Chicken Biryani Recipe
Chicken Biryani is packed with fragrant rice and tender, juicy pieces of chicken, it’s a perfect dinner recipe that your entire household will love. You’ll find several variations of Biryani all throughout the world and each will have a slightly different tastes. This recipe yields a Chicken biryani that isn’t too oily, spicy and can be prepared for any occasion.
Ingredients
Marinate Chicken
- 1 Kg boneless chicken thigh or bone-in chicken pieces cut into medium to large pieces
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Golden Fried Onions
- 2 medium onions halved and finely sliced (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup oil for frying.
Cooked Basmati Rice
- 3 cups uncooked basmati rice
- 2 tbsp oil or melted butter or ghee
- 6 cloves
- 4 green cardamom
- 4 1/2 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 bay leaf
Cooked Chicken
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 small pieces of cinnamon stick
- 6 cloves
- 4 cardamom
- 2 Star anise
- 2 pieces of nutmeg flower
- 2 bay leaf
- 2 onion, sliced
- 2 green chilies cut lengthwise Adjust to your spiciness
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp garam marsala
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 2 tomatoes cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 1 ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
For Garnish
- Fried Onions
- Chopped mint leaves
- fried Cashew Nuts and raisin
- 3 tbsp Warm milk in a small pan or microwave
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads (optional)
Instructions
Marinate Chicken:
- Clean and cut chicken into medium to large pieces. Place in a bowl.
- Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, garam masala, salt, and lemon juice. Mix well.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Soak Basmati Rice:
- Rinse basmati rice thoroughly.
- Soak rice for 25-30 minutes, then drain well.
Fried Onion:
- Slice onions thinly.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Fry onions until golden brown. Remove and set aside on paper towels.
For Garnish:
- In the same oil, fry cashews until light brown, then add raisins and fry briefly. Set aside.
- Optionally, fry mint leaves until crispy or use fresh mint leaves.
- Prepare saffron milk by warming milk and adding saffron. Set aside.
For Cooking Chicken:
- Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Add whole spices and roast for 30-40 seconds.
- Add green chilies, sliced onions, ginger garlic paste, and salt. Cook until onions are light brown.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in powdered spices and fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and hot water. Cook until tomatoes are soft over medium heat.
- Add marinated chicken and bay leaves. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken color changes to white.
- Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook chicken for 10 minutes.
- Uncover and add 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, leaving some fried onions for garnish. Stir well and cook covered for another 10 minutes.
- Check if the chicken is cooked by piercing with a knife or fork. It should be just cooked, not overdone. The gravy should be thick, covering the base of the pan and just about the same level as the chicken pieces. If the gravy is not thick enough, cook further without the lid to evaporate excess water.
For Cooking Basmati Rice:
- Bring water to a boil with cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, lemon juice, bay leaves, salt, and oil.
- Stir in soaked rice, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 8-10 minutes until 75% cooked, then turn off heat and let it rest.
Final Assembly (Dum Biryani):
- Sprinkle mint leaves over the cooked chicken.
- Layer rice over the chicken without pressing down.
- Scatter fried onions, cashews, raisins, and mint leaves on top.
- Drizzle ghee or melted butter over the rice.
- Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, then let it rest for 30 minutes.
To Serve:
- Gently mix white and yellow rice from the top with chicken.
- Serve with remaining fried onions and coriander leaves, along with raita and cucumber salad on the side.
Notes
- The onion should be sliced evenly for even cooking.
- Optionally you can sprinkle saffron soaked milk that gives color and nice flavor.
- 1 Kg whole chicken can cut into about 14-16 pieces and it serves about 6-8 people
- To cook Basmati rice, use a ratio of 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water. Maintaining the correct ratio prevents stickiness and ensures fluffy, well-cooked rice.