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Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani

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Love the vegetable biryani you tasted last time in the best restaurant in town? I can see your taste buds waiting to enjoy the best mum-made delicious spiced yellow rice! Rush to your refrigerator to grab veggies to make this irresistible instant pot vegetable biryani! Serve with Cucumber Raita to make it a complete meal.

Vegetable Biryani

About this recipe

Veg Biryani is an aromatic Indian rice dish made by cooking basmati rice with vegetables, biryani spices, and herbs.

It is a wholesome rice meal on its own and you can make it with vegetables or paneer/tofu or soya chunks. Restaurant-style Veg Biryani is a labor of love and the process is elaborate.

Over a period of time, I love to simplify recipes without any compromise on flavors. That’s exactly how I landed into my perfect Veg Biryani recipe.

I started cooking this Biryani exactly the same way in an open pot, but it was taking longer and required a lot of hands-on.

Instead of cooking separately, we cook all in just one pot ( pressure cooker) and in one go. Moreover, by doing so, we can cut the cooking time and absolutely no babysitting needed.

Once your Pressure Cooker Biryani is ready, serve with raita or side dish of your choice.

PRO TIP – I can highly recommend using Extra Long Basmati Rice. Wash the rice well to remove starch and dirt. Once cooked, each grain separates well and the rice dish looks so amazing.

What is Vegetable biryani?

Biryani is the Hindustani version of the Persian word Birinj which means rice. Looking at the way it is prepared, this word derives its origin from the Persian word Biriyan. In the Persian language, Biriyan means to roast. Add your favorite veggies, whole spices, flavorsome herbs, aromatic masala, long grain basmati rice, and your mouth-watering biryani is ready.

Why make biryani in instant pot?

The traditional method of cooking biryani is the dum method or slow cooking. Original idea was to cook this one-pot dish in a sealed pot using steam. The idea of sealing the utensil is to not let the steam escape the container. This process would take a very long time but the veg biryani is totally amazing. However, the traditional style of cooking uses a lot of dishes. At the end of the day, you can see a lot of dishes piled up in your kitchen sink.

If you cook this biryani in an instant pot, you can save time, and it is as yummy as the traditional version. With the pressure cooker method, prep time is only 10 minutes, and cooking time is less than 30 minutes in total. Your delish Veg Biryani is ready in under an hour from start to finish. The method of cooking this One Pot Biryani is just like the Pulao – but you can have all the flavors of Biryani in this rice!

.What an easy way to make weekends relaxing and impressive! Your family would love it for sure.

Difference between Pulao and Biryani?

Let me tell you one thing – Pulao / Pilau is not Biryani. They are two different rice dishes. Pulao is a one-pot dish, prepared using the absorption method where rice is cooked along with desired veggies and whole spices.

Whereas, traditional biryani is prepared using the draining method. First, we cook plain rice flavored with whole spices and the vegetables with masala separately. Then layer it with alternate layers of veggies and rice. Finally, garnish with coriander leaves or fried onion on the top of the dish.

The primary difference between both the popular Indian rice dishes is the Spice. Biryani has a lot more spices used in the dish than the Pilau.

Pilau is typically served as a side dish or as a part meal alongside curry or dals and naan bread. On the other hand, biryani is a whole meal in itself and generally served with raita, mirch ka saalan and chutney.

So what are you waiting for? Try this easy one-pot Veg Biyani recipe and it will never disappoint you at any point in time.

Best Biryani pairings:

Since biryani is a complete meal itself that’s spicy, aromatic, and flavorsome – you can serve something light along with it. Usually, raita or Dahi chutney goes really well with biryani. I love serving Cucumber Raita or Boondi raita with my Veg Biryani.

A Vegetable salad can complement this vegetable biryani well. 

Mirchi ka salan is a popular hyderbadi side dish that is also served with Biryani. Salan refers to the thin gravy, made with green chilies, desiccated coconut, peanuts, tamarind.

IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE, YOU WILL ALSO LOVE

Paneer Biryani

Soya Biryani

Restaurant style Veg Biryani

HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?

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EASY INSTANT POT VEGETABLE BIRYANI RECIPE BELOW

Vegetable Biryani

Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani

5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Sandhya Hariharan
Try this easy One Pot Veg Biryani today.

Ingredients

Whole spices

  • 3 Bayleaf
  • 4 Cloves
  • 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1 ” Cinnamon Stick
  • 2 Black Cardamom
  • 3 Green Cardamom

Other Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Basmati Rice
  • 1 1/4 cup Water
  • 1 medium Onion sliced
  • 2 Cup Frozen Vegetables diced
  • 1 medium potato diced
  • 1 Green Chilli
  • 1/2 Tsp Ground Turmeric
  • 1/2 Tsp Chilli Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Biryani Masala or Garam masala
  • 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
  • 2 Tbsp Oil or Ghee
  • 1 Tsp Lemon Juice optional
  • Salt to taste

Garnishes

  • Coriander leaves
  • Mint Leaves
  • 12 Cashewnuts

Instructions

  • Wash the rice a couple of times until clear and soak it for 15 minutes. Drain the rice and set it aside.
  • Press the Sauté mode high. When the screen displays HOT, add ghee/ oil. Once heated, add the whole spices and saute for a minute.
  • Add sliced onion, green chili, ginger-garlic paste, and saute for another 2-3 minutes until onions turn translucent.
  • Add the soaked rice, vegetables, ground spices, salt and water. Stir to combine. Switch off the Instant Pot.
  • Secure the lid and select pressure cook HIGH FOR 5 MINUTES. It takes approximately 7 -8 minutes+ for the IP to kick in.Once the timer beeps after 5 minutes, NATURAL pressure releases for 5 minutes and then QPR any remaining pressure.
    Just as the Safety Pin drops, open the pot and allow the Vegetable Biryani to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
  • Garnish with Coriander leaves, mint leaves, roasted cashew nuts, and fried onions ( if you like ). Check for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
  • Enjoy your Instant Pot Veg Biryani with Raita / Curry of your choice.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: biryani, paneer biryani, vegetable
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhyaskitchen and Hashtag #sandhyaskitchen!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Sandhya Hariharan says

    Thank you soo much Satrupa for enquiring.. I m actually in the midst of too many dealyed chores..and its affecting my bloggy baby.. ( my posts)
    … Trying to get regular and catch up with most ppl …gradually.

    Reply

  21. Prathima Rao says

    Awesome looking biryani…Rice is perfectly cooked too…Must have been quite a feast..And looking forward to ur other recipes as well..;)
    Prathima Rao
    Prats Corner

    Reply

  34. Sandhya Hariharan says

    Thank you Ladies… Your comments mean a lot to me.. It makes me want to do better..

    @ Prathima… It sure was a feast dear.. Afterall my boyz bday celebration again !!
    Chocolate cake will b coming up sooon…too

    Reply

  49. Shuba says

    5 stars
    I used this recipe many years ago. I lost your link and was hunting through Google images because I loved your presentation and the picture stuck with me. Finally found my bookmark and here I am, gleefully cooking..

    Reply

  50. Grace Hall says

    5 stars
    I tried this recipe for Veg Biryani in my Instant Pot last week and it came out very well. Everyone loved it. Thanks a lot.

    Reply

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