Instapot : Malabar Chicken Biriyani

How many biriyani's can one make at home anyways? My answer to this remained the same up until the pandemic. There is only one and it had to be with lamb if it is to be home made. Then COVID-19 happened and the four of us gathered back under one roof again with no outside options for food until we discovered Doordash. Enter instapot and along with it the versatile biriyani which after all is the best known single dish Indian meal. We need raita and papad but they are accompaniments.  A single dish meal along with a single pan to wash is a real incentive. So I started cooking various items to see what works best with the instapot. The 3qt pot I had didn't yield any leftovers to justify all the prep work. So I got an 8qt to check it out. In retrospect a 6qt would've been fine but I was done trying. Now the 8qt is the appliance of choice for biryanis while the 3 qt is dependable for anything else. 

Most instapot adapted  biriyanis I tried came out good but the one that worked out the best in terms of customer satisfaction and flavor profile is this particular version. Especially for chicken lovers. The base recipe is from malluspice whose recipes are all top notch especially with their authentic malabar flavors. Made some tweaks to use it with instapot and air fryer and for general personal convenience so I can go back to it easily when we feel like it is homemade biriyani time. 

For more flavorful lamb, one might depend on the lamb biriyani recipe from before and adapt for instapot. I'll make a post once I try it out with the ipot. One thing to note is that I don't use ghee anymore because the kids don't like it. Olive oil is always king here when it comes to cooking oil.

In the Mix

basmati rice - 3 cups (250 ml cup)

water - 3 cups

chicken - 2 1/2 lbs (use a mix of drumsticks, boneless chicken breast and thigh) 

                               up to 4 lbs could work with this recipe as I have found.

onions - 5 (1 for raita, 2 1/2 for cooking and 1 1/2 for seasoning)

olive oil - 2 tbsp or enough to coat the onions

cashew nuts - 1/4 cup

raisins - 1/4 cup

cinnamon stick - 2" piece

olive oil - 2 tbsp

garam masala - 1 tbsp or as needed

A 

poppy seeds : 1 1/2 tsp

fennel seeds : 1 1/2 tsp

-use a coffee grinder and make in into a paste by adding some water after

 B

green serrano chili - 100grams

ginger - 50 grams

garlic - 50 grams

-measure with a kitchen scale and chop all together in a chopper

C

cloves - 4

cardamom - 4

bay leaf - 1

- gently crush all together

D

pepper powder - 1 tsp or to taste

turmeric powder  - 1/2 tsp or as needed

biryani masala - 2 tsp or as needed (sub with garam masala)

E

yogurt - 1/2 cup

lemon juice - 2 tsp 

salt - to taste

F

cilantro - 1 1/2 cups chopped (1 cup for cooking and 1/2 for seasoning)

mint - 1 cup chopped

curry leaves - a few sprigs

How To Do

The most time consuming item for me when making biriyani is the onion. So I want to get this out of the way as early as possible. Once I decide on biriyani, I set out to make onions, along with marinating the chicken. If marinating chicken overnight, then make onions also the day before to save time.

Thinly slice all the onions. Use one to make raita and keep refrigerated.

Preheat the air fryer to 390.

Sprinkle oil and salt and gently squeeze the onions together to mix well.

Spread onions in the air fryer basket and do 12 minutes, with a stir at 6 minutes

Remove about 2 1/2 worth of onions for cooking.

Heat the remaining onions for 2-3 more minutes until golden brown for seasoning

Keep all onions refrigerated if you are making the biriyani the next day.

The above steps can be done in the traditional wok and frying in oil or in a regular oven at 425 for 20 min on each side. But I like the air fryer the best.

Cut chicken into large pieces, wash and drain. Depending on how much chicken you have, you can tweak the spices slightly in all steps to match to your taste.

Mix chicken with items from A,B,C,D and set to marinate overnight in the fridge or at least for two hours outside. Do not add E items including salt, if marinating overnight.

Take chicken out about one hour before cooking and add items from E, mix well together and set aside. Take the fried onions out too if done the day before.

Wash and soak the rice in water for 30 minutes, drain and set aside. This is also a good time to check with H to see if you can delegate papad making to him.

Set the instapot to 'saute' and heat 2 tbsp of olive oil.

Add the raisins and heat until they start to puff up and add the cashews. 2-3 minute all together should be good. Use a slotted spoon and set aside along with the golden fried onions for seasoning

Add more oil if needed and add the 2" cinnamon stick. Mix in the onions for cooking and add the marinated chicken. Saute for 5-6 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup water to the chicken bowl to mix with remaining marinade  and add into the chicken at this time. Sprinkle in 1 tbsp or more of garam masala, add all the leaves from F for cooking and mix well. Remember to set aside 1/2 cup of cilantro from this for seasoning needs.

Do check to make sure the pot is still on 'saute' setting.

Check salt and add as needed at this step.  Might want to add a little more than needed to account for the addition of rice. It is good to see if you can reduce the water and make the gravy thicker at this step as that gives the chicken pieces a better color. I normally don't wait for this since the overall flavor is still great. With a wooden spoon and gentle stirring, make sure the bottom of the instapot bowl is deglazed and clean to avoid any BURN warnings later on.

Layer the drained rice onto the top of the chicken mix. Sprinkle in some seasoning (mostly golden onions and some cashews, raisins, cilantro) in between the layers and on top. Do NOT mix. 

Add remaining 2 1/2 cups of water along the sides first and then at the center. Again take care to not mix anything. Check salt and add as needed by mixing only at the top layer.

Close the lid, pressure cook on high for 7 minutes and natural release for 10 minutes. Then open the seal valve and vent the pressure.