Spicy Chicken Biryani

Serving Size: 4 servings

Savor the essence of aromatic spices and succulent chicken in this tasty one-pot Chicken Biryani. Crafted with fragrant basmati rice, a medley of spices, tender chicken, and fresh herbs, this dish promises a journey of flavors with every bite. Enjoy the richness of this delicious and spicy classic chicken biryani.

Recipe by: Swasthi Shreekanth

Cook Times

Active Prep30

Hands-On Cook10

Hands-Off Cook40

Passive0

Total Time1 20

Recipe Serving Size4 servings

Cooking Tools Required

Colander, Cutting board, Dutch Oven, Measuring cups and spoons, Mixing bowls, Mixing spoon, Saute pan, Sharp Knives, Skillet, Spatula, Top Stove

Ingredients

Marinade for chicken biryani

2 pound chicken drumstick skinless, or thighs or legs or a mix of all, can be bone-in or boneless
3 tablespoon plain yogurt Indian curd or dahi
1 inch fresh ginger combine the ginger and the garlic to make a ginger-garlic paste
4 clove garlic crushed
½ teaspoon Kosher salt or up to ¾, start with ½ and adjust to taste
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or cayenne or paprika, up to 1 teaspoon or less than ½, adjust to spiciness preferences
½ teaspoon garam masala or or biryani masala, up to 1 teaspoon, start with ½ and adjust to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice optional

Whole spices (if you can't find some of the items, skip it)

1 bay leaf
4 cardamom pod
6 whole clove
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 star anise
¾ teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds) or cumin seeds
1 strand mace javirti, omit if you don't like it or can't find it

Other ingredients for the chicken biryani

2 cup aged basmati rice aged rice only
2 tablespoon ghee or oil
1 large yellow onion sliced thinly
¼ cup fresh mint to ½ cup (about 15 leaves), chopped fine
1 green chili slit or chopped
¼ cup plain yogurt Indian curd
¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or cayenne to ½ teaspoon, optional for heat
1 teaspoon garam masala or biryani masala
3 ½ cup water more if needed
¾ teaspoon Kosher salt to stir in water
2 tablespoon fried onion optional
1 pinch saffron optional, soak in 2 tablespoon of hot milk
2 tablespoon whole milk

Instructions

Preparation

Add to a bowl the yogurt, ginger garlic paste, salt, garam masala, turmeric, lemon juice and the red chili powder.
Mix well and taste the marinade. Add more salt and spice if needed.
Make slits on the chicken pieces. Add to the marinade and mix well. Cover and set a side for at least an hour or more.
Rinse basmati rice thrice and soak for 30 minutes. Drain with a colander.

Make the chicken biryani

Heat gee or oil in a pot.
Add whole spices - bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, caraway seeds (shahi jeera) and mace.
When the spices begin to sizzle, add onions and fry them evenly stirring often until uniformly light brown but not burnt.
Add chicken and sauté until pale for 5 minutes on a medium heat.
Cover and cook on a low flame until the chicken is soft cooked or tender. Sauté to evaporate any excess moisture in the pot.
Taste test and add more salt if needed. Add yogurt (curd), half of the chopped mint leaves, slit green chili, red chili powder and garam masala.

Layering

Mix everything well and layer the chicken evenly at the bottom.
Spread drained rice in a layer over the chicken.
Pour water to a separate pot.
Add salt, and mix. Taste the water, it must be slightly salty. Bring it to a rolling boil.
Pour 2 cups of this water across the sides of the pot with the chicken and rice. Gently pour the rest on the top of the rice.
Level the rice if needed. Sprinkle the rest of the mint leaves. Optionally, add fried onions and saffron soaked in milk if using.
Cover and cook on a medium burner until the rice in the chicken biryani is cooked completely but not mushy or undercooked. If the rice is still undercooked, or hard and there is no water at the bottom, pour ¼ to ½ cup more boiling water depending on the brand of the rice used to cook further. When done, is has to be fully cooked, yet remain grainy but not mushy.
Serve from the top to the bottom layer. Each serving gets biryani rice from top and chicken from the bottom layer.
Enjoy the biryani with raita and sliced veggies.

Notes

Do not use sour curd. If the curd is slightly sour, then don't use the lemon juice.
Adjust the level of spiciness pf the recipe.
Rice - Basmati rice has to be rinsed very well a few times to remove the starch. This prevents the rice from turning mushy. Soaking the rice helps helps to cook it fluffy and long. So don't skip the rinsing and soaking steps.
The curd can be substitute with coconut milk for diary free.

Nutrition