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chicken pulao in a plate with onion rings
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Easy Chicken Pulao

A quick and easy chicken pulao that's made with a few ingredients only!
Course Dinner
Cuisine Indian
Keyword chicken and rice, chicken pulao, Indian chicken recipes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 217.6kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 boneless chicken breast cut into strips
  • 2 cups white Basmati rice washed and soaked in 2 cups water
  • 1 red onion big, sliced
  • 2 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste
  • 2 tablespoon yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • ¼ cup cooking oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt to taste

Instructions

Preparation (10 minutes)

  • Wash and soak the rice in water.
  • Slice the onion.
  • Mince the ginger and garlic.
  • Cut the chicken into strips.

Instant Pot Method (30 minutes)

  • Turn the instant pot to saute mode (normal), add oil and fry the onions until reddish-brown. Keep stirring frequently to prevent uneven browning.
  • Add the ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, chilli flakes, garam masala and salt. Saute for 4-5 minutes adding a few splashes of water to keep the masala from drying out.
  • Add the chicken and half a cup water. Saute the chicken in the masala for 3-4 minutes or until it becomes whitish in color.
  • Add the rice and the water in which it was soaked. Mix everything well. Then cancel the saute mode and switch on the pressure cooking mode (manual in some models). Make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
  • Pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Once the timer beeps, release pressure after 5 minutes.

Stovetop Method (30 minutes)

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onions. Fry until reddish brown. Keep stirring frequently to prevent uneven browning.
  • When the onions caramelize, add the ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, chilli flakes, garam masala and salt. Saute for 4-5 minutes adding a few splashes of water to keep the masala from drying out.
  • Add the chicken and half a cup water. Saute the chicken in the masala for 3-4 minutes or until it becomes whitish in color.
  • Add the rice and the water in which it was soaked + half a cup extra water. Mix everything well and cook on high until the liquid starts bubbling. Then lower the heat and leave the pulao to simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the water has been absorbed by the rice. Cover with a lid and let it rest for another 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

 
  1. The extra half cup of water is added in the stovetop method because a lot of water evaporates quickly in an open pan whereas in a pressure cooker the water remains inside as steam.
  2. You can use store-bought fried onions and ginger garlic paste if you are in a hurry. Works well for this recipe.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 217.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 17.8g | Protein: 8.7g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9.8g | Cholesterol: 17.3mg | Sodium: 860.1mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 2.5g