Start by soaking the rice in 3 cups of cold water for 20-30 minutes. Keep aside. Drain the water and rinse the rice after soaking.
In the Instant Pot, heat ghee (or vegetable oil) in Saute mode.
Add the sliced onions, whole spices and green chilies. Saute until onions start to brown ( 3-4 minutes).
Add the chopped tomatoes, cashew nuts, turmeric and garam masala, ginger garlic paste.
Add the veggies to the Instant Pot and saute for a minute more.
Add the rinsed pre-soaked rice. Add the green peas, salt, lemon juice, 1.5 cups water.
Make sure you deglaze the pot - using a spatula ensure that there are e no bits of residue sticking to the bottom of the instant pot - this can trigger a 'burn' error.
Pressure cook for 4 minutes. After the cooking cycle is complete and the Instant Pot begins to beep, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes (NPR). Then manually release pressure (QPR) and open the lid.
Instant Pot Vegetable Pulao is now ready to be served! with vegetable raita as part of a menu.
Video
Notes
Ensure that the Instant Pot is deglazed with a spatula before you pressure cook the ingredients. This will ensure that the 'Burn' error is not triggered. If you don't like biting into whole spices while eating, use a cheesecloth to wrap up the whole spices, or use a tea infuser to contain the spices. Discard the spices after pressure cooking.