Instant pot Spinach Rice / Pulao

Author: Soniya Saluja

Easy Instant Pot spinach rice is a healthy meal that I love to make for my family for lunch box meals. Full of nutritious ingredients and filling protein, this meal helps my loved ones power through their busy days. Making this spinach rice recipe in an Instant Pot turns it into a quick meal that I can put together even on my busiest days.

4.57 from 69 votes

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Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 5

Additional Time: 5

Total Time: 15

Servings:

4 cups

Calories:

143kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice rinsed and drained
3 cups fresh spinach/chopped
1 cup canned chickpeas
One 1 medium onion diced
1 tablespoon ginger & garlic / finely chopped
One 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
¼ turmeric powder
Half ½ teaspoon red chill powder
One tablespoon lime juice
1 cup of water
One teaspoon oil
salt to taste

Instructions

Electric pressure cooker Instructions

Press saute mode on Instant Pot. Add oil and once it’s hot, add ginger and chopped onions and give it a stir
Add chopped spinach leaves, chickpeas, salt to taste, garam masala powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, and the washed Rice and water give a stir.
Close the lid on the pot, and turn the valve from VENTING to SEALING position.
Press CANCEL button on Instant Pot.Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK button (High Pressure) and set the timer to 5 minutes
When done. Natural Pressure Release(NPR) for 5 minutes and then do a QUICK RELEASE (QR)
Remove lid away from you, Mix well
Spinach Rice is ready. Serve with Raita or plain yogurt.

Stovetop Instructions

Heat a heavy bottom pot on medium-high heat.
Follow the instructions to sauté everything,
add spinach, chickpeas, rice, water.
Bring to a boil and cover the pot. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 10-12 minutes. Till the rice is cooked.
Open the lid, and fluff rice with a fork. Serve it with dal or yogurt!

Video

Notes

Make sure you measure the water and rice and use the proper 1 to 1 ratio. When you cook rice on the stovetop the ratio isn’t as important as you can always adjust as you go. With the Instant Pot, you’ll want to get it right since you can’t adjust during cooking.
Don’t skip rinsing the rice before you cook it. Rinsing rice removes the extra starch from the surface of the rice. If you skip rinsing it, the extra starch could make the rice gummy as it cooks.
Adjust the salt and spices to your taste, but don’t be intimidated if you are worried this recipe will be too spicy. The Instant Pot dilutes flavors a bit so adding a little more than you would add on the stovetop will yield delicious, but not overly spicy, results.

Nutrition