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
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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.)
Rellya Hutauruk says
Spot on flavour, bold <3
Nagi says
Thanks so much Rellya!
Helen Bassett says
Hi Nagi
I’m a fellow Aussie from thebush and this was my firdt attempt at biryani. It was delicious but I thought the garlic and ginger were a bit raw. Should I give them a quick fry first?
Nagi says
Hi Helen, I’m so glad you thought it was delicious!! The garlic and ginger is in the marinade with the chicken – the chicken is cooked first so it should definitely not taste raw! – N x
Pradip says
Absolutely delicious nice
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Pradip!
Nicola says
Absolutely delicious, will definitely be making it again
Seraphina says
Hi Nagi, I made this yesterday and had it at work for lunch today and it was AMAZING. I mean, I was making nomnom noises at my desk and just generally so satisfied with it. I left out saffron (did not have it, could not be bothered to buy), cinnamon (I ran out! Unbelievable), and ground cardamon (oddly difficult to find in the UK), and it was still really good. I come from Singapore and have had my fair share of biryani but must say this was better than many that I’ve had. The rice was so fragrant and not dry at all, and the chicken was spicy (in terms of spices, not chili spicy) and everything was just so good. I will definitely make this again, thanks for the amazing recipe.
Nagi says
I’m so glad it still worked out for you Seraphina!!
Molly says
I tried this recipe out for dinner earlier this week. It was flavorful, fragrant and absolutely divine!!! Thank you so much for putting this recipe out there.
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Molly, I’m so glad you loved them!
Andra saunders says
Nagi – I’ve been a fan of your (and your mom’s) recipes for a while, but this one really takes the cake! I made it for my friends tonight without a test run because food cooked from your site always turns out so well. I did it with bone-in thighs (had to blind trust there because I don’t generally like dark meat or skin-on or bone-in) and the only modification was to use french’s fried onions (didn’t want to try to hunt down an Asian market, and french’s are readily available in the states), and I probably used more than in the recipe because fried onions… come on… I could eat a whole container of them in a sitting… It was in the oven on warmer for a couple hours until we got to it. And when we did it was still amazing and everyone loved it!! It set a new bar for biryani that we’ve never reached in restaurants! Thank you for the great and easy to follow recipes and the lovely notes (and humor) throughout – recipe tin eats (and recipe tin eats Japan) are our go to sources for ideas and recipes, and with great reason. Keep up the good work – we love and appreciate all of it! Love to Dozer!
Andra saunders says
Missed the rating part – solid 5 star recipe as written!
Joby Neelankavil says
It’s hard to come by skin-on chicken thighs here, so can I use chicken drumsticks? If so, how many should I use? Also, do you have a method to bake this instead of doing it on the stovetop?
Cheryle Ross says
Nagi, this recipe is truly amazing. My dad who makes Biryani nearly every weekend is going to start using your recipe after i made it for the family on the weekend. Incredible flavour
Nagi says
Woah what a great compliment Cheryel!
Tracy says
SO DELICOUS and packed full of flavor! Although it took me quite a bit longer than 1hr 20min 🙂 , it was worth it! I really appreciated the detailed instructions and notes, too. Will be trying many more recipes from your site. Thank you for sharing!
Nagi says
Thanks so much for the feedback Tracy!
Caryll Mills says
Nagi I do not have a website, I go through your easy to make recipes & change the recipe because I make my own curry powder & spices mixes to make for us and our families when the all come over on a Sunday for lunch..Thank you Nagi for sharing. I love reading all you blogs. Caryll
Nagi says
Thanks so much Caryll!
Emma says
Incredible. Deserves every star. Informative and easy to follow guide (I particularly liked the step by step photographs) and a truly delicious outcome! I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Many thanks!
Nagi says
That’s so nice to hear Emma, thank you so much!
Beverley says
Made this tonight, the video tutorial is very helpful & it was restaurant quality. Husband & son both loved it. Defo will be making again 👍🏼
Nagi says
I’m so glad it was a hit Beverley!
Neil Norkett says
Been searching for years to find a relatively easy Biryani recipe. The smell, taste and appearance of this Biryani is amazing and rivals anything I’ve tasted from restaurants or takeaways. Amazing.
Nagi says
Woah, that’s SO great to hear Neil, thanks so much! – N x
Yoona says
Fantastic recipe Nagi. I especially love the way the rice is cooked. No more worries of having under or overly cooked rice. The smell of the spices are just divine.
I served it with spinach yoghurt raita. Really yummy and everyone gobble it up.
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Yoona! – N x
Phaidra Campbell says
Hi Nagi – I love Biryani and my husband and I recently have gone vegan for his health issues. I am a little confused on what to do for the vegi version you list in your notes. Am I supposed to par-cook the vegetables before layering?
I always like to add toasted cashews and do a dough top to hold in the steam. Would love it if you added this into the recipe!
Thank you so much for your recipes. We love them and are adjusting to make vegan…except fish, we are still cheating with fish!
Lisa Cupp says
My family really enjoyed the Biryani. I think that some sort of green herb might help it look even prettier (I omitted the cilantro) so I am debating on putting in parsley next time. There will be a next time. Thank you.
Nagi says
Definitely use parley if you prefer it!
Julie says
My first ever biryani and it was delicious! I made it with vegetables and chicken breast and took into account your notes on these. So good. We had it with the Indian tomato salad with mint raita. So good!!
Mandy Judd says
Thank you – easy and delicious.
Nagi says
Wahoo, great to hear Mandy!
Lisa Y says
This was AMAZING!!! My husband is a curry snob and he said if he got this in a restaurant he’d be thrilled with it!
Lisa Y says
I forgot to rate it. Five stars for sure!
Nagi says
Thanks so much Lisa!