
Serves 6
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice, soaked for 20 minutes
- 2 tbsps butter or ghee
- 1 medium sized yellow onion
- 4-5 garlic pods
- 2 tsps minced ginger
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (washed and cut in small pieces, trim excess fat)
- Chopped cilantro
- Chopped mint leaves
Spices
- 6 cardamom pods
- 5 whole cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
Powders
- 3 tsps coriander powder
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 3 tsps salt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp sambar powder or garam masala
- 1 tsp spicy chilli powder
- ¼ tsp cumin powder
- Ground black pepper
Directions
- Soak the basmati rice for about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse.
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot (IP). When IP says hot, add butter/ghee and spices. Add onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes.
- Add ginger/garlic and sautee for 30 seconds.
- Wash and cut chicken into small pieces, trimming excess fat. Pat dry chicken and add to the IP and sauté for about 5-6 minutes.
- Add powders to the IP and mix with the chicken.
- Dump the rice on top of the chicken (DO NOT MIX). Add water in a 1:1 ratio, for example, for 2 cups of rice add 2 cups of water.
- Sprinkle cilantro and mint on top of the rice.
- Press Cancel on the IP to release it from sauté mode.
- Put the pressure cooker lid on the IP (the lid that comes with it). Make sure the vent is sealed on the lid.
- Choose the “Pressure Cook” setting or “Manual” setting and set cook time to 6min High Pressure (HP). The pot will take a few minutes to build up pressure and then it will start counting down from 6min.
- Once the 6min cook time has passed, the IP will beep and will now read “L0:00 and start counting up, to show the time lapsed since the pressure cook finished. Wait for about 10 min (screen will read “L0:10) and manual release the vent on top of the lid to diffuse any lasting pressure.
Variations/Tips:
(a) Use long grain basmati rice for best results
(b) Use a spice bag for all spices to avoid biting into cardamom pod or clove.
(c) Adjust chilli powder for a milder flavor