Biryani is a celebration of all that is great about Indian food – the heady aromas, the vibrant colours, the fluffy rice and those addictive curry flavours. Make this Chicken Biryani with your protein of choice – or try a vegetable biryani!
Biryani recipe
One of the most requested recipes is finally here! Another RecipeTin Family effort, it took us seven attempts to get this biryani right.
Seven attempts means seven heated arguments about who would take the leftover biryani because somebody in the RecipeTin family, at any point in time, usually declares themselves to be on a diet to address blog-related weight gain concerns.
And it was worth it. (Belly and all.) Biryani, we can’t get enough of you!
WHAT IS BIRYANI, AND WHY DO I LOVE IT SO MUCH?
Essentially, it’s your favourite chicken curry (or vegetable or other protein of choice) buried under a mound of delicately spiced fluffy rice, all made in one pot. The rice is steamed over a low heat so it absorbs the flavours of the curry bubbling away underneath.
So in a nutshell, it’s every curry loving-carb monsters’ dream come true. It’s got my name written all over it!
ABOUT THIS BIRYANI
You’ll find variations of Biryani all across the Indian subcontinent, from Pakistan to Bangladesh, Afghanistan to India. There are 2 main types – one where the protein and/or vegetables are cooked mixed throughout the rice, and the other version known as Hyderabad-style biryani in India where meat and rice are layered and cook in a sealed pot over fire. The latter is the style of biryani I’m sharing today.
There’s a wonderful Afghani restaurant in my area called Sahar (Newport, Sydney) which serves a Biryani that’s a huge favourite among locals. Hands down, the best ethnic restaurant I know in the upper northern beaches.
HOW TO MAKE BIRYANI
Chicken marinated in a spiced yoghurt is placed in a large pot, then layered with fried onions (cheeky easy sub below!), fresh coriander/cilantro, then par boiled lightly spiced rice.
The crowning glory is to finish it off with a drizzle of saffron infused water to give it the signature patches of bright yellow rice, as well as ghee (or melted butter) for buttery richness.
The pot is then covered and cooked over a low heat for about 25 minutes during which time the rice absorbs the aromas and flavours of the curry underneath, whilst still being beautifully fluffy.
That moment when you lift the lid and are greeted with this sight…
…. that moment is only second to this: when you dig deep into the pot, ensuring you get some of every layer, and the full force of the aroma from the curry buried deep under the rice hits you, and it takes every single bit of will power to gravitate that spoon towards a bowl instead of attempting to shove that entire giant scoop in your mouth….
OK wait. Did you almost lose control too?
I’m almost done. Bear with me – just want to show you a few more things before handing over the recipe!
BIRYANI SPICES
There’s subtle flavourings used for the rice, and a load more used for the curry sauce.
There’s a lengthy list but there’s nothing exotic here, you can find all these spices at everyday supermarkets here in Australia. Some recipes call for Asafoetida which is an Indian spice that requires a trip to an Indian grocer. We tried it with and without, and I swear we could not taste a difference. So we don’t use it. 🙂
CHEEKY SUB FOR FRIED ONION
Thin slices of onion fried until sweet and a bit crispy, this is used as one of the layers in the Biryani as well as a garnish for serving.
If you aren’t a fan of deep frying or are a beginner cook, my cheeky alternative is using store bought fried onion (Asian or Indian stores) or Asian Fried Shallots (pictured below) which are sold at everyday supermarkets. They add the same oniony flavour with the added bonus of extra crunch!
THE ROOTS OF THIS RECIPE
Another recipe ticked off the Recipe Request list, another RecipeTin family effort!!
As always, we love to look to the pros to build a starting point for recipe inspiration. We ate biryani at our favourite specialty restaurants in Sydney, Pakistani chain Student Biryani in Auburn, and the Indian restaurant Paradise Biryani House in North Strathfield.
To learn the techniques, we looked at a few books (love the local library!), dozens of internet pages and Youtube videos from home cooks in India.
Yes the ingredients list is long – but you’ll find everything at the supermarket. And while there are a number of steps to make Biryani, it is actually quite a straightforward recipe. (Video is helpful too!)
And even if yours doesn’t turn out perfect, don’t be put off because even less than perfect biryani is still delicious (we happily scoffed the first few test batches despite the flaws!). – Nagi x
MORE GREAT CURRIES OF THE WORLD!
-
Dal (Indian lentil curry)
-
Browse the Curry Collection
ON THE SIDE
-
Give this Everyday Cabbage Salad an Indian spin by sauteing garlic and cumin seeds in oil before mixing up with other Dressing ingredients
-
No Yeast Easy Soft Flatbread. Perfect to use as naan!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Chicken Biryani
Ingredients
- 750g (1.5 lb) chicken thighs , skin on, bone in, halved along bone (Note 1)
Marinade:
- 2/3 cup (150 ml) yoghurt , plain
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or other plain oil)
- 6 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (adjust spiciness to taste)
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tsp garam marsala (Note 2)
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp paprika , sweet / ordinary (not smoked)
- 1 3/4 tsp salt
Par Boiled Rice:
- 2 tbsp salt
- 10 cloves
- 5 dried bay leaves
- 1 star anise
- 6 green cardamon pods
- 2 1/4 cups (450g) uncooked basmati rice (Note 3)
Crispy Onions (Note 4):
- 2 medium onions (yellow, brown) , halved and finely sliced
- 1 cup (250 ml) oil , for frying
Saffron:
- 1 tsp saffron threads (loosely packed) (Note 5)
- 2 tbsp warm water
Biryani:
- 1 cup coriander / cilantro , chopped
- 1/4 cup (60g) ghee or unsalted butter , melted (Note 6)
Garnish:
- Crispy onions (above)
- Chopped coriander / cilantro
- Yoghurt (Note 7)
Instructions
- Mix Marinade in a large pot (about 26cm / 11" diameter). Add chicken and coat well. Marinade 20 minutes to overnight.
Par Boiled Rice:
- Bring 3 litres / 3 quarts water to the boil, add salt and spices.
- Add rice, bring back up to the boil then cook for 4 minutes, or until rice is just cooked still a bit firm in the middle. Rice will taste salty at this stage, disappears in next stage of cooking.
- Drain immediately. Set aside. (Note 10 re: leaving whole spices in)
Crispy Onions:
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Cook onion, in batches, for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown. Don't burn - they become bitter.
- Remove onto paper towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining onion.
Saffron:
- Place in a bowl, leave for 10 minutes+.
Biryani:
- Place pot with chicken in it onto a stove over medium heat. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid. Cook for 5 minutes, turning chicken twice.
- Remove from heat.
- Turn chicken so skin side is down - it should cover most of the base of the pot.
- Scatter over half the onion then half the coriander.
- Top with all the rice. Gently pat down and flatten surface.
- Drizzle saffron across rice surface in random pattern, then drizzle over ghee.
- Place lid on. Return to stove over medium heat.
- As soon as you see steam, turn down to low then cook for 25 minutes.
- Remove from stove, rest with lid on for 10 minutes.
To Serve:
- Aim to serve it so you get nice patches of yellow rice, white rice, the curry stained rice + chicken (rather than all mixed up). To do this, use a large spoon and dig deep into the pot, and try to scoop up as much as you can in one scoop.
- Turn out into bowl - or onto platter. Garnish with remaining onion and coriander with yoghurt on the side (see Note 7 for Minted Yoghurt)
Recipe Notes:
* Scaling recipe (click on servings and scale) - must scale pot size up/down
* Salt - yes you really need 2 tbsp salt to par boil the rice. The rice will taste salty at this stage but the salt comes out of the rice during the second stage of cooking. Trust me, you need that much salt in the water!
* Spiciness is mainly from cayenne, a bit from garam masala. So adjust to taste.
* Fresh spices - use fresh spices, not ones that have been sitting around in your pantry for years!
* Whole spices - the whole spices are typically left in the rice. They soften when cooked so to me it's not a big deal, I've never found it off-putting. If you're really concerned, either pick them out just before layering in the pot or wrap the spices in a small muslin or cheesecloth. 11. Storage - Leftovers keep well for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in microwave. As rice is not quite as moist with leftovers, best to serve with yoghurt (even plain is fine). Even freezing should be fine, haven't tried it but rice and curry both freeze great so I see no reason why this wouldn't freeze well. Make Ahead - These are the things that can be done ahead: Par Boil the rice up up to 24 hours ahead of using. Marinate the chicken and cook it per recipe up to the point before rice covers it up to 2 days ahead. OR leave the marinated chicken in the freezer for up to 48 hours. Make saffron water and onion. Then on the day of, assemble the biryani layers and cook per recipe!
LIFE OF DOZER
This is how he spent most of today. (And yesterday. And the day before.)
Normally don´t order Biryani when we go out or get a takeaway, but we had a vote on what to have for a Sunday dinner and we almost always have a Sunday roast but not this time, OMG Nagi, the aroma in the house, the flavours and just everything, thank you so much, hope you and Dozer have had a lovely weekend x
I made this tonight and OMG it was D-Licious. I can’t believe how good it was. Totally worth the effort 👌
Beautiful! As a side note, has anyone made shorba to go with this? It’s usually served with biryani in Britain.
This is tea tonight, Nagi. Thank you for the inspiration! I’m making it with Indian tomato salad and naan. I like to open my bifolding doors so the aroma wafts out to the neighbours! Pahahaha
This was great I subbed the garlic and ginger for 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste and also added some chaat masala to the marinade
This recipe is a absolutely terrible, if you follow the instructions to a tee you will have burnt chicken and rice, total waste of my time.
Oh Nagi, this was amazing (of course). I can’t believe how many spices I used for this dish but so, so worth it. Rave reviews from my family and thank god I had another serve left over for my son’s lunch tomorrow! 🙂
hey nagi, I just recently stumbled over your website and not a week goes by where I’m not (madly) looking for something new and amazing to cook. It doesn’t always turn out like i imagined (and you maybe intended) but it still is yummy AF. Always. I’m just commenting to let you know that your recipes made it all the way to Germany 😉
Can the biryani be baked in the oven? I would like to make a large batch for a party.
Ta
Amazing! So addictive …however my rice was still a little hard…i cooked it for much longer and still couldn’t bring it to soft form! Chicken was amazingly juicy and tasty!
Oh Nagi, this is INSANE! I can’t believe how tasty this was. My husband and my father (who lives with us) wouldn’t stop raving about this last night. While eating we were all moaning and groaning about how yummy it was. The fried onions were next level too, thank god I had the sense to make double the fried onions because we were lucky that any made it to the table. My husband always complains (gently) about whole spices in food but he wasn’t complaining last night. You should know that I ONLY cooked this because you had a recipe for it. I’ve been a loyal follower for a long time and I know your recipes work, guaranteed; so I knew I’d be successful even if it involved multiple steps and techniques – and I was rewarded with the tastiest meal we’ve had in ages. While I have the beef recipe in your cookbook I’d sell my soul for a succulent lamb shoulder recipe. I’ve had oesophageal cancer and can only eat red meat when it is super duper tender like pulled meat. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your recipes Nagi, they give me such confidence to tackle things I normally wouldn’t for fear of failure. Whenever I want to tackle something new I always check to see if you have a recipe for it first – and the Dozer eye candy is a wonderful bonus. Give him some love from me! xx
I prepped this as a make-ahead meal on a Sunday and then cooked it on a Tuesday after work. It was maybe 5 minutes of additional prep to put everything into the pot, and the rest was hands off and super quick. I used boneless skinless thighs cut into a few pieces, and it came out great! This one is a keeper!
Hi Nagi! Is it possible to use leftover roast chicken for this recipe?! (I’m marinating the chicken as we speak, but I’m sure I have to tweak the recipe as the chicken is already cooked) Thanks!
Fantastic recipe, easy to follow, turns out perfect every time, thank you!
Omg – this was amazing. Cooked it yesterday for our NYE gathering was a hit!!!!
This is my go to recipe for Biryani. I always get compliments when I serve this or bring it to parties. Thank you for all your wonderful work and recipes Nagi! I always check your website for any food I would like to make and always use your recipe and it never fails me!
Urgently need to know if this recipe can be doubled and Which ingredients should stay the same. Need to do 5 cups rice for vegetable version
Can this recipe and the vegetable version be doubled with the rice to 5 cups?
Just fantastic recipes. Easy to follow, restaurant quality result!
This is hands down one of my fave recipes from Nagi.
It may look difficult but once you break down the steps it’s actually quite easy. I shortcut the onions by using the store bought ones, I don’t bother with the saffron as it’s just as tasty without.
I use pot set greek yoghurt but find you do need to add a little water to thin it so the chicken stays moist.
Really recommend you try this recipe. It’s extremely flavoursome. Thanks Nagi 🙂