Full tutorial video above. Chicken Biryani is an aromatic, mouth watering and authentic Indian dish with succulent chicken in layers of fluffy rice, fragrant spices and fried onions. It is easier than most recipes while retaining the original taste and presented step by step. Cook like a native but with more ease!
Heat oil at medium high in a wide frying pan. If you place your palm about 3 inches over the surface of oil, you should feel the heat. Or use a candy/fry thermometer.
Fry onions in batches. Do not crowd the pan. Fry until crisp light golden brown. Set aside.
Marinate Chicken
In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken with all marinade ingredients and ⅓ of fried onions. Tip: Add yogurt, starting with ½ cup and increase as needed to ¾ cup. The mixture should be thick and not runny. Chicken should be lightly coated with marinade. Too much marinade can make rice soggy.
In a spice grinder, process spices for marinade until fine powder. Add to chicken marinade and combine. Marinate for about 3 to 5 hours.
Cook Rice
Rinse rice 4 to 5 times in lots of water until it is clear. Drain well. Soak ⅓ cup basmati rice in water for one hour. Save the rest.
Here we use the rice cooker method. For alternative traditional cooking method check our lamb biryani recipe.
Bring 2¼ cups of water to a rolling boil in a rice cooker. Add ¾ teaspoon salt, 1½ tablespoons olive oil and whole spices (see note). Then add remaining 1⅔ cups basmati rice and stir. Let it cook just until all the water is absorbed (see notes).
It is important to NOT let the rice steam until it is fully done. Just when all the water is well absorbed, transfer cooked rice immediately to another wide open pan. In my rice cooker the whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
Assemble
Transfer chicken with marinade to a 5-quart, wide, thick-bottomed and oven-proof cooking pot (9 to 10 inch diameter). Make sure there is not too much marinade around chicken pieces and that it is not runny.
Scatter cilantro, mint, half the lemon juice and ½ tablespoon olive oil over the chicken and marinade. Then scatter most of the fried onions.
Drain the soaked basmati rice very well and spread it over the fried onion layer. (This raw soaked rice will get cooked with the juices from chicken).
Next, layer all the cooked rice. Top with remaining lemon juice, saffron water, fried onions and ghee.Tip: If you prefer, you may pick out the whole spices from cooked rice before steaming.
Steam
Oven Method: Place one sheet of parchment paper, followed by one to two sheets of aluminum foil over the cooking pot. Place the lid tight over it. Bake biryani in a preheated oven at 350ºF for one hour, until steam builds up well.
Stove-Top Method (Alternative): Heat the biryani at medium high for about 10 to 15 minutes and then reduce to low and cook for one hour until steam builds up well.
Serve
Remove from oven or stove. Let it cool five minutes and gently mix rice and chicken. Using a spatula, mound the biryani on a serving plate, making sure to present the rice in various colors - white, yellow, orange and brown. Place some chicken pieces on the top. Scatter fried onions, herbs and extra saffron rice on top.
Rinse basmati rice several times until the water is clear and not starchy.
Rice cooker: Use minimal water to cook rice. Test 1¼ to 1½ cups water per cup of basmati rice and check.
Alternative to frying onions: If you are unable to fry onions then saute them until crisp golden brown like in this Persian noodle soup recipe and adjust oil used.
Branded biryani spice mixes may include salt and chili powder. If using that, then adjust salt and chili powder.
Optimal amount of salt and oil is very important. If everything else is perfect and you don't use right amount of salt, that alone can ruin the taste of biryani. I use a minimum of 2 tablespoons of oil per cup of raw rice, as there are additional ingredients - chicken, onions, etc.
Whole spices can also be cooked wrapped in a muslin cloth (like boquet garni) or in a metal mesh cooking infuser. If using whole spices for marinade, then double the amount of spices. Ground spices are more intense.
Meal Prep: Combine chicken with marinade and fry onions a day before.
Storage and Freezing: Leftovers can be stored in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for later.
Scale Recipe: Click on number of servings and slide. Adjust the cooking pot size.
Shajeera: These are referred to as black cumin or black caraway seeds in Indian stores. The labeling is not consistent. Ask your Indian grocer for “shahjeera”.