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!
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Dal (Indian lentil curry)
-
Browse the Curry Collection
ON THE SIDE
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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
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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.)
Shnplr says
I have made so many of your recipes but this one the most….. love love love it. & it freezes great 👍🏻
Soni says
Made it today. Awesome flavour and soooo easy. Family favourite now. Thank you so much
Shubs silvadas says
Hi I made this today and it was really delicious. Thank you for your wonderful recipes. It’s easier than other authentic Indian briyani and yet as tasty. This is the second one I’m making. I made paella the first time. It was also soo good.
Heidi says
This was unbelievable! So good!! Better than any I’ve eaten before and really not that difficult if you just keep following the recipe and doing the steps.
Jared Sharp says
Excellent bulletproof chicken biryani recipe. Easy steps to follow w useful alternative ingredients recommendations. Definitely marinating the chicken overnight was a winner.
Sula says
What type of salt did you use?
Nagi says
Hi Sula, I use cooking salt in all my recipes (unless stated otherwise). N x
Kylie Haberl says
OMG so delicious. Cooked out tonight. My daughter’s loved it. Will become a family favourite.
Kim Phillips says
Have made this is very nice and easy one of my wifes favourites
Anna says
Hi Still waiting for ebooks
Nagi says
Hi Anna, if you send me through an e-mail I can sort this out for you. N x
Sam says
Hi Nagi, love your website, I’ve made many things from here, all lovely but I’ve not yet made this biryani, though I want to! Did any of your trialling leave out the onion as an option? I can’t eat onion and I had read somewhere that you can use asafoetida instead of onion, but note you deliberately left it out? Thanks
Nagi says
Hi Sam, I’ve always added the onion/shallots for texture and flavour – I have tried with any other subs sorry! Would love to know if you give it a go! N x
Kristen P says
Wow! Out of this world! I served it with a mint chutney and my teen boys asked me to put it into regular rotation. I actually made double so there would be leftovers for lunches, but we all ate it as breakfast the next day – it was that good!
This week I bought all the spices in bulk and mixed them up so next time the marinade will be even faster to whip up. This recipe has been added to my “best of” recipes. Thank you Nagi!!
J says
How did I cook this with boneless,skinless thighs?
(Have to use this as freezer was unplugged)
Brendan Luxford-Sweett says
I’ve made this 4 or 5 times now, twice for other people as my “look at me” meal. Its an absolute favourite
Karl Shifflett says
This was SO GOOD, and very easy to make.
I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs so I could remove most of the fat before cooking.
Thank you SO much for posting an outstanding tasting recipe along with perfect instructions. Very easy to follow, even reading from my phone.
Thank you for taking the time to create this recipe post for all of us!
Have a fantastic day!
Jenni says
I’ve tried a lot of your recipes. Every one has been sensational. This Biryani is no exception! Super yummy. Tasted just like a memorable Biryani I had in India, or maybe even better 😊. Thanks so much Nagi.
madhavi kandula says
i was so nervous to make this. chicken biryani is a recipe for disaster if not made properly. as an asian indian from the south, i was even more reluctant to try this hyderbadi version. i made this tonight and it was beyond my expecations. all the flavors that i love and the perfect recipe to recreat them. a million stars from an american desi woman. wow!
Jenny says
Tried your biryani recipe yesterday and it was AMAZING.
Served it with a green veg curry, will definitely be making this again. Thanks!
Nagi says
Sounds perfect Jenny! N x
Cherry says
Love this recipe! Made it three times now. The first 2 times i burnt the bottom a little bit so i just adjusted the heat down on my third try and it was better. Now i need to make it foe a party. Maybe 3 times this recipe. So do i just need to triple all the amount? Same goes for the water for the rice?
Anila says
Followed the receipe, the bottom got burnt & the chicken was too salty. But great flavor. Next time, I would probably layer it, rice, chicken/gravy, rice. Cover and bake it for 25 minutes in the oven. Also it took me 3 hours to make.
Nagi says
Hi Anila, sorry you had issues here, sounds like you may need to turn the heat down slightly if it burnt on the bottom. It shouldn’t be too salty – unless you used table salt in the recipe which is a finer grain. N x
Jodie says
Just made this for dinner. It was my first attempt at biryani and it was a hit! I even fried the onions (and I avoid frying anything). I love the way all the spices combine to make this beautiful aromatic dish. This one is a keeper, next time I’ll try your shortcut with the fried shallots. Thanks Nagi