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mushroom tikka biryani

PRESSURE COOKER MUSHROOM TIKKA BIRYANI

A mushroom tikka masala flavored one-pot biryani or pulao made in an Instant Pot as well as stove top pressure cooker; all you need is a raita or just plain yogurt and a fresh salad!
Course Main Course
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Author vanitha bhat

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups Long Grained Basmati Rice

FOR THE TIKKA MASALA PASTE:

  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
  • 10-12 whole cashew nuts soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
  • 1 large Serrano pepper or green chili
  • 5 large cloves of garlic peeled
  • 1 inch piece of ginger roughly chopped

FOR THE MUSHROOM TIKKA:

  • 4 tbsp cooking oil or a combination of oil and ghee if not vegan
  • 8 oz package white button mushrooms 3 cups thickly sliced
  • 2 cups cubed capsicum/bell pepper
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp salt

FOR THE BIRYANI:

  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 inch cinnamon piece
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper powder
  • 1-2 tsp red kashmiri Chili powder more for color than heat
  • 1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 cup cauliflower florets
  • ½ cup green peas fresh or frozen
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 ½ tsp salt or to taste

BOONDI RAITA:

  • 2 cups thick yogurt
  • 2 to 3 tbsp fine sugar
  • ½ tsp pink salt or Kala namak
  • ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
  • Crisp store bought or homemade boondis
  • OR
  • ½ cup onions finely chopped
  • ½ cup tomatoes finely chopped
  • Handful of finely chopped cilantro
  • Salt to taste

FOR GARNISH:

  • Freshly chopped cilantro or coriander leaves
  • Lemon wedges to serve with

Instructions

  1. Wash rice in plenty of water until water runs clear, drain and set aside.
  2. Chop mushrooms and bell peppers. Set aside.

TO MAKE THE ONION-TOMATO-CASHEW PASTE:

  1. In a blender, make a fine puree of onions, tomatoes, serrano peppers/green chilies, garlic, ginger and soaked cashews.
  2. Set aside.

TO MAKE IN AN INSTANT POT:

  1. FIRST STEP IS TO MAKE MUSHROOM TIKKA WITH BELL PEPPERS.

  2. Turn the Instant Pot to sauté. After the “hot” sign displays, add ¼ cup of oil.
  3. Once it is hot, add the chopped mushrooms and bell peppers.
  4. Sprinkle the spice powders listed under that and give it a good mix.
  5. Sauté, stirring continuously until all the flavors are mixed and you hear the sizzle of veggies frying.
  6. Continue to sauté until the vegetables are slightly cooked and sautéed; the mushrooms would have wilted and the bell peppers would have just cooked but with still the deep green color and it’s crunch.
  7. If you see water oozing out of the stir fry (from the mushrooms), using a spatula, slide the veggies to a side and continue to cook until most of the moisture is gone.
  8. Turn off the Instant Pot.

  9. Remove the sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers using a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.

TO MAKE THE BIRYANI:

  1. Turn on the sauté button and when hot, add 2 more tablespoons of oil if needed.
  2. Stir in 1 tsp cumin seeds and a cinnamon stick.
  3. Fry for a few seconds and then tip in the onion-tomato puree.

  4. Sprinkle the spice powders now – 1 tsp turmeric, ½ tsp black pepper powder, 1-2 tsp red chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder and 2 tsp coriander powder.

  5. Sauté or fry, stirring continuously until you see oil or fat separating, making sure to run your spatula over the bottom of the pan, to avoid the gravy from sticking too much; this can lead to it burning as the process goes on and while cooking you will get a “BURN” signal.

  6. After about 4 to 5 minutes or when you see the fat separating and gravy thickening, add the drained Basmati rice, 2 tsp salt or to taste and 2 cups hot water.

  7. Mix well; make sure that there are no browned, burnt surfaces at the bottom of the inner steel pot.

  8. Do a taste test to gauge the salt level. Add if needed. Cancel sauté.
  9. Close the Instant Pot and turn pressure valve to sealing.
  10. Select Manual/Pressure Cook on “High” and adjust time to 4 minutes.
  11. After 4 minutes, natural pressure release (NPR) for 2 minutes and then do a quick pressure release.
  12. Open the IP and remove inner steel pot from Instant Pot.

  13. Place on a trivet and close with a glass lid; set aside for 5 to 10 minutes. This prevents the rice from overcooking and gives time for each grain of rice to separate into fluffy grains.

  14. Open the lid; add the mushroom and bell pepper tikka mixture and using a ladle or fork gently mix into the cooked rice, making sure not to break any rice grains.

  15. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve hot with Boondi or any other raita or just some fresh curd/yogurt/lassi etc. and a wedge of lime/lemon. Some sliced cucumbers would be good too.

TO MAKE IN A STOVE TOP PRESSURE COOKER:

  1. Heat 4 tbsp oil and when slightly hot, stir in chopped mushrooms and bell peppers along with spice powders and salt.
  2. Stir fry on medium high heat until the veggies are slightly charred but still maintain its freshness.
  3. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon.
  4. In the same pan (add more oil if needed), add the whole spices; 1 tsp cumin and 1 inch cinnamon stick and sauté on medium low for a few seconds.
  5. Add the tomato onion paste and sauté, stirring continuously.

  6. Sprinkle spice powders: 1tsp turmeric, ½ tsp black pepper powder, 1-2 tsp red chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder and 2 tsp coriander powder.

  7. Mix well and cook on medium heat until you see oil starting to separate.

  8. At this stage, I have added cauliflower florets and green peas along with drained Basmati rice, 1 ½ tsp salt and 1 ¾ cup hot water. Mix well making sure to remove and deglaze any spices stuck to bottom of pan.

  9. Close the pressure pan and pressure cook on high for one whistle and then on low for 5 minutes.

  10. After 5 minutes, remove from heat, place on a trivet and let pressure drop naturally.

  11. As soon as you see the pressure drop, open the pressure pan and leave it slightly open; this prevents the rice from overcooking and becoming mushy.
  12. After about 10 to 15 minutes or so, add the sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers, mix gently using a small ladle to prevent rice grains from breaking.
  13. Let cool some more before serving. This step ensures that each grain of Basmati rice is separate and does not tend to stick to each other.
  14. Serve with a side of Boondi Raita or any raita you like.

TO MAKE THE BOONDI/TOMATO-ONION RAITA:

  1. Whisk the yogurt in a serving bowl. Add the sugar, salt and cumin powder.
  2. If enjoying Boondi Raita, stir in some crisp boondis and serve.
  3. If making vegetable raita, avoid the sugar, stir in the chopped onions, tomatoes and cilantro and serve.
  4. Enjoy Foodies and Happy Cooking/Eating!

Recipe Notes

  • Adjust the amount of spices according to personal taste.
  • Mushrooms and bell peppers can be sautéed in a separate pan if preferred.
  • The amount of water added to rice depends upon the quality of rice you are using.
  • If you are not too fond of spicy dishes, you can omit the Serrano pepper in the onion paste and reduce black pepper powder.
  • While sautéing the onion paste, stir continuously using a ladle, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot; removing the browned portions. Do this before pressure cooking the rice too. These steps will ensure you do not get the “BURN” sign when pressure cooking in Instant Pot as well as burnt food in the stove top version.
  • For a one-pot dish, you can sauté the veggies and onion paste in the inner pot, but if you want to avoid the burnt portion, do these steps in a stove top saucepan and then transfer to the IP.
  • I have used a 6 Quart Duo Instant Pot and a 5-liter stove top stainless steel pressure cooker.
  • Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!