Chicken Biryani for the Instant Pot

Directions

1. Make marinade by mixing garam masala, ginger paste, garlic paste, red chili powder, turmeric, mint leaves, half of the chopped cilantro, lemon juice, yogurt, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the pat dried chicken and coat evenly with the marinade. Keep in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
2. While the chicken is marinating, using a wire mesh strainer, rinse the rice. Combine the rinsed rice and 2 cups of water in a bowl and allow the rice to soak for 20 minutes. Using the wire mesh strainer, drain all the water from the rice and set aside.
3. Turn Instant Pot to Sauté (Hi) mode and heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and add thinly sliced onions. Cook stirring frequently for 15 mins or until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. Take out half of the onion and keep aside for garnishing the biryani.
4. Add remaining ghee to the Instant Pot with half of the caramelized onions already in the pot. For extra spicy biryani, add sliced green chiles. Add bay leaves and marinated chicken to the pot and stir to combine. Press the cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot. Stir well with a wooden spoon, nudging loose any browned bits from the pot bottom; this will help the Instant Pot come to pressure and prevent the biryani from burning.
5. Close Instant pot and turn pressure valve to sealing. Select the Pressure Cook mode or Manual setting and set the cooking time for 4 mins at high pressure. After the cooking cycle completes, perform a quick release. Press the cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot. Open the pot and once again, stir well with a wooden spoon, nudging loose any browned bits from the pot bottom; if needed remove the chicken to a bowl to clear all the browning at the bottom of the pot.
6. Add the rice, spreading it out so that it covers the chicken evenly. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over the top and pour 2 cups of water. Scrape down the sides of the pot to make sure that most of the rice is submerged in the water.
7. Close Instant pot and turn pressure valve to sealing. Select the Pressure Cook or Manual setting and set the cooking time for 6 minutes at high pressure.
8. Perform a quick release. Press the cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot. Open the pot and gently fluff the rice with a fork or silicone spatula. It is okay if the top layer of the rice looks a bit undercooked; simply fluff the top layer, or secure the lid for 5 minutes as the rice continues to cook with the residual heat. Garnish with the remaining caramelized onions, saffron milk and remaining cilantro.
9. Serve with Raita (onions and tomatoes mixed in yogurt), hard boiled egg, and lemon wedges on the side.
10. Pro Tips for perfect Biryani: Tip #1: Although, Sauté function on the Instant Pot works great for true one pot cooking, you can also caramelize the onions, stove top in a non-stick pan. This will speed up the process and also will prevent the stainless steel Instant Pot insert getting scorched which may lead to “BURN” notice on the newer Instant Pot’s. Tip #2: If you are using small bone-in chicken pieces or boneless thighs, you can skip the initial 4 minutes of pressure cooking step and instead sauté the marinated chicken for 2 to 3 minutes. Then layer the soaked and drained rice and pressure cook for 6 minutes