Start the Instant Pot in Sauté mode and heat it. Add ghee, cumin seeds and whole spices and sauté them for 30 seconds until the cumin seeds change color.
Add the sliced onions, ginger, garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the beets, green peas and spices. Mix well.
Add the rice and water to the pot. Stir the ingredients in the pot.
Change the Instant Pot setting to Manual and cook for 4 minutes at high pressure.
When the Instant Pot beeps, do a 10 minute Natural Release. This means let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure manually.
Add the lemon juice and fluff the rice. Beet Pulao is ready. Enjoy with homemade yogurt or raita.
Recipe Notes
Adding whole spices is optional. You can enjoy this beet pulao even if you don’t have all the whole spices in your pantry.
To reduce spice, skip the cayenne.
I added green peas along with the beets, as that is what I had at hand. Other possible options to add are potatoes, bell peppers, carrots and edamame.