Vegetable and Paneer Biryani is a complete meal with grains, vegetables, and protein. It begins with a base of caramelized onions, then builds layers of flavors with aromatic long-grain basmati rice and a combination of vegetables cooked to tender perfection. Each bite is infused with delicately balanced whole spices and a bold finish with garam masala.
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I have been trying to perfect my veg biryani in the Instant Pot for months now. After the success of my easy InstaPot Chicken Biryani recipe in just a few tries, I was surprised to see how different it was to cook vegetable Biryani in the pressure cooker.
Although I was using the same rice and similar spices, it took many failed attempts (mushy rice, undercooked rice, mushy veggies, etc) before I got the technique right. The key was to choose the right kind of vegetables and also more importantly cut them right so they all cook within 5 to 6 mins of pressure cooking time.
This simple Biryani recipe is inspired by my mom's famous vegetable pulao recipe. She cuts her veggies in a certain size and shape, which I thought was to make the dish look gorgeous. But now I understand that it also helps them cook perfectly each time.
The same trick of cutting the veggies and choosing the right ones helped me with this easy vegetable biryani recipe. Then my talented cousin gave me an idea of adding Paneer to this dish which really took the Biryani to a whole new level.
If you're like me and enjoy cooking vegetarian dishes you must check out my 60+ vegetarian main meals or bookmark it for later.
To make the best and authentic tasting biryani, use homemade ghee, choose the right vegetables or organic frozen mixed vegetables, and long grain basmati rice. The whole spices and the homemade garam masala will do their magic to add beautiful aromas and bring this delectable recipe together.
Tips for perfect Biryani
- Use fresh garam masala
- Deglaze the pot using the liquids from the vegetables to remove any browned bits from the sautéing of the onions. This will help the Instant Pot come to pressure and also prevent the “BURN” signal. If you have an air fryer you can use it or perfect golden fried onions.
- Make sure all of the rice is under the liquids before closing the Instant Pot
- Lastly, although, Sauté (more) function on the Instant Pot works great for true one-pot cooking, you can also caramelize the onions using a stovetop in a non-stick pan. This will speed up the process and also will prevent the stainless steel insert from getting scorched which may lead to a “BURN” notice on the newer Instant Pot’s
Update to my original recipe
Certain brands of store-bought paneer can get chewy when cooked under high pressure. So I have modified the cook times for this recipe to 5 minutes on low pressure. Note: If your Instant Pot does not have the HI/LO pressure cook options, you can cook the biryani on high pressure and then gently stir in the paneer in the end.
Step by step instructions
Step 1 - Rinse and soak the rice in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Drain water after 20 mins. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté (more) mode and heat 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add thinly sliced onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are lightly caramelized. Take half of the onions out and reserve for garnish (photos 1 - 2).
Step 2 - Add remaining ghee, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, bay leaves. Cook for 30 seconds. Add all the veggies (carrots, green beans, mushrooms, red pepper, corn, paneer). Press cancel and deglaze the pot removing any browning. Use 1-2 tablespoons of water if needed. See the third picture below that shows how the bottom of the pot looks after properly deglazing. There should not be any browned bits stuck to the bottom (photos 3 - 4)
Step 3 - Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, and half of the salt. mix well. Add mint, rice, and remaining salt. Add water. Mix well, making sure most of the rice is underwater (photos 5 - 8)
Step 4 - Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing. Select Manual/Pressure Cook(LO) and adjust the cooking time to 5 minutes. Follow with a quick release to stop overcooking the rice. Open the Instant Pot. Garnish with caramelized onions and cilantro.
Serving
Enjoy hot with yogurt or raita and a squeeze of fresh lemon. This spicy vegetable biryani goes well with refreshing watermelon juice, homemade lemonade, or mango lassi.
Loved the warm flavors of Biryani? You may want to try my other Instant Pot Biryani recipes:
- Chicken Biryani
- Shrimp Biryani
- Chickpea Biryani with vegan options
- Healthy Brown Rice Biryani
- Low Carb Riced Cauliflower Chicken Biryani
- Fish Biryani
- Egg Biryani
Thank you to all who have tried this recipe. It has become so popular that when I published The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, I was requested that I also include this recipe in the cookbook. I hope you will enjoy 75+ modern recipes with authentic Indian flavors in my best-selling book.
Have last-minute guests? Make one of these 30+ easy desserts and you will have a delicious meal. One of my favorites to make is these easy Instant Pot brownies. They are a crowd-pleaser and a sweet way to finish your meal.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, can be doubled in 6-QT or 8-QT Instant Pots
Store-bought paneer can become chewy after pressure cooking. Here are few options: 1. Adjust pressure cook time to 5 minutes on low-pressure mode. 2. Sauté the paneer in a non-stick pan and add it to the Biryani in the end 3.Use homemade Paneer.
Press cancel before adding all the veggies. This will stop the pot from further overheating as you remove the browning from the bottom of the pot. Then add the veggies and deglaze the pot using the water contents from the veggies so that all the browning from sautéing the onions is removed. You can also use 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to remove the browning.
Yes. Follow the same recipe. No need to soak the quinoa. Just rinse thoroughly and drain all the water before adding it to the pot.
Yes. Substitute ghee with oil. Skip Paneer or stir in sautéed tofu in the end.
Do you love Indian food? Here are my top Instant Pot Indian Recipes to try:
- Easy Chicken Tikka Masala - Creamy tomato-based curry with chicken marinated in yogurt, red chili powder, turmeric, and garam masala
- Healthy "Butter" Chicken - Flavorful chicken in a creamy sauce with an orangish hue from the red chili powder and turmeric
- Spicy Misal Pav - A popular Indian dish made with spicy sprouted bean curry served with lightly buttered dinner rolls
- Tandoori Salmon - Tender, flaky salmon cooked in warm tandoori spices
- Easy Shrimp Curry - Tender-sweet shrimp lightly spiced with aromatic whole spices and tropical flavors from coconut milk
- Chicken Korma - A mild and healthy chicken curry cooked in whole spices and then braised in a yogurt-based sauce
- Kheema Pulao - A flavor-packed one-pot meal with fragrant long grain basmati rice cooked in ground chicken and aromatic-warm whole spices
- Madras Lentils/Daal Makhani - A creamy lentil dish cooked with whole black lentils and kidney beans, lightly spiced
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Recipe
Vegetable and Paneer Biryani - Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups Extra long grain Basmati rice
- 2 cups water for soaking
- 3 tablespoons ghee divided
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 4 whole green cardamoms
- 4 cloves
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup carrots chopped lengthwise into 1-inch x ¼ inch strips
- 1 cup green beans chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup white mushrooms halved
- ½ cup red pepper chopped into 1-inch x ½ inch strips
- ½ cup corn
- 1 cup paneer cubed into ½ inch cubes
- ½ tablespoon ginger grated
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 2 cups water for cooking
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Rinse and soak the rice in water for 20 minutes. Drain water after 20 minutes.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute(More) mode and heat half of the ghee. Add sliced onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions are lightly caramelized. Take half of the onions out and reserve for garnish.
- Add remaining ghee, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, black peppers, and bay leaves. Cook for 30 seconds. Add all the veggies (carrots, green beans, mushrooms, red pepper, corn, paneer). Press cancel and deglaze the pot removing any browning. Use 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if needed.
- Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala, and half of the salt. mix well. Add mint, rice, and remaining salt. Add water. Mix well, making sure most of the rice is underwater.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook(low-pressure) for 5 minutes followed by Quick release. Open the Instant Pot. Garnish with caramelized onions and cilantro. Serve hot with Raita or yogurt.
Video
Notes
- Have an air fryer? Use it or perfect golden fried onions instead of caramelizing the onions in the Instant Pot.
- Deglaze the pot using the liquids from the vegetables to remove any browned bits from the sautéing of the onions. This will help the Instant Pot come to pressure and also prevent the “BURN” signal.
- You can make this recipe Vegan by using coconut oil instead of ghee and extra firm tofu instead of paneer
- I have modified the cooking time for this recipe to 5 minutes LO pressure cook as sometimes store-bought paneer can get chewy when cooked under high pressure. If your Instant Pot does not have HI/LO pressure cook options, you can cook for 6 minutes under high pressure and then stir in the paneer in the end.
Nutrition
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Nikita K says
Just tried the recipe and it was excellent! I added some yoghurt with the veggies as well. Also, added some potatoes as I didnt have mushrooms and wanted to keep it tad authentic like we get in India. So good! Thanks for sharing!
Saniya says
How much water should I be adding for 2 cups of rice, assuming there is some water content from the fresh tomatoes?
Archana says
1:1 rice to water ratio for this recipe.
Kathy says
Hi I made it today. It’s nice when I immediately open the lid but after putting it in plate for sometime the rice becomes hard.
Archana says
Depending on the age and variety of rice, it may need more liquids to cook. Next time you can keep the Instant Pot lid closed for additional five minutes.
Archana says
Depending on the age and variety of rice, the cook times and water ratio may change. If you make Biryani with the same rice again, keep the Instant Pot Closed for additional 5 minutes which will make sure teh rice is fully cooked.
Anu says
Just made this for lunch and it’s awesome! Just added biryani masala and reduced chilli powder. This will be my go-to veg biryani recipe forever!
Ganesh says
I have cooked this recipe many times and my family loves it !! Thanks so much 🙂
Quick question - I always used the 6 qt for this dish, Will this quantity fit in a 3 Qt (2 cups rice + 4 cups veggies) ??
TIA
Archana says
Yes! It should fit.
Ganesh says
Thanks !!
Ganesh says
I tried it today and it miraculously fit 🙂 Thanks !!
Aparna says
A simple mild flavorful briyani/pulav quickly done in 30 mins. Perfect for week lunches. Thanks archana for this recipe
Neha says
Have made this 3 times now, and always delicious (and so nice and fast for a weeknight meal!).
Sheenam says
Tried this today, turned out so perfect. Thank you!
Abha says
Can I substitute a can of chickpeas for the paneer?
Archana says
Yes! Canned chickpeas will be great in this recipe
Kajel says
Made this once and was amazing!
Do you think it would Cook ok without salt? I want my little one to eat it too next time.
Kajel says
Made this the other day and loved it!
Would it Cook ok without any salt? I would like my little one to eat it but do not want to give her any salt.
Archana says
It will cook without salt.
Lakshmi P says
Thank you. Followed it to the T and rice came out perfect! Family was surprised that rice wasn’t mushy like usual !
Ravi says
I tried this. awesome recipe. Love it. Thanks for sharing. One questions
I was really unable to get all the rice to the bottom. So I ended up with some rice not cooked well enough. Maybe there is a better trick to getting all the rice to the bottom?
Archana says
I am so glad you enjoyed it. You actually do not want the rice to get all the way to the bottom as that can result in burn. Could it be the brand or age of the rice? I use Kohinoor or Laxmifoods extra long grain basmati rice and it works really well for Biryani. Also next time you can simply keep the Instant Pot closed for an additional 5 to 10 minutes as the rice will continue to cook.
Ravi says
Are you suggesting cooking on low pressure for 5 minutes and instead of quick release, leave the instant pot closed for 5-10 minutes? or do a quick release and leave the IP closed for 5-10 minutes.
Archana says
Do a quick release. After opening if the rice is be fully cooked, simply keep the lid closed for 5 -10 mins.
Vijju says
Hi I tried this recipe. I m new to using instant pot n this was my first recipe tried in instant pot. The rice was cooked ok when I opened the lid but after I put it in plate after sometime rice became hard like half boiled. The other question is after the onions cooked I turned off the instant pot deglaze it n added vegetables n turned it on exactly followed ur instruct.when I turned it on I set pressure cook low at 5mins time but it started again from preheating n that 5mins indication came even before it started showing cooking on the monitor. Did I make any mistake pls let me know.
Archana says
Hi Vijju, Thank you for your detailed feedback. Depending on the age and variety of rice, the cook times and water ratio may change. If you make Biryani with the same rice again, keep the Instant Pot Closed for additional 5 minutes which will make sure teh rice is fully cooked. Once you add rice and water, it will take some time for the pressure cooker to build pressure and start the cooking cycle. Usually about 10 minutes.