Pressure Cooker Shrimp Biryani

- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups basmati rice
- 2teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1onion, chopped
- 1Serrano chile, minced
- 2tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1tablespoon minced garlic
- 2teaspoons kosher salt
- 1teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1teaspoon smoked paprika
- 10fresh curry leaves, torn into pieces
- 1½cups boiling water
- 1½pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 or fewer per pound, see note), peeled and deveined
- 1(15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
- 2teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more wedges for serving
- ½cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the rice in a bowl and cover with 2 cups water. Let stand for 20 minutes, then drain and rinse.
- Step 2
Heat oil in the pot of an electric pressure cooker with the sauté function set on high, until oil is shimmering. Add onion; cook for about 4 minutes, until softened. Stir in Serrano chile, ginger, garlic, salt, chile powder, turmeric, paprika and curry leaves; cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Step 3
Stir in boiling water; using a wooden spoon, stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Stir in soaked rice, shrimp and tomatoes (with juice).
- Step 4
Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Quick-release the pressure, stir lime juice into the rice, then cover the pressure cooker with a kitchen towel and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Step 5
Give rice a stir, then taste and add more salt, if needed. Transfer to a platter, garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges on the side.
- Make sure to use jumbo shrimp or larger for this recipe. Look for “16/20” or “U/15” on the package; this indicates how many shrimp there are per pound.
Private Notes
Comments
Double the water or the tomatoes: My Instant Pot gave me a "Burn" error because there wasn't enough liquid to create a pressure seal.
Technically, this dish should be called Pulao (which is basically Pilaf) since the curry and rice are mixed together and cooked. In a Biryani on the other hand, the par boiled rice are LAYERED with the sauce, and cooked on low heat on a stove top or baked in an oven.
I halved this delightful recipe and made a few changes, as follows: 1) I didn't have fresh curry leaves, so I used curry powder (approx. 1.5 tsp) 2) I didn't have fresh limes, so I used leaves from my (indoor, potted) lime tree. Delicious! 3) Shrimp is expensive and I am a millennial who can't afford avocado toast, so I only put in 8 (frozen) shrimp for my 1 cup of rice, but then I added a healthy handful of cashews for more oomph. Would be easy to make vegan with tofu & nuts!
Our Instant Pot gave us the Burn Warning before it ever got up to temperature (which also took forever) but the rice still came out cooked, albeit a little mushy for my liking. Still, it was very good and I liked the flavour a lot. Will try again but using the traditional method of cooking rice instead of the instant pot.
Delicious! I had no curry leaves, but it was still great. Carefully scrub the pot bottom with the boiling water to avoid the dreaded burn. The rice and jumbo shrimp were perfectly cooked.
Family favorite. I make it all the time.
