also pairs well with cucumber raita, aubergine curry, mushroom bhaji or a cold beer.
This biryani is quicker than a takeaway and very adaptable — substitute chicken with lamb, prawns or add vegetables such as mushrooms, baby corn, cauliflower, peas, carrots or green beans. Frozen vegetables work well for extra convenience and nutrition.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Biryani is a reliable, flavourful quick meal for any night of the week. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
More Indian Recipes
We have other popular Indian dishes such as chicken pathia, chilli paneer and chicken bhuna. Explore our recipe collection for more curry favourites.
Other rice recipes
We also share recipes for how to cook basmati rice, pilau rice, onion rice and international rice dishes like Jamaican rice and peas or Italian rice salad. Rice dishes are never boring with these options!