Chicken Biryani Recipe

Biryani is a time-honored dish that unites delicious chicken pieces with the wonderful basmati rice and a medley of delightful spices. My version of Biryani enhances the flavors of the chicken and the rice with copious amounts of good yogurt, bright-red chili powder, and a garam masala that I could find in only a few kitchens in my neighborhood.

The chicken and rice sit atop a base of sautéed onions and a ginger-garlic paste that’s brown and saucy enough to eat on its own. What makes this Biryani unlike most that I’ve had before are the sweet-smelling spices, a heap of mint and coriander, and the drizzle of fresh lemon juice.

Ingredients

Ingredient Quantities

• 1 kg chicken, cut into pieces
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 3 tablespoons ghee
• 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons biryani masala
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Pinch of saffron strands, soaked in 2 tablespoons warm milk
• 4 cups water
• 2 green chilies, slit
• Fried onions, for garnishing

Instructions

1. Wash the basmati rice in cold water until the water runs clear, then soak it in water for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. In a big pot, heat the cooking oil and ghee at a medium temperature. Once it is hot, add the sliced onions to the pot and fry them until they are golden brown, which will take about 10 minutes. Remove half of the onions and set them aside for use as a topping.

3. Introduce ginger-garlic paste to the leftover onions—now in the pot—and sauté for a minute. Then, add chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala, and garam masala. Cook until the tomatoes are tender and the oil starts to separate from the masala.

4. Add the masala-coated chicken to the pot. Stir well to combine. Sauté uncovered until the chicken is brown on all sides.

5. Incorporate unflavored yogurt, stirring it in well. Then add what was listed in the ingredient list and allow it to do its thing. When that’s done, add the next ingredient and allow it to cover and do its thing for a while. By the way, I’ve already done the sautéing step. So you could kind of consider this as the next step in the whole “making a really good chicken biryani” process.

6. In a different substantial pot, bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil. Pour in the drained rice and allow it to simmer, uncovered, until it is just 70% cooked. Drain the rice in a colander and return it to the pot. Cover and set aside.

7. Once the chicken is cooked, layer the rice, which is only partially cooked, over the chicken in the pot. Sprinkle over the rice: mint leaves, coriander leaves, the rest of the salt, lemon juice, and saffron milk, which has been soaked.

8. Tightly cover the pot with a lid and place it on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes. This will allow the rice to fully cook and the flavors to meld.

9. Remove the biryani from the heat and let it settle for another 5 minutes before uncovering.

10. Tenderly separate the grains of biryani using a fork, then scatter over the top the fried onions you’ve so wisely set aside. Serve the biryani piping hot, and enjoy it with a raita or your side salad of choice.

Equipment Needed

1. Large pot
2. Medium pot
3. Colander
4. Cutting board
5. Sharp knife
6. Wooden spoon or spatula
7. Bowl (for washing rice)
8. Measuring cups
9. Measuring spoons
10. Ladle (for mixing)
11. Fork (for fluffing rice)
12. Small bowl (for soaking saffron)

FAQ

• Q: Can I use brown rice instead of basmati rice?You can use brown rice; however, be mindful that it will need a longer cooking time and may change the traditional flavor and texture of the biryani.
• Q: How can I make the biryani less spicy?A: To reduce spiciness, lessen the amount of red chili powder and leave out the green chilies. More yogurt can also be used to counterbalance any residual heat.
• Q: What is the purpose of soaking saffron in warm milk?A: Warm milk is the best medium for extracting the flavors and colors in saffron. The milk then makes its way into the rice dishes infused with saffron. The way saffron is extracted and the medium in which it is extracted are key to saffron’s full potential being realized.
• Q: Can I make this biryani ahead of time?A: Yes, it is possible to prepare biryani a day in advance. Place it inside the fridge and reheat gently. The next day, the flavors may be melded together and more pronounced than they were on the day of cooking.
• Q: How do I prevent the rice from becoming mushy?To avert a mushy dish, use basmati that is both aged and par-cooked before layering. The par-cooking is not the challenging part; the tricky bit is to overboil. If you think about boiling and the amount of boiling bubbles you would see in a pot of soup, when you see those types of bubbles, you’re cooking with too much heat.
• Q: Can I substitute ghee with butter?A: You can use butter instead of ghee, but ghee has a distinct flavor that bolsters the authenticity of biryani. If you’re using butter in biryani, you should use clarified butter for a flavor that’s closer to that of ghee.
• Q: Is it possible to make this biryani vegetarian?A: Replacing the chicken in the chicken biryani is absolutely fine, and you can use a mix of delicious vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, peas, and cauliflower to make a vegetable biryani that is as authentic and tasty as its meaty counterpart.

Substitutions and Variations

Chicken:
Replace with tofu or paneer for a vegetarian option.
Basmati rice:
You can use jasmine rice or any long-grain rice as an alternative.
Ghee:
Instead, neutral oils—like canola or vegetable oil—or even butter can be used.
Biryani masala:
If biryani masala is not available, use garam masala with additional ground coriander and cumin.
Saffron strands:
Turmeric can lend a little bit of color, though it can’t replicate the flavor.