Jackfruit and Chickpea pulao/biryani (in a pressure cooker); an easy, rich, satisfying and one-pot meal, bursting with the flavors of Indian spices and simple pantry ingredients.
Pressure cooker jackfruit and chickpea pulao/pilaf/biryani is an amazingly delicious one-pot Indian rice dish that you can place on your dinner or lunch table in less than an hour, especially if you have cooked chickpeas (high in proteins) and jackfruit (raw, considered highly nutritious and an amazing meat substitute); premade/precooked or canned.
With some simple Indian aromatic spices and good quality Basmati rice, making this is a breeze in a pressure cooker; stove top or electric Instant Pot.
Some days you just want to rustle up a quick dinner or lunch with easy to available ingredients, which can be made in a jiffy. This pressure cooker rice dish is one of those. So, this Sunday, I decided to make this super easy and super tasty dish for lunch.
I have always loved using pressure cookers to make quick meals.
Dals and beans are a staple in our diet to enjoy with rice, with dishes like black-eyed peas saaru upkari, kala chana upkari, chole etc.
This quick chickpea and jackfruit biryani is one of those. With canned chickpeas and canned jackfruit spiced up with some whole spices, coriander, cumin and garam masala powders, it is a perfect complement texture wise and flavor wise to rice; fennel seeds add an additional amazing flavor!
The nutty flavor of the high-protein chickpeas pairs wonderfully with the tender and highly nutritious raw jackfruit in this Indian spiced rice pilaf/biryani!
I have used a bit of yogurt in cooking, but if you are vegan, you can increase the amount of tomatoes and omit the ghee and just use oil. The fun part of this rice pulao/biryani is you can use different combinations of spices and vegetables (or even meat/chicken); and savor different flavors of pulao every time!
If you do not have canned chickpeas or jackfruit, make them fresh ahead of time and then use it. Presoak the chickpeas overnight and cook until soft and tender.
If you do not want to use any of these, substitute with any other beans like white or red beans or even black beans. Stir in your favorite veggies and viola!! You have your customized rice pilaf/biryani!
Jackfruit is a difficult vegetable to prep but you can check out how to here. I prefer to use canned jackfruit, easily available in any Indian grocery store or even online. If you do not like jackfruit or do not have any, substitute with mixed vegetables instead.
We love raw jackfruit and my other favorite jackfruit delights are: Kadgi Chakko , Jackfruit Burgers and a simple jackfruit stir fry. You got to check these out too!
For a good biryani or pulao, use the best quality Basmati rice which gives added flavor and texture to the dish. I love the long grains that pop out on my plate. The key to keeping each grain long and separate is to use water in the ratio 1:1 ½ or maximum 1:2 (rice: water).
Mint and coriander leaves are must in any biryani along with fried onions. But if you want a quick one-pot biryani like pulao, and do not have these, feel free to omit them...will still taste yummy!
Deep fried brown onions impart a lovely sweet flavor to the rice; so try not to omit this step as much as possible. Once the onions are fried, the pulao is easy to rustle up. You can prepare this ahead of time or use store bought instead too.
Although the ingredient list looks long, it is fairly easy to cook and put up. Only the fried onions take some time to rustle up; but you can prep the other ingredients while they are frying and save on time.
Once the dish was made, my whole family was gorging on it and they were raving about how good it tasted without all the waiting like regular dum biryani which is made in a kadai or saucepan and takes ages to dig into!
INSTANT POT VERSION (Updated February 2023):
Love my electric instant pot too...so decided to make some in this one.
Did not have any jackfruit and wanted to make it vegan, so I omitted the jackfruit and yogurt along with mint leaves (again, had run out of it!)
Wanted to make it quick, so I just fried the onions until light brown before adding the rice and veggies along with spices (here I have used Aatchi brand Kulambu Masala powder).
I used 1:2 rice to water and pressure cooked on "LOW" for just 5 minutes. Naturally pressure release (NPR) for 5 minutes and the quickly release the pressure.
Remove inner pot from the appliance using oven mittens or pot holders and place on a trivet, loosely covered for the rice to absorb any excess moisture and fluff up beautifully!
Gently mix using a plastic ladle or any spoon and serve hot or warm along with some raita or plain yogurt on the side!
Delicious and aromatic!
So, do give this easy biryani/pulao a try today or pin for later.
This one-pot Jackfruit and Chickpea Pulao/biryani would be delicious with a soup on the side; choose from:
Want to try more quick rice dishes? Then check out:
Step-by-step method to make Jackfruit and Chickpea Pulav/Biryani:
Make the fried onions:
Slice onions and deep fry on medium high heat, stirring often to a golden brown color. This step needs time and patience, so try not to burn the onions; they will turn bitter and destroy the dish!
Remove and place on oil-absorbent paper.
(For a quicker version, just sauté in less oil until light brown and then use)
Prepping the ingredients:
Wash the rice in lots of water until the water runs clear and soak for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep the ingredients. While the rice is soaking, you can fry the onions and chop the rest of the ingredients like green chilies, tomatoes, onions, mint and coriander leaves.
If using canned chickpeas, drain and wash in plenty of water and drain again.
Drain the jackfruit (if using canned), wash, drain again and shred to bite sized pieces.
Drain the soaked rice in a colander until fully drained.
Once the deep fried onions are ready, you can start to make the biryani.
Making the pulav/biryani:
Heat the oil (or oil plus ghee) in a large pressure cooker or pan.
Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices (cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, star anise, cumin seeds, fennel and cinnamon); stir until aromatic; few seconds.
Tip in the chopped or sliced red onions and fry again on medium heat until just softened.
Add the ginger paste and garlic paste and fry again until the raw smell reduces; a few seconds.
Stir in the green chilies and chopped tomatoes and fry again until the tomatoes are cooked and soft.
At this stage, mix in the spice powders: coriander, cumin, red chili and turmeric powders; mix well and sauté again for a minute, taking care not to burn the spices. If needed, sprinkle a little water.
Add the yogurt, if using, and mix well. Stir in the chickpeas and jackfruit and stir again. Mix in some salt and cook on medium heat for a few minutes to incorporate the spices a bit.
Sprinkle chopped mint and coriander leaves along with the drained rice and mix well. Fry again on medium heat until each rice grain glistens with oil or ghee and most of the moisture is gone. You can add rice first, saute and then add the rest of the ingredients like veggies, spice mix etc.
Sprinkle garam masala powder and mix well.
Add half of the fried onions, salt to taste and pour 1 ½ cups to maximum 2 cups of hot water to 1 cup rice over it. Mix well and close the pressure cooker. Place the weight on top (in the stove top pressure cooker).
Increase the heat and cook on high for 2 whistles (or reduce heat after one whistle and cook on low for 5 minutes). After 2 whistles, turn the heat off and leave the pan undisturbed, allowing the pressure to release naturally.
If using Instant pot, pressure cook on "LOW" for 5 minutes, NPR 5 minutes and then quickly release pressure manually.
Once the pressure is released, open the pan and fluff up the rice with a fork.
Fry the raisins in a little ghee/oil (about 1 tsp) until puffy, remove and mix into the rice.
Garnish with the remaining fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves and serve hot with some raita or plain yogurt, pickles, salad etc. on the side.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!!!
Jackfruit and Chickpea Biryani/Pulav (Pressure Cooker Method)
Jackfruit and Chickpea Pulav/Biryani is a quick and flavorful one-pot Indian flavored rice meal with chunky raw jackfruit and protein-rich chickpeas, made easy in the pressure cooker!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Basmati rice soaked in water for 20 minutes
For the browned onions:
- 2 cups sliced onions
- Oil for deep frying
For the biryani:
- 3 tbsp oil or a combination of oil and ghee
- 5 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 large bay leaf
- 2 star anise
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds saunf
- 2 inch piece of cinnamon broken into two
- 1 large red onion sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 5 to 6 green chillies/jalapenos
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp red chilli powder/cayenne powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 3 tbsp curd/yogurt whisked smooth
- 1 ½ cups cooked and shredded jackfruit
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas or garbanzo beans or use any other beans you like
- ¼ cup shredded mint leaves
- ¼ cup shredded coriander leaves/cilantro
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup black raisins fried in a little ghee or oil
- Mint and coriander leaves for garnishing
Instructions
Make the fried onions:
-
Slice onions and deep fry on medium high heat, stirring often to a golden brown color. This step needs time and patience, so try not to burn the onions; they will turn bitter and destroy the dish!
-
Remove and place on oil-absorbent paper.
-
(If out of time, then sauté in less oil until light brown.)
Prepping the ingredients:
-
Wash the rice in lots of water until the water runs clear and soak for about 20 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, prep the ingredients. While the rice is soaking, you can fry the onions and chop the rest of the ingredients like green chilies, tomatoes, onions, mint and coriander leaves.
-
If using canned chickpeas, drain and wash in plenty of water and drain again.
-
Drain the jackfruit (if using canned), wash, drain again and shred to bite sized pieces.
-
Once the deep fried onions are ready, you can start to make the biryani.
-
Drain the soaked rice in a colander until fully drained.
To make the biryani:
-
Heat oil (or oil plus ghee) in a large pressure cooker or pan.
-
Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices (cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, star anise, cumin seeds, fennel and cinnamon); stir until aromatic; few seconds.
-
Tip in the chopped or sliced red onions and fry again on medium heat until just softened.
-
Add the ginger paste and garlic paste and fry again until the raw smell reduces; a few seconds.
-
Stir in the green chilies and chopped tomatoes and fry again until the tomatoes are cooked and soft.
-
At this stage, mix in the spice powders: coriander, cumin, red chili and turmeric powders; mix well and sauté again for a minute, taking care not to burn the spices. If needed, sprinkle a little water.
-
Add the yogurt if using and mix well. Stir in the chickpeas and jackfruit and stir again. Mix in some salt and cook on medium heat for a few minutes to incorporate the spices a bit.
-
Sprinkle chopped mint and coriander leaves along with the drained rice and mix well. Fry again on medium heat until each rice grain glistens with oil or ghee.
-
(Rice can be added just after sauteeing onions and ginger-garlic and fried until it starts to gliste and pop and then add the rest of the ingredients).
-
Add half of the fried onions, garam masala powder, salt to taste and pour 3 1/2 cups to 4 cups of hot water over it. Ratio of rice to water is 1:1 1/2 or maximum 1:2.
Mix well and close the pressure cooker. Place the weight on top for stove top pressure cooker.
-
Increase the heat and cook on high for 2 whistles (or reduce heat after one whistle and cook on low for 5 minutes). After 2 whistles, turn the heat off and leave the pan undisturbed, allowing the pressure to release naturally.
-
To make in an Instant Pot:
Follow the same recipe as above but pressure cook on "LOW" for 5 minutes. NPR 5 minutes and then manually release the pressure.
Open the pot and transfer inner pot to a trivet, loosely covered for 10 minutes.
-
Fry the raisins in a little ghee/oil (about 1 tsp) until puffy, remove and gently mix into the rice.
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Garnish with the remaining fried onions, chopped coriander and mint leaves and serve hot with some raita or plain yogurt, pickles, salad etc. on the side.
Recipe Notes
- Adjust amount of spices according to personal taste.
- Frying the onions is recommended but optional if you do not have the time...just sauté until light brown.
- If vegan, you can omit the yogurt.
- Instead of jackfruit, you can use a mix of veggies (fresh or frozen) too.
- Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
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