Instant Pot Biryani with Lamb is an aromatic one-pot dish made with basmati rice and lamb and flavored with complex spices and caramelized onions, raisins, and nuts. This biryani recipe is the pressure cooker version of a family recipe for biryani. Serve this Instant Pot biryani with raita (Indian yogurt relish).
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Tips
– The most time-consuming part of this Instant Pot biryani recipe is the frying of the onions. Fried onions are an important ingredient in this Instant Pot biryani. You can cook them a couple of ways:
- Instant Pot: fry onions in Saute mode
- Stovetop: deep fry in a wok or saute in a frying pan
Although you can get decent results with the Instant Pot, the frying pan is the better option if you want crisp onions. Either way, they take time. With the Instant Pot, I find that if I plan ahead, I can actually make Instant Pot lamb biryani even on a weeknight. The key is to make the marinade and fry the onions ahead of time and store in the fridge.
If you find the onions sticking to the bottom of the pot, deglaze ever often with a tablespoon or two of water. I keep a cup of water to the side that I use occasionally during the frying process.
Oh, and although the caramelized onions smell amazing, by the time you’re done frying them, that amazing smell will probably be all over YOU – so, fair warning!
– The biryani spice mix is a prepared spice mix that’s readily available at any Indian grocery store. You can buy your choice of biryani masala (spice mix) or even make your own. These are some options:
- Banne Nawab
- Shan Sindhi
- Shan Bombay
- Make your own: 2 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
– Before beginning pressure cooking, make sure you deglaze the inner pot so there’s nothing stuck to the bottom or you can have trouble with the Instant Pot pressurizing.
– Although I prefer to marinate the meat for this Instant Pot lamb biryani, there are times when I don’t plan ahead and I skip the marination. Things happen, and sometimes you do what you can! It still turns out quite tasty.
If possible, use a homemade garam masala, preferably ground fresh. If you don’t have your own garam masala, here’s a quick way:
- 1 1/2 tsp whole cloves (1 tsp ground cloves)
- 2 inch piece of cinnamon stick (1 tsp cinnamon powder)
- 30 cardamom pods (1 tsp cardamom powder)
- 1/4 nutmeg (1/2 tsp nutmeg powder)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (1 tsp ground fennel)
- 2 pieces star anise (1 tsp powdered star anise)
Grind in a coffee grinder or mix powders together and store in a cool dry place. The aroma is heavenly!!
– To make the Instant Pot biryani more spicy, add a chopped jalapeno when you’re pressure cooking the lamb. You could also increase the quantity of chili powder.
– When you’re adding the rice to the gravy, don’t stir it in. Just pour the washed rice in, and gently spread out and press down with a spatula to make sure the gravy covers the rice.
– If you’d like to make Instant Pot chicken biryani, use skinless, bone-in chicken legs and thighs instead of lamb, pressure cook for 6 to 8 minutes, and then proceed with the biryani recipe as written.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Biryani.
Read on for ingredients and step by step instructions for how to make Instant Pot Lamb Biryani.
Instant Pot Biryani with Lamb Ingredients
Instant Pot Biryani with Lamb Step-by-Step Instructions
- Blend half the milk, all the yogurt, turmeric, biryani spice, garam masala, chili powder, salt, lemon juice, dried apricots, ginger, and garlic. Optional: WHITE poppy seeds (not black).
- Add cilantro, mint, remaining milk and blend some more, until smooth.
- Transfer sauce and lamb to a medium bowl.
- Refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours.
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the ‘Saute’ function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the ‘Saute’ function and press ‘Start’.
- Once the Instant Pot heats up, add ghee or oil to the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Add sliced onions to the ghee.
- Cook the onions until they are caramelized, but not burnt! This can take 20 to 30 minutes.
* Note: if you increase the Saute temperature to High or More, make sure you’re keeping a close eye on the onions. If the onions begin sticking to the bottom, deglaze occasionally with a tablespoon or two of water or broth.
- It will take a long time to get the onions to be crisp and completely caramelized as shown above.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
* Note: You can probably fry the onions faster on the stovetop if that’s an option for you.
- Add more ghee or oil to the Instant Pot if necessary.
- Add raisins and fry until they puff up. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
- Add cashews and fry until they’re golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Press Cancel to turn off the Instant Pot.
- Deglaze the inner pot with a couple of tablespoons of water so there’s nothing stuck on the bottom of the inner pot.
- Add back in half the fried onions.
- Add in the lamb and marinade.
- Add in water and stir.
Instant Pot DUO Pressure Cook:
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘12′ (12 minutes).
Instant Pot ULTRA Pressure Cook:
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust time to 12 minutes (00:12).
- Press ‘Start’.
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 12 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up.
Instant Pot DUO Quick Release:
- Do a Quick Release: move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position. Remove the towel after turning the knob.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot ULTRA Quick Release:
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Open the Instant Pot.
- Add rinsed basmati rice to the Instant Pot. *
- Press down with a spatula so the liquid covers the rice, but don’t stir.
* It’s important that you don’t stir the rice or you could have issues with the Instant Pot not coming to pressure.
Instant Pot DUO Pressure Cook:
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘5′ (5 minutes).
Instant Pot ULTRA Pressure Cook:
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust time to 5 minutes (00:5).
- Press ‘Start’.
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 5 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up.
- Wait till the count-up timer reads 00:10 or L0:10 (10 minutes) and release any remaining pressure manually as described in the quick release section above.
- Open the Instant Pot.
- Stir the Instant Pot lamb biryani carefully
- Let the biryani rest for about 10 minutes and sprinkle remaining fried onions, raisins, cashews, cilantro and mint.
Instant Pot Biryani with Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 1/2 Tbsp prepared biryani masala spice mix
- 1 tsp garam masala preferably home-made
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder optional
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 10 dried apricots
- 1 Tbsp ginger chopped coarsely
- 2 Tbsp garlic chopped coarsely
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds optional - don't use black poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup cilantro packed
- 7 mint leaves
- 2 lbs lamb cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
- 3 cups onions sliced
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup cashews preferably raw
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups Basmati rice
- additional chopped cilantro about 1/4 cup
- additional chopped mint about 1 tsp
Instructions
- Blend half the milk, all the yogurt, turmeric, biryani spice, garam masala, chili powder, salt, lemon juice, dried apricots, ginger, garlic and white poppy seeds.
- Add cilantro, mint, remaining milk and blend some more, until marinade is smooth.
- Stir together lamb and marinade in a medium bowl, and refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours.
- Add sliced onions and fry the onions until they are caramelized and brown, but not burnt! This can take 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove onions with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
- Add raisins and fry until plump (add more ghee or oil if needed). Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
- Add cashews and fry until they’re golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Press Cancel to turn off the Instant Pot and deglaze the inner pot with a couple of tablespoons of water so there’s nothing stuck on the bottom of the inner pot.
- Add back half the fried onions to the inner pot.
- Add in the lamb with marinade.
- Pour water into bowl that lamb was marinated in, and swirl around to pick up any remnant marinade.
- Pour water into inner pot and stir to combine.
- Close the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 12 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release (QR) and open the lid.
- Rinse the rice and add to the Instant Pot. DON'T stir, but press down into the gravy.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Do a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR) i.e. wait for 10 minutes and release any remaining pressure.
- Open the Instant Pot and stir up the biryani carefully.
- Let the biryani rest for about 10 minutes and sprinkle remaining fried onions, raisins, cashews, cilantro and mint.
Notes
- If the onions begin sticking to the bottom, deglaze occasionally with a tablespoon or two of water.
- Onions may also be cooked on the stovetop, in a frying pan.
- It’s important that you don’t stir the rice when you add it to the Instant Pot, or you could have issues with the Instant Pot not coming to pressure. Just press down to cover with liquid.
- If you don't have access to biryani masala (spice mix), substitute the following: 2 tsp
coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder. - See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips, including homemade garam masala.
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!
You might also like to try:
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Jen
It smelled delicious but kept giving the “burn” error and I couldn’t complete the cooking. Any thoughts on how to avoid this?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Jen, assuming you have no issues with other recipes, it seems like your Instant Pot requires some changes to the recipe. Did you get the burn error when cooking the lamb or the rice? If it’s the rice, make sure you don’t stir the rice. If you didn’t stir the rice, then you probably need to add some extra liquid to the lamb when you’re first cooking it. I would try an extra 1/4 cup.
Cheryll
Hello, I don’t know what I did wrong. The meat came out flavorful but the rice was hard and lacked any flavor at all. It was like eating plain white rice. I really wished I knew what happened as it smelled so good but it was so bland 🙁
Paint the Kitchen Red
Cheryll, I’m not sure either but the lack of flavor was probably due to the fact the rice didn’t cook through and so didn’t absorb the juices of the meat/sauce. What kind of rice did you use? Some rice types do take longer to cook. Basmati is about 6 to 7 minutes. Have you ever cooked this type of rice in the Instant Pot before and did you have good results? I’m sorry you had trouble.
Leon
Hi Nina,
I just wanted to say that this recipe is wonderful and has been bookmarked for life.
I set out to prepare biryani for 6ppl, I used 5 cups (160ml Instant pot cup) of rice and 1.5kg lamb, a good mix of meat and bones.
Initially, I was worried about either the meat not being cooked properly or the rice being overdone or the whole thing turning out too watery as I had anticipated 5 cups of water to 5 cups of rice.
Following your recipe and method (with a few adjustments) of cooking the meat first and then the rice, I ended up cooking the meat first with about 2 cups of water and then added just about 1 cup more to ensure that the rice is just about submerged under the water.
The result was perfect…..the meat and the bones released its own juices. That, mixed with the fat attached to the bones and the yoghurt+milk mix was simply delish. The meat turned out soft and tender, yet still a bit juicy. The rice turned perfect too. It was not too mushy and neither too undone.
Thanks to your recipe and your method, I had the pleasure of seeing my guests take the first spoon in their mouths and go…….
“Mmmmmhhhh…….Soooo soooofffffftttt”
or
“Ooooohhhh….This is soooo taasssttyyyy”
Some of them even had 3rd helpings and there was still more remaining for which some of my guests had dibs on takeaways :))
All-in-all….This is an amazing recipe and once again….Thank you very much.
Regards
Leon
Paint the Kitchen Red
Leon, thanks so much! This is a special recipe since based on my mother-in-law’s recipe so I’m always happy when someone tries it and likes it. Gotta love lamb!
Meena
I have frozen lamb with bone-in. Will that change the cooking time any?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Meena, I’m assuming you have a big piece of lamb? I have not cooked a large chunk of lamb in the Instant Pot but you might need to cook it for over an hour. It all depends on the size. However, if you are talking about stew-size pieces of lamb (frozen, but separated) cooking time stays the same. Good luck.
Meena
Thanks so much for getting back to me! Excited to make lamb biryani for the first time:-)
Dana Velasco
I made this for my fb page Cooking the World. I was excited to see that biryani, which I have made before, could be done in the instant pot. The recipe was great and the step by step with pictures was amazing. My biryani came out flavorful, the lamb was tender, and the rice was perfect. I am happy to share this recipe and paintthekitchenred.com throughout social media.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Wow, Dana! That’s such a nice comment. I’m very happy that you enjoyed the recipe. Anytime someone makes a recipe from my mother-in-law or my mom, it’s special 🙂
Susan
My daughter loves it very much. It’s like eating mutton biryani in a restaurant.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Awesome, Susan! Thanks for taking the time to comment – a great compliment 🙂
Arindam Mukhopadhyay
Just made my first mutton Biriyani in instant pot (Duo) following this recipe. Excellent recipe and my thanks to the author.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Arindam – you’re most welcome!
John
Delicious recipe! I have tried a number of your recipes and all are amazingly good. I’ve recommended this site to a number of friends who have Instant Pots and they have had similar success. I would make the biryani more often but the price is fairly high. $32 for the lamb stew meat (ok, next time I won’t go to a butcher) and about $25 for the other ingredients. Now I know why biryani is considered the food of kings! It made enough to get about six lunches out of it, so not too bad if you extend the cost over six meals. Thanks again!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Wow, John! That’s such a nice compliment – and thank you for spreading the word! I wanted to mention that I make this same recipe with bone-in chicken (pressure cook for 8 to 10 minutes initially instead of 12). It’s very good with chicken. Also, I buy lamb at Costco at Easter and Christmas and freeze! And hopefully you don’t have to buy some of the other ingredients like spices!
Naila
Hi,
I just made this Mutton Biryani and it turned out fabulous! I left out the fruit and nuts as we are not big fans of raisins and apricots. I was a little skeptical about marinating the meat in milk, but omg, was it ever delicious! Thank you! I look forward to trying many more of your other recipes 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red
Naila, I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe – I too love making this recipe. I actually have some lamb already cut up in my freezer to make this next week!
Albert Chin
I made this but the Instant Pot didn’t seal. One major change I made was marinating it for a full day, not the 2-8 hours the recipe called for. Did that make the sauce too thick resulting in the sealing issues.
Also, why are steps #1 and #2 separate? Why not put everything in the blender and blend at once?
Planning on retrying soon.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Albert, thanks for your questions. Steps 1 and 2 are separate because I find that if I grind everything together in a basic blender, the paste is more grainy. If you have a really powerful blender, you might be okay doing everything together. I don’t think that marinating overnight would have made a difference in sealing. It could be the type of Instant Pot you’re using requires you to have more liquid. You could try adding 1/4 cup of water or broth to the inner pot, then add the marinade and meat before pressure cooking.
Dhanya
Hi Neena,
I tried this recipe yesterday with bone-in chicken. Thanks for including the pressure cook timings for chicken. It was much easier than traditional biryani recipes i’ve seen before! I used ghee this time, and maybe I will try next time with a good veg. oil. The one thing about using bone-in chicken was that I felt the marinade needed more salt, because the chicken pieces are quite big, and I used abt 2.5 lbs of chicken in all.
I blended in one Serrano green chili to the marinade, and I think I could use one more the next time. ?
Thanks Neena for a great family recipe!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Awesome, Dhanya. I love bone-in chicken. Thanks for the details and tips, especially about salt.
Dhanya
Hi Neena,
I have 2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs on hand and I wanted to check if this recipe could be used with bite size pieces – about 2 inch pieces.
Do I have to saute the marinated chicken for a while before adding the rice and pressure cooking for 6 mins? Then follow with 10 mins of quick pressure release. Please let me know your thoughts – appreciate it!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Dhanya – thanks for reaching out. Since the boneless thighs cut into bite-size pieces would cook for the same amount of time as the rice, why don’t you try cooking both at the same time? Add the marinated chicken to the IP, add the rice on top; press down to submerge the rice but don’t stir. Then pressure cook for 6 minutes. I hope that works for you. If it’s too liquidy at the end, let it sit for a bit and it might thicken up. Other choice is to substitute the chicken for the lamb, follow the recipe exactly but change the first round of pressure cooking time to 2 minutes. Keep me posted and thank you for continuing to follow the blog!
Kathleen
Just made this last night for friends. It was lovely and easy. Prep in the morning and then marinate all day. Throwing it together in the instant pot was so easy. The rice with it turned out really well too. I was worried that it wouldn’t be thoroughly cooked but not problems there. The lamb was so tender and delicious and the blend of spices was just great. I don’t like it too spicy so I cut back on the hot chili a bit and it was just perfect. Thank you for sharing. The pictures and steps make it look a lot more complicated than it was. I am a regular instant pot user so maybe that helped but I found it to be quite easy and simple. Especially starting with just loading everything into the blender and letting it run for a minute or two. Love my instant pot and my vitamix. Thanks for sharing.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks, Kathleen! I’m glad you found it to be easier than you expected, that’s good to know! Sometimes the number of ingredients can make a recipe seem more complicated than it really is!
Anna
This looks so delicious and flavorful! Can’t wait to make it!
Paint the Kitchen Red
I hope you get to try it out soon, Anna.
Dhanya
Hi Neena,
This biryani looks so amazing! I am going to try it with chicken drumsticks and thighs, and marinate it for 2 hours. Will that be sufficient?
I was wondering what the apricots do – do they add a bit of sweetness to the marinade? If the apricots are large, how many should I use?
Thank you very much!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Dhanya – yes, I think 2 hours is good. The dried apricots add a sweet/sour flavor but you can also leave them out. I think 1/2 cup or so should be good. I use prunes sometimes.
Dhanya
Thanks Neena, will let you know how it turns out!
Patsy
Just reading this recipe I can smell all the wonderful spices and the creamy (make my own) yogurt……can not wait to try this. I love your recipes so much. As I tell people don’t be afraid to use SPICES…..I don’t think a lot of cooks know…….there us much more than salt pepper and garlic!!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Patsy! I hope you enjoy the recipe. Some biryanis are mild, but this one has lots of flavor. You’re so right; spice does not necessarily mean hot, just flavorful! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!