This Hyderabadi chicken biryani is the most delicious and aromatic Indian dish ever, with juicy chicken in layers of fluffy rice, fragrant spices and fried onions. There is a perfect balance of flavors, so you get to experience and enjoy every ingredient. I share with you two easy ways to make biryani while still retaining the authentic taste.
About Biryani
One of the crown jewels of Indian cuisine, is Biryani, a classic dish that is part of the Mughlai culinary tradition, with its origin in old Persia and a rich fusion with Indian flavors and techniques. It is prepared with layers of fluffy basmati rice and exquisitely spiced meat or chicken.
Hyderabad, the city of my childhood, is justly famous for its biryani, and by far the most favored among the other regional versions. It is not overloaded with spices and uses techniques that allow every ingredient to shine.
There are two versions of Hyderabadi biryani:
- Pakki biryani - cooked meat or chicken is layered with parboiled rice and steamed together.
- Kacchi biryani - raw marinated meat or chicken is placed in a single layer in the bottom of a cooking pot and topped with partially cooked rice and steamed together. This is the easier method.
Why This Recipe Works
One Step: You don't have to cook the chicken separately before layering it with the rice.
Perfect Rice: Easy cooking techniques for fluffy rice - (1) more reliable rice cooker method and (2) great tips for traditional method.
What Makes a Perfect Biryani
- Texture of Rice Grains: The cooked rice is fluffy and separate. If you take a fistful of biryani and throw it on a plate, the rice will scatter like pearls and not clump together. With this recipe you will get that perfection every single time!
- Juicy and Flavorful Chicken: Marinate the chicken for a long time to infuse the flavors. Cook it until well done, juicy and falling off the bone.
- Spices and Aromatics: Don't skimp on the spices, fried onions, oil, salt and seasonings. You need that for robust flavor.
- Elegant Presentation: The final dish has rice grains in a variety of colors from the absorption of spices, juices and saffron.
Ingredient Notes
- Basmati Rice: I use the highest quality aged long grain basmati rice from a popular brand, such as India gate classic. Look for the best variety in any brand at your Indian grocery store, which is usually the most expensive.
- Chicken with bone: I choose whole chicken with bone as it is the most flavorful. Chicken leg quarters or thighs will work too. But avoid chicken breast as it will be too dry. For boneless option, use chicken thigh meat.
- Yogurt: Just plain regular yogurt that is neither be too thick nor too runny. Not Greek yogurt. To make it dairy free, try coconut yogurt.
- Spices:
- I use ground spices to marinate the chicken. If using whole spices, double the amount because ground spices are more intense.
- Flavor the rice with whole spices wrapped in a muslin cloth or metal mesh cooking infuser.
- Homemade biryani masala recipe is below. For a ready-made option, try Shaan Sindhi biryani masala, but adjust the added salt and chili powder.
- Herbs: Fresh cilantro and mint will give the best results. But frozen cilantro and dried mint can also work for the marinade.
- Ginger and Garlic: Grate or grind these fresh for amazing taste.
- Saffron: High quality saffron adds great flavor. Read more: Saffron Tea.
- Onions: Thinly slice the onions. I use my mandolin slicer. To fry them quick and crisp, sprinkle some flour on the onions before frying. Gluten-free flour alternatives are corn starch or rice flour plus corn starch.
- Ghee: Drizzle the rice with ghee to take your biryani up a notch.
How To Make Easy Biryani
*Here is the step-by-step overview of the process. Full recipe with measurements and video tutorial are below in the post.
Fry the Onions
- Slice onions very thinly and fry them in batches using fresh oil, until crisp and light golden brown.
- Don't let them turn soggy or dark brown. Drain on paper towels.
Marinate the Chicken
- In a wide cooking pot, combine chicken with all marinade ingredients, ⅓ fried onions and ground biryani spice blend. Marinate for 3 to 5 hours.
- Rule of thumb is to use equal amounts of rice and chicken by weight. Example: one pound rice for one pound chicken. If you want more chicken, use 1½ to 2 times the quantity of rice.
Cook Rice (Two Methods)
- Rinse basmati rice until clear. Soak ⅓ cup rice in water. Use remaining rice for cooking.
- Rice cooker method: Bring water to a boil with salt and oil. Add rice and cook just until water is absorbed. Tip: Test a ratio of 1¼ to 1½ cups water for 1 cup basmati rice.
Traditional method: Boil rice in lots of salted water, using a ratio of 3 cups of water for 1 cup of rice with 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook it al dente like pasta, for 4 to 5 minutes and drain the rice immediately. We use this method for our lamb biryani recipe. Tip: For this method, soaking rice prior to cooking will make the grains stronger.
Assemble Rice and Chicken in Layers
- Top the marinated chicken with chopped cilantro, mint, half lemon juice, some oil and most of the remaining fried onions. Tip: If cooking on stove, use a thick bottomed cooking pot. Very deep and tall pots are not suitable.
- Add Soaked Rice: Drain soaked rice and spread it over the chicken. This raw rice will absorb all the juices from the marinade while cooking.
- Final Rice Layer: Transfer all the cooked rice over marinated chicken. Top with remaining fried onions, lemon juice, saffron water and ghee.
Steam and Serve
- Steaming: Cover with parchment paper, followed by aluminum foil and fit the lid tight for perfect seal. Bake in oven for one hour, until steam builds up well. (Stove top method: Alternatively, heat biryani at medium high for 10 minutes and then simmer at low for one hour until steam builds up well.)
- Serve: Cool biryani for five minutes. Gently mix rice and chicken and enjoy!
How to Serve
Biryani is typically served at festive occasions and considered a complete meal, along with a saucy side dish such as baghare baingan (eggplants in rich sauce), mirchi ka salan (chili peppers in creamy sauce) or Hyderabadi tomato egg curry and a yogurt salad called raita.
For a more elaborate menu, you can add other dishes such as:
- Mains: Nihari, Keema Curry
- Bread: Naan, Paratha
- Vegetarian: Aloo Gobi, Tadka Dal
- Appetizers: Meat Cutlets, Fish Patties
- Desserts: Kheer, Falooda
Biryani Masala
Grind all the spices below into a fine powder and store in airtight container. One fourth of this blend will be enough for the biryani recipe in this post. To make it more spicy, use extra spice blend.
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 4 black cardamom
- 20 green cardamom
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 4 large bay leaves
- 4 teaspoons black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon mace (optional)
Troubleshooting
Here are fixes for common issues while making biryani. Comment below for any other troubleshooting. I grew up cooking this amazing dish and will be glad to help.
If cooking on stove top, place the cooking pot over a flat griddle or heat diffuser. This will help prevent the rice getting burnt in the bottom.
Use chicken on bone. Cook with enough yogurt and juices but don't overcook the meat. Use optimal amount of water for the rice. And if rice is undercooked before steaming, then sprinkle some water all over before placing the lid.
Scoop out juices collected over marinated chicken and discard. Do not use too much yogurt. And do not overcook rice, but if it get's overcooked then spread it on a large plate and aerate a bit before layering.
More Rice Recipes
- Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani
- Saffron rice with chicken, yogurt and spinach
- Chicken Kabsa
- Persian green bean rice
Full Recipe Video
★ DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE COMMENT AND GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW!
Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani
Ingredients
Fried Onions
- ¾ lb onions yellow, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups cooking oil high smoke point, peanut oil
Chicken Marination
- 1½ lb chicken with bone, cut and clean, avoid chicken breast
- ⅔ cup yogurt plain
- 1½ tablespoons ginger garlic paste or grated ginger and garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust per taste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric ground
- 1 chili pepper jalapeno, serrano or cayenne, adjust per taste
Spices for Marinade (Note 4)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- 5 green cardamom
- 5 cloves
- 1 bay leaves large
- 1 teaspoon shah Jeera Note 10
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Biryani
- 2 cups basmati rice long grain
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust per taste
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil leftover from fried onions
- ¼ cup cilantro fresh, chopped
- 2 tablespoons mint fresh, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon saffron ground and dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 tablespoons ghee recommended
Whole Spices for Rice (Note 6)
- 1 black cardamom
- 3 green cardamom
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cinnamon stick
Equipment
- Wide Frying Pan
- Rice Cooker
- Wide Cooking Pot 5 quart, 10 inch diameter, oven proof
- Spice Grinder
Instructions
Fry Onions
- 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 to check temperature.
- 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 the marinade ingredients and ⅓ of fried onions. For yogurt, start with ½ cup and increase as needed to ¾ cup. The mixture should be thick and not runny.
- In a spice grinder, process spices for marinade until fine powder. Add to chicken marinade and mix. Marinate for about 3 to 5 hours.
Cook Rice (Two Methods, Choose one)
- 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 for next step.
- Rice Cooker Method: In a rice cooker, take 2¼ cups of water, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1½ tablespoons cooking oil and whole spices. Bring it to a rolling boil, add remaining 1⅔ cups basmati rice and stir. Cook rice just until all the water is absorbed. In my rice cooker this process takes about 15 to 20 minutes.It is important to NOT let the rice steam until it is fully done. When all the water is absorbed well, transfer cooked rice immediately over the chicken in the layering step below.
- Cooking Pot Method: In a large cooking pot, boil 6 cups of water with 1¼ tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon cooking oil and whole spices. Add the rice and boil at medium high to high heat for 4 to 5 minutes until the grains are soft; stirring in between. Drain rice in a colander and set aside.
Assemble Rice and Chicken Layers
- Scoop out and discard any watery liquid collected on the surface of the marinade. Transfer chicken with marinade to a wide, oven proof cooking pot (10 inch diameter). Tip: Chicken should be lightly coated with marinade. Too much marinade can make rice soggy.
- Top the marinated chicken with cilantro, mint, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ tablespoon cooking oil and most of the remaining 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, pick out the whole spices from cooked rice before steaming.
- Place one sheet of parchment paper, followed by two sheets of aluminum foil over the cooking pot. Place the lid tight for a good seal.
Steam (Two Methods, Choose One)
- Oven Method: Bake biryani in a preheated oven at 350ºF for one hour, until steam builds up well.
- Stove-Top Method: Heat the biryani at medium high for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat 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.
- Serve it with mirchi ka salan or Hyderabadi tomato egg curry and raita.
Notes
- 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.
- Frying onions: If you are unable to deep-fry onions then shallow-fry 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”.
Nutrition
More Indian Recipes
This post was first published on The Delicious Crescent in May 2016 and has been updated for your benefit.
Medha
Great recipe and the steps are clearly detailed. My Biryani turned out great. Do you have a Biryani recipe with lamb? Thank you!
Roxana Begum
Thanks for your feedback. I plan to post one :)
Peter
Hi Dr. Begum. I've made this a couple of times, and it's always amazing. My family loves it too. It reminds me of the kind of Biryani I've had when I visited India. I wanted to try to make it with Lamb the next time. Do you have any specific tips or suggestions for making this with Lamb?
Thanks!
Peter
Roxana Begum
Thanks for your nice feedback. For lamb biryani, choose shoulder or leg meat. Avoid overly mature stock (meat that cooks under 1½ hours is great). And marinate it overnight with raw unripe papaya paste (for tenderizing meat, 2 tablespoons per 2 lbs) and other marinade ingredients. If the lamb meat you have is known to take longer to cook, then I would cook the meat and marinade partially on low heat and then add the rice on top and proceed.
fromDallas
About how much of the biriyani spice mix should I use if subbing for whole spices?
Roxana Begum
One fourth of the blend will be fine.
Ricardo Dell'Aera
Very easy-to-follow recipe. The outcome was just as expected. No unpleasant surprises. I have enjoyed this dish and feel more confident to cook it again in the future!
Thank you very much for all the energy you have put in explaining so clearly the steps to attain the final result!
FromLA
Biriyani is my favorite dish and over the years I must have tried recipes from more than 50 food blogs and YouTube vlogs. And never once succeeded until today with this recipe. It came out quite good, the texture, smell and taste. I can’t tell you how happy I feel now. Your tips are amazing and instructions very simple to follow. Thank you thank you so much!!! You are awesome :)
Roxana Begum
So happy :) Thanks for sharing.
Terri
Just made this. I lived in Mauritius for ten years and often had excellent biryani. I have to say I prefer this version as it wasn’t overly rich. Only comment I have is that I would par cook the rice less...maybe just 8 mins or so. Great recipe - will definitely make it again!!
Sel
Do you remove the husks of the black and green cardamom before grinding them in the spice grinder?
Roxana Begum
While grinding I may stop in between and remove a few.
Sri
My first attempt to make a chicken dum Biryani and it came out so well that I myself was surprised. And it is so simple to make. Thanks for getting Biryani making to a simple process. Cannot describe how happy I am
LADB
💯💯💯💯💯💯
Will
I unfortunately cant find any black cumin at this moment and was hoping to try this tomorrow. Are there any good alternatives that I could use? I have regular whole cumin seeds.
Thanks in advance. Excited to try it!
Roxana Begum
Shahjeera has a distinct flavor different than regular cumin. You can skip that and add 2 extra cloves to your spice blend.
Geetika
Im so excited to make this. One question: if I do not have a rice cooker do you recommend that step in instapot or on the stove?
Roxana Begum
Sure you can make the rice on stove or any other method making sure to keep it fluffy and slightly par cooked. After assembly it will cook completely via steaming.
Lisandra
HOLU COW!
For years I have been struggling to make Biryani, I had given up for a few years and recently decided to give it another try, I came across 2 other recipes that I considered but then found this! For the first time my Biryani came out beautifully and smells so authentic. I’ve screen shorter and printed this out for my folder of recipes because I never ever want to lose this. Thank you so much for such detailed explanations.
Roxana Begum
So happy you liked it :)
jasmine
Just trying it out today and so excited 😃. Quick question, when you say cinnamon stick, what length is that? I have really long cinnamon stick and I'm not sure how much to use. Thanks!
Roxana Begum
About 3 to 4 inches.
Sunita
I have a ricecooker for the microwave. Do I still use the same method?
Roxana Begum
I have not used that type of a rice cooker. But as long as you can cook the rice and control when to stop cooking it (we want to take the rice out as soon as it absorbs all the water but before it goes through the final steaming, otherwise the grains may stick together if it gets fully steamed).
C.
What if I only have green cardamom on hand? Don’t have the black one’s right now. Do I skip or use more of the green?
Roxana Begum
You can use green cardamom instead.
Clara
I tried this biryani except for rice I boiled the rice 60% and then I dropped all the Cooked grains on the marinaded chicken and cooked for 15 minutes. It turned out to be a perfect chicken biryani. I do not make chicken biryani but surely good at mutton biryani. This I made because my spouse wanted. No regrets because it was a HIT. Thank you
Inga
I am from Lithuania and biryani is one of my favourite dishes on earth! I tried cooking it but I never really got it right. I tried this recipe and I can't explain how good it turned out! It is amazing. The additional notes about little things to keep in mind when cooking biryani is what made it so good. Thank you so much Roxana. I think I found the dish that I cook for my guests and be very proud.
Roxana Begum
This makes me so happy :)
Anita
Hi Roxana, Fantastic recipe! I made it for the first time and it was lovely. It is is going to be my weekly ‘must make’. Hubby said it was better than the restaurants! Thank you for the recipe.
Roxana Begum
So happy :)
manish
Hi, I am a Indian living abroad since last 18 years. Biryani is what i love. I consider myself a good cook of the indian items that I love. Biryani is one of them...Straightaway, I can see this recipe is ACE. I have still not tried any biryani recipient, but today/tomorrow, I will give it a go and I am sure it will be banger
PD
Hi! Loved the flavor of this! Can I use the same recipe with mutton?
Roxana Begum
It would be important to choose lamb meat that cooks fast like within one and half hours and then marinate it overnight with about 2 tablespoons ground fresh raw papaya paste along with other marinade ingredients. This will tenderize the meat such that it can cook faster.
Sandy
Recipe looks delicious but there are gaps. No mention when to add spice mix. Do I add it to chicken, wet rice or later? Thanks.
Roxana Begum
It is mentioned for both chicken (under chicken marination) as well as rice (under biryani rice prep). Please check the recipe.
Madhuri
I have tried a few biryani recipes and it never came out quite right. I made yours tonight and it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe. The detailed explanation is what allowed me to make a great dish tonight. My family and I loved it! Thank you!
Sharfunnisa
I am a seasoned cook of Indian food but honestly it never occurred to me that I should
Leave that 1st layer of rice uncooked. This is brilliant. I am planning on making biryani tomorrow for someone’s anniversary (while still social distancing - so I will give it to the.mm to celebrate ) and will follow your trick of leaving 1/3 cup rice to cook in chicken juices. Brilliant brilliant !!
Roxana Begum
Thanks for your lovely feedback. The thin and scant layer of rice closest to the cooking chicken, helps with absorbing the juices and prevents the rice above from becoming soggy in this recipe with a modified approach.
Anonymous
Thank you for the recipe- it is very good. I doubled the recipe.
Stacey
Oh my goodness! I have made this recipe two weeks in a row and it is absolutely delicious!! Your recipe is perfectly written and easy to follow. I seriously think I could make this every week for the rest of my life. My boyfriend loved it, my mom loved it, and the smell that fills the kitchen is divine.
One trick I used was to put the whole spices in a cheese cloth, tied with string and placed in the rice cooker while the rice partially cooked and the fragrance was mouth watering. Plucked it out before adding rice to the heavy bottomed cooking pot.
For the Biryani spice blend I used a pre-made blend I bought at a Middle Eastern market. The brand was Casablanca Biryani Blend.
The first time I made it, I marinated the chicken for 7 hours. The second time a full 24 hours. 24 made a difference – it was even better.
The fried onions I found worked better cooking in very small batches. Very easy to burn so watch them carefully.
I did put a little ghee on top but I don’t think it needed it. There is still some oil in those fried onions and that will spread to the rice when you blend it at the end.
I think those are all my tips/notes on this one. Thanks again for the amazing recipe which I will be making again and again.
One question: Why the 1/3 cup of raw rice soaked for an hour? My boyfriend’s guess was the steam would attract to the raw rice first so as not to over cook the partially cooked rice on top of it.
Comment edited for length.
Roxana Begum
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your amazing experience and helpful tips. You are right, there is enough oil from the fried onions, the ghee is only for adding a flavor that is distinct but that is optional. The raw soaked rice layer is the first that comes in contact with the moisture from the cooking chicken and that is to prevent overcooking of the rice closest to the chicken. Yes, the whole spices in cheese cloth is helpful, we have it under extra tips in the post. Thanks again for stopping by. Really appreciate your input.