Chicken Pulao Recipe (Instant Pot Option)

Get ready for a tasty adventure with this delicious chicken pulao recipe! Fluffy, fragrant basmati rice & tender chicken wafting an aroma of indian spices make this chicken pulao irresistible. In about 30-40 minutes, you’ll have a hearty meal perfect for weeknight family dinners. Forget about marinating the chicken—no time for that! While the rice soaks, prepare a flavorful, tender chicken masala and then let it come together, all in one-pot.

Chicken dishes are a weeknight favorite in our house, and this chicken pulao recipe is a lifesaver on busy evenings. It's satisfying and simple to make. Growing up, my mom mostly cooked mutton yakhni pulao and chicken pulao was rare.

I got back to making chicken pulao regularly when my kids came along and evenings became a race against the clock. That's when I discovered the magic of one-pot wonders. Toss some chicken, long-grain basmati rice, and a blend of Indian spices into a large pot, and dinner's ready in a flash!

From egg pulao to keema pulao, these pulao put smiles on all our faces and happy sighs in everyone's bellies. If you love vegetarian pulao, I got you covered with a quite a few recipes such as soya pulao, methi pulao and mushroom pulao!

What's Chicken Pulao

Before we delve into my recipe, let me introduce pulao to you. Pilau or pulao is a fragrant one-pot rice dish popular in South Asian cuisine. Unlike biryani, a rice dish which features layers of pre-cooked meat or chicken, long grain rice, and fried onions (birista), pulao is a simpler affair. It's perfect for busy weeknights because it's quick, easy to put together, and incredibly flavorful.

Chicken pulao features tender chicken pieces cooked alongside fluffy basmati rice, all infused with a mild tang of yogurt or tomatoes and warming blend of spices. You could add potatoes if you wish, or a few vegetables of your choice to make the pulao colorful and hearty, however I stick to just using chicken pieces.

My Recipe

Here are a few highlights of my chicken pulao recipe -

• As with most of my pulao recipes, I primarily use whole spices to infuse flavor. The heat comes from dried red chilies (or red chili flakes) and green chilies. The only ground spice I add is a bit of coriander powder, which I find enhances the taste of the chicken during the frying process. If you like a yellowish tinge to your pulao, you could use bit of turmeric powder. 
• This is a non-yakhni pulao recipe, so you won't need multiple steps or utensils to make chicken yakhni first. However, there's no compromise on flavor. We'll prepare a flavorful spiced chicken masala, then add water and rice to cook it all together.
• Similar to my egg pulao recipe, I incorporate tomatoes in this recipe. Chicken, compared to meat chunks or minced meat (keema), can be quite bland on its own, and I feel it benefits from the added tanginess of tomatoes.
• I'm not a fan of pressure cooking chicken because we don't like the texture it produces. Therefore, I cook mine on the stovetop. However, you can very well use an instant pot or pressure cooker to make chicken pulao, which will save you 10-12 minutes.

Rice Texture

One of the key elements in making pulao is achieving the perfect texture of the rice. While personal preference plays a significant role, we have a particular fondness for different rice textures in biryani and pulao. For chicken biryani, we prefer rice that remains firm, whereas in pulao, we love a softer yet fluffy consistency. It's important to note that "soft" doesn't mean mushy rice.

So, how do you achieve this ideal texture in pulao? The secret lies in adjusting the quantity of water you add during cooking. To achieve softer rice in your pulao, simply add an extra ¼ cup to ⅓ cup of water more than the usual amount needed for your rice. This slight increase in water will result in rice that is tender and perfectly cooked, without becoming mushy.

Ingredients

• Chicken - Use bone-in chicken for maximum flavor (chicken thighs work for boneless lovers). I use whole chicken cut up into pieces, however you could use just (or a mix of ) drumsticks or thighs. To get the right flavor of chicken pulao, bone in chicken is a must, but if you don't prefer it, use boneless chicken with 1-3 chicken drumsticks thrown in. Skin on chicken is uncommon in indian chicken curries as well as in rice dishes, so please stick to using skinless chicken.
• Aged Long Grain Basmati rice - The hero ingredient! Aged, long grain white basmati rice cooks to fluffy and has a lovely aroma. I love to use this brand (non affiliate link) of extra long basmati rice thats grown in India. It beautifully absorbs the flavor of spices as well as the chicken juices released while cooking.
• Whole Spices - Cumin seeds, bay leaves, black peppercorn, cloves and black cardamom and cinnamon stick. Skip any spices you do not have or don't prefer. You could use green cardamom if you don't have black cardamom.
• Onion- I use red onions. Yellow onions will work too. I recommend slicing the onions versus chopping them. After browning, sliced onions contribute to the texture of the pulao. Be careful of not adding lot of onions since they could turn your pulao sweetish.
• Tomatoes - I use roma tomatoes and slice them thinly. We don't want a lot of tomatoes though because it interferes with taste of pulao.
• Yogurt - I like using full-fat plain greek yogurt in my cooking. If you have 2 percent or skimmed yogurt at home, go for it.
• Fresh ginger - Ginger paste could taste very strong with rice. So, I use julinned fresh ginger and then add it for mild flavor.
• Other Ingredients - Cooking oil, garlic paste, green chillies, lime juice, coriander powder and salt

Instructions

Soak The Rice

1. Measure the basmati rice and place it in a large bowl. Cover the rice with water and gently scrub it with your hands. Initially, the water will turn white and starchy. Repeat this rinsing process, and by the third or fourth rinse, the water should become clear. After rinsing, soak the rice in an ample amount of water for about 20-30 minutes.

Make Chicken Masala

2. In a heavy bottomed, wide cooking pot (I use a 12 inch stainless steel cooking pot), add the cooking oil and let heat up on high flame.
3. To the warm oil, carefully add all the whole spices. If you are using dried chilies instead of chili flakes, add them at this stage. Stir and fry for 5 seconds taking care that the spices don't burn. Whole spices like cloves and black pepper tend to pop when added to hot oil so be careful.
4. Add the sliced onions next. For the next 7-10 minutes, we are going to fry the onions in oil and and let them turn golden brown. Stir the onions intermittently and keep an eye. Don't stir too much else the onions start breaking down and turning pasty. This step takes a bit of time and patience but it is a key step since the color of onion contributes to the color of your pulao. Avoid very dark brown or blackish onions else their smell & taste becomes too strong (pulao is a mild tasting dish).

5. Now layer the chicken over the browned onions. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt over the chicken and add garlic paste, half of the ginger julinnes, coriander powder, chili flakes and sliced tomatoes on top of chicken.

6. Now we are going to do bhuno (frying on constant heat) the chicken on medium-high heat. Make sure that the flame is constant, if it's too low the chicken will get watery. This bhunai process helps sear the chicken on outside and seals the juices inside(so that they release slowly while the chicken cooks with rice). The bhuna (seared )chicken taste immensely flavorful.
7. Once you see that the chicken is no longer pink and the tomatoes slices are little soft, reduce the flame to low, wait for 1-2 minutes and then add beaten yogurt. Immediately start stirring and continue on low heat for 2-5 minutes or until the yogurt is mixed in and is warmed up. This prevents yogurt from curdling.

Make Chicken Pulao

8. After frying with yogurt, you will see a little liquid in the cooking pot. Add the soaked rice now and pour water on top. Add remaining ginger julinnes, lime juice (or lemon juice) and few green chilies(optional). Stir around gently 1-2 times, taste and add more salt if needed. At this stage, make sure that the cooking liquid tastes sharp salty- this will make sure that the rice is seasoned properly.

9. On low-medium flame, bring the water to a slow boil. Once water comes to rolling boil, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to low, and let it cook for 10-15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
10. Open the lid and check if all the water has been absorbed. If it has, switch off the stove. Cover the pot again and let the pulao sit for 15-20 minutes to allow the rice to firm up. Avoid fluffing the rice at this stage, as it is very soft and can easily become mushy.

11. Gently fluff the rice using a soft spatula or a small saucer, scooping the pulao from the side of the pot. Garnish the chicken pulao with chopped coriander leaves.

Serving and Storing

Serve chicken pulao with a tangy side such as cucumber raita, and kachumber salad for a homestyle meal. For parties, you could serve it with different kinds of tikka and kebab or curries such as lamb curry, punjabi egg curry and goat curry.

Store leftover pulao for 1-2 days refrigerated. Reheat in the microwave or in a pan(you will need to add a splash of water for stovetop. I don't recommend freezing rice dishes. In my opinion, the rice gets mushy due to ice formation and subsequent reheating. The taste is quite bland too after de frosting.

Chicken Pulao in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker

For Instant Pot

• Use a 1:1.25 soaked basmati rice to water ratio.
• Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes.
• Let the pressure naturally release for 8-10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.
• Open the lid and gently fluff the rice.

For Pressure Cooker:

• Use a 1:1.5 soaked rice to water ratio.
• Cook on low-medium heat for 7-8 minutes (or until you hear 2-3 whistles).
• Allow the pressure release naturally.

Recipe Tips

1. Using Boneless Chicken - You could easily use bone less chicken thighs. I avoid chicken breast since it tends to get stringy and dries up by the time pulao finishes cooking. Cut chicken thighs into 2 -2.5 inch pieces and adjust cooking time.
2. Always Soak the Rice: - Soaking softens the rice, ensuring even cooking. The soluble starches in rice are removed , which reduces stickiness and results in fluffier rice. Additionally, soaked rice cooks faster and has a softer texture.
3. Don't Skimp on Oil: An optimum quantity of oil is essential for a non sticky, fluffy pulao, as oil prevents the grains from sticking together. Using less oil steals the flavor and might make your pulao taste like steamed rice.
4. Don't go heavy on Spices: Ideally, pulao is mildly spiced. This helps the flavor of the chicken shine through without being overpowered by excessive seasonings.
5. Use a Wide and Heavy Pot: I use a heavy indian wok, however a dutch oven is also excellent for stovetop cooking. A heavy pot retains heat well, prevents scorching, and ensures even, consistent cooking. As the pulao cooks, the rice grains swell, if your pot is wide, there is space for the grains to remain fluffy without sticking to each other. Also, a wide pot helps in fluffing the pulao post cooking without breaking the grains.