This Vegetable Biryani with Paneer is a complete meal with grains, veggies, 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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The recipe was originally posted in May 2017 and has been updated with new photos and video
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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. The key to making perfect Instant Pot Veggie Biryani is to choose the right kind of vegetables and to cut them right so they all cook within 5 to 6 mins of pressure cooking time without getting mushy.
Inspiration and Technique
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 the idea of adding Paneer to this dish which really took the Biryani to a whole new level.
Ingredients
To make the best and most 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
- 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 at 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 them for garnish (photos 1 - 2).
Step 2 - Add remaining ghee, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, 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 1-2 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 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.
How to serve vegetable biryani
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? Check out these Instant Pot Biryani recipes:
- Chicken Biryani
- Shrimp Biryani
- Chickpea Biryani with vegan options
- Brown Rice Chicken 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.
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 a 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
- Butter Chicken with coconut milk - 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 flavorful 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
Recipe Video
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.
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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Deepika Gandhi says
Can I use Brown rice instead and would the cook time increase?
Archana says
Hi Deepika, yes you can, increase the pressure cook time to 20 mins. I would leave out paneer as it will overcook. You can stir it in the end.
Hannah McKay says
Can I add cut up boneless chicken to this?
Also, if I use brown rice in this recipe, do I still add the vegetables at the same time as the rice even though brown rice cooks for 20 min?
Archana says
yes you can. But follow my brown rice chicken biryani steps - https://ministryofcurry.com/brown-rice-chicken-biryani-instant-pot/
Eileen Guy says
Could this be converted to a slow cooker?
Archana says
Yes I think you can but the rice may get a bit mushy sitting in the water for a long time. You can try with rice setting on the slow cooker or whatever setting you generally use for rice.
Deepa Mistry says
Do I increase the time for pressure cook if I am cooking 5 cups of rice, for 20 people ?
Archana says
Same pressure cooking time. I hope you are using a 8-QT Instant Pot. It might be too full for a 6 QT
Deepa Mistry says
I am using only 3-4 cups of rice and not whole lot of veggies jus mix medley and potato.
Archana says
Sounds good.
Vidya says
I plan to saute and add paneer at the end. So I must cook 5 mins Hi pressure or 6 mins Hi pressure?
Archana says
6 mins High pressure
Jim says
I did this recipe at 1-1/2 scale, and even after adding an additional cup and a half of water (4-1/2 c to 3 c rice) I could not get to full pressure due to burn mode switching on. I carefully deglazed each time, but to no avail. Still waiting for it to come out of the pot (i just got the pressure valve to seal, so fingers crossed) and I'll see how it goes. Smells great, and I hope it's tasty, but I won't make it again if I can't figure this out.
Archana says
Hi Jim, Thank you for your detailed feedback. I am wondering if the sealing ring was loose. This recipe along with the water and all the veggies have plenty of liquids. So BURN should not have displayed. Please check the sealing ring and I hope it was tasty.
Purvi says
If I want to make this with delayed cooking where I would put everything in the pot in the morning but delay it for 6-8 hours, what should be the ideal setting? I wouldn’t have a chance to QR. it will be NPR.
Archana says
Hi Purvi, Since these are all veggies, I would highly recommend you cook this and then reheat. The rice will soak way too much in 6 to 8 hours. If you do not care for the textures of the rice, you can cook it for 3 minutes and then let it NPR.
Jen & Presh says
Brilliant instructions! Loved loved loved the biryani! You have two new fans 🙂
Payal says
It was a great recipe, I followed it exactly & my family loved it. If you like spice, you may want to add green chilis, but for my taste it was the perfect amount of spiciness. Thanks for the recipe, I will make it often!
Archana says
Thank you!
Veena Sriram says
Superb recipe... Am a vegetarian n love n live in paneer all d time.... This one melted through heart and filled my stomach... I enjoyed it like anything n it's smells mesmerizing... Love u for such mouthwatering recipe....
Share more on paneer n would love to try it n enjoy...
Veena Sriram
Isha says
It set off to burn even before reaching cooking , I cancelled and again started pressure at low for 3 mins?
What is the exact steps when it says burn!
Archana says
Make sure to deglaze really well after sautéing onions. Also For this recipe if you see BURN you can just leave the lid closed for 10 to 15 mins and the biryani will cook with the remnant heat
Akshita says
I had the same issue as Isha. It states burn even before reaching the cooking time. I carmalized onions on stove top. The pot was deglazed. Any other tips to avoid that? Also, of leaving it for 10 -15 mins is it after pressing cancel and doing quick release?
Archana says
Newer Instant Pot's seem to be very sensitive to burn. But please make sure that your sealing ring is not too loose and is secured properly all the way around.
ColleenG says
I made this exactly as written except I did not have any whole peppercorns, so I omitted them.
So delicious!!! I have looked for a recipe to make Biryani Rice that tastes authentic, and this is it! And it is in the instant pot, even better! Thank you!
Anu says
Archana, if I want to keep the veggie amount the same and reduce rice to 1 or 1.5 cups, would that work? How much water should I add? 1:1?
Archana says
yes! 1:1 water to rice ratio
Mie Ling watson says
I have a party this weekend. Do you think I could make it a few days earlier and reheat?? So excited to try!!!
Archana says
Absolutely! The flavors will get even better
Sera says
Tried this recipe, turned out well, I put extra veggies so that caused rice to not dip in the water, next time I will take out some of the veggies add water and rice and then add remaining veggies on top of the rice.
Gauri says
Can you make this without an instapot?
Either with a regular pressure cooker or simply stove top?
Archana says
Yes you can. In the regular pressure cooker I would do 1 whistle and then open the lid after about 5 to 10 mins.
Shirley says
Just made this wonderful dish! Couldn’t find paneer in good old Montana, but saw I could substitute halloumi cheese. Delicious! Will be making again for sure. Thank you!
Alex says
So delicious! Love the flavor of the paneer and the veggies in this biryani!
Foodie says
Turned out so good, my kid savored the entire bowl 🙂
Chitra Menon says
This recipe is absolutely a bookmark worthy one !
I have followed the same exact steps and ingredients .Also tried an improvised version without paneer, substituted with potato and garnished with some roasted cashews and raisins. All the times it came out so delicious!!! I have to tell you Archana, all your recipes are well thought out made to perfection. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful recipes with your readers.
Archana says
Thank you!!
Asha says
Great recipe. I did not have mushrooms so skipped them..I had some stock in hand so cooked the rice in stock instead of water. I think the stock elevates the flavor even more!