Spicy Chicken Pulao

When Mohit asks for “just chicken and rice” on a weeknight, this spicy chicken pulao is what lands on the table. It gives us that biryani flavor in about an hour, and only one pot goes in the sink.

I make this one in my 3-quart Instant Pot. The chicken sits in a thick yogurt marinade with Kashmiri chili, so every piece comes out red-gold and soft. The rice cooks right in those juices. A squeeze of lime goes in with the rice, which keeps it from tasting heavy.

What Is Chicken Pulao?

Chicken pulao (murgh pulao) is a one-pot Indian rice dish. Marinated chicken and basmati rice cook together in spiced liquid until the grains soak up every bit of flavor. There’s no parboiling or layering like a biryani. Everything happens in one pot, in a little over an hour.

Chicken pulao gets called biryani’s easy cousin. I’d call it the one you’ll actually make on a weekday. Same whole spices, same juicy bone-in chicken, one pot, and a kitchen that smells like a feast by the time you lift the lid.

How To Make Chicken Pulao In An Instant Pot

Step 1: Rinse and soak the rice. Rinse 2 cups of long grain basmati rice 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Soak it in 5-6 cups of water for 20 minutes. Rinsing washes off the loose starch that makes grains clump, and soaking helps them cook evenly in a short pressure time.

Step 2: Marinate the chicken. Add the following ingredients to a large bowl. Mix well with your fingers and set aside for 30 minutes. The rice soaks while the chicken marinates, so both are ready at the same time.

• 500 g bone-in skinless chicken (cut into 1-½ inch pieces)
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
• 3 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Step 3: Bloom the whole spices. Press the SAUTÉ button on the Instant Pot and add 3 tablespoons of ghee. Once it’s hot, add 3-4 cloves, a 2-inch piece of cinnamon, and 2 black cardamoms, and stir for 4–5 seconds.

Step 4: Brown the onions. Add 1 cup of sliced onions and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring often, until slightly browned. These browned onions give the pulao its sweetness and golden color.

Step 5: Cook the ginger-garlic paste. Add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the raw smell is gone.

Step 6: Add the green chilies and tomatoes. Add 3-4 slit green chilies and 1 cup chopped tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes start to soften.

Step 7: Cook the chicken. Add the chicken with all of its marinade and mix well. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should look like the step photo below: chicken pale and half-cooked, sauce thick and clinging. Part-cooking the chicken here means the bone-in pieces finish at the same time as the rice.

Step 8: Add the rice, lime juice, and water. Drain the rice well. Add it to the pot with 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1¾ cups of water, and stir gently. Run your spatula along the bottom before closing the lid; yogurt stuck to the base is the usual cause of a BURN notice. You need less water than for plain rice because the marinade adds liquid and a sealed pot loses almost no steam.

Step 9: Pressure cook. Close the lid and set the valve to sealing. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes at high pressure.

Step 10: Release the pressure. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the rest manually. The wait lets the rice finish steaming and firm up. Opening right away gives wet, broken grains.

Step 11: Fluff and garnish. Fluff the pulao with a large spoon, lifting from the bottom. Garnish with fried onions (birista, thinly sliced onions fried until crisp), chopped cilantro, and mint. Serve hot with raita.

How To Make Chicken Pulao On The Stovetop

Soak the rice and marinate the chicken as above. In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, follow Steps 3-6. Add the chicken with its marinade, cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the drained rice, lime juice, salt, and 3 cups of water, and stir gently. Cover and cook undisturbed on low heat for 20–25 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. The stovetop needs more water because an open pot loses steam as it heats up. Fluff and garnish.

How To Make Chicken Pulao In A Pressure Cooker

Follow the stovetop method in your pressure cooker until you add the rice. Add the drained rice, lime juice, salt, and 2½ cups of water, and stir gently. A sealed cooker loses less steam than an open pot, so it needs less water than the stovetop. Close the lid and cook for 3 whistles on high heat. Take the cooker off the heat and let the pressure drop naturally. Open the lid and fluff the pulao.

Variations

• Green chicken pulao – Blend 1 cup cilantro, ½ cup mint, and 1–2 green chilies, then add the paste to the chicken, like in my hariyali pulao.
• Mild – Skip the chili powder and green chilies; the whole spices carry the flavor.
• Yakhni-style – Cook the rice in chicken broth (yakhni) instead of water for a richer taste.
• Coconut milk – Swap the water for thin coconut milk for a creamy, South Indian-style pulao.
• Potato and peas – Add big potato chunks with the chicken and a handful of green peas with the rice.

Want a meat-free one-pot rice? My chana pulao works the same way with chickpeas.

Serving Suggestions

A cooling raita is the classic pairing. Pick one from my raita recipes. Add papad and sliced onions with lime on the side.

Storage Suggestions

Cool leftovers completely, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

To reheat, sprinkle a spoon of water over the rice and warm it in a pan over low heat, turning gently, until hot all the way through. You can also microwave it until nicely hot.