Instant Pot Easy Kheema Pulao (Spicy Indian Rice Dish)

Sometimes other events dominate your life for a bit…but I’m back!

After weeks of knocking on doors to get out the vote, I was ready for some downtime.  I drove home from Bakersfield (four hours each way, ugh) and wanted to chill and enjoy some home cooked food.  As yummy as it is, (Wo)”Man”(me) cannot live on taqueria fare alone. I arrived home right around the dinner hour so I needed something quick and easy to make, but still comforting and delicious. I pulled out my Instant Pot, clicked on Ministry of Curry “Kheema Pulao” (think Indian version of a mixed rice dish) in my saved links, and voila’ 40 minutes later I was curled up on the couch, watching my favorite K-drama (Goblin), spooning hot, spicy pulao into my mouth.  Ahhh, my reward for doing my part to save Democracy…and that’s all I will say about that (thanks, Forrest).

I love Biryani, a spicy Indian Rice dish that is both complex in flavor and in preparation. That means going to a restaurant and letting them make it for me. My job is to enjoy every bite. On the other hand, pulao is a simple version of a biryani, easily made at home and delicious.  Vegetables, ground meat, aromatics, and spices are sauteed, then rice is added along with water or stock. A touch of sweetness from the cinnamon and onions, spicy from the ginger, garlic, and chili, then finished with cilantro and lime.  Welcome to Flavortown.  So good.

Kheema means minced or ground, in this recipe, ground chicken is used but you could use turkey or beef.  The flavors are infused into the meat and the ground chicken cooks quickly, win-win.  The rate-limiting step would be the time it takes for the rice to cook which, ta-da, is shortened by using your Instant Pot, PLUS the entire dish is done in one pot…no muss, no fuss, I’m doing the happy dance now.

Saute’ ingredients in the pot.

Add liquid and rice, cover, seal, set for 5 minutes, wait 5 minutes then quick release and done.  How easy is that?

Garnish with cilantro and lime to make it pretty.

Add this to your things to make in my Instant Pot.  Really.

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Kheema Pulao

A one pot meal made with long grain basmati rice cooked with ground chicken and a host of aromatics ginger, garlic, onions, bay leaves, black pepper, cumin seeds and cinnamon.  A flavor explosion. Adapted from Ministry of Curry

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Kheema Pulao

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 422kcal

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 teaspoon shah jeera or cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ginger grated
• 1 teaspoon garlic grated
• 1 pound ground chicken can use , beef or turkey
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• Handful of mint leaves chopped
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup long grain Basmati rice
• 1 ½ cups water

Garnish

• 1 lime
• ½ cup cilantro chopped
• 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground

Instructions

• Set the Instant Pot to sauté(more) mode and heat ghee. Add cumin seeds, black peppercorn, cinnamon and bay leaves. Saute for 30 seconds.
• Add onions and sauté for 5-8 minutes or until the onions start to brown. Add ginger, garlic and chicken. Sauté, breaking the chicken and browning it for a minute. Add tomatoes, red chili powder, turmeric, mint leaves, and salt. Mix well.
• Add rice and water. Gently mix making sure all the rice is under the liquids. Close the Instant Pot lid with pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual /Pressure cook (Hi) 5 mins with 5 min NPR.
• Open the Instant Pot and gently fluff the top rice (Note, if the rice looks uncooked on the top, just mix it with the rice under and close the Instant Pot for 5 minutes)
• If rice seems a little wet, let it sit for a couple of minutes, top open.
• Add lime juice, cilantro and black pepper. Turn the Instant Pot off and take the insert out so the rice does not overcook or get mushy. Enjoy hot.