Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe
According to a recent study in 2019, biryani was one of the most searched Indian food globally, next to butter chicken. This does not surprise me as whenever I ask my Indian friends and colleagues what their favourite comfort food was, Biryani was consistently their top choice. I’ve been wanting to make biryani for the longest time but was intimidated by the dish as it seemed so complex. I’ve never made it before and the first the I tried it, I honestly had no idea what I was doing. Luckily, I asked one my colleague for help since he went to culinary school in India and he shared with me an easy chicken biryani recipe I could try, along with some of his tips & tricks.
What is Biryani?
Biryani is a famous layered spiced rice and meat dish. It is often compared to cooking a curry and then adding a layer of semi-cooked rice on top, slow cooked until the rice and the meat is done. There are many ways to make biryani and the easy chicken biryani recipe I’m sharing today is just one of them. At the very core, there are four main components to biryani:
- Rice
- Meat
- Marinade
- Spices
Typically, Basmati is the rice of choice when making biryani but if you don’t have this, I’ve read that any long grain rice can suffice.
What are some the key spices I will need?
Again, there are many ways you can make biryani and the variations in spices used will vary based on your personal preference. However, I found the following spices to be quite versatile in most Indian cuisine so these are some of the staples in my spice pantry:
- Garam masala
- Chilli powder
- Bay Leaf
- Cloves
- Green and Black Cardamom pods
- Cinnamon sticks
- Turmeric
- Cumin
- Black Peppercorn
Most of these spices can be found in the spice aisle of your local supermarket (where they keep the baking needs items). They may also be found in the “International” aisle of your supermarket too if they have one. I had a hard time finding Black Cardamom pods but was able to find them at my local bulk foods store.
Tips & Tricks to a Successful Biryani
Marinate the Meat
To maximize the flavour of the meat, we highly recommend you marinate your meat the night before and keep it in the fridge. Then, take it out about an hour before you’re ready to start cooking to bring the meat back up to room temperature.
Pre-Soak the Rice
It is critical that you wash and soak the rice for at least 30 minutes before you start cooking. This will help the rice grains swell up so that your rice turns out more fluffy. To wash the rice, simply rinse and agitate the rice in a large bowl several times to get rid of the excess starch. Once you water is no longer opaque, it’s good to go.
Cook on Medium Heat
If you’re impatient like me, you’re likely one of those people who likes to cook everything on high heat. Please do not do that with this recipe. You run a risk of burning your spices including your meat! Keep your cooking temperature at medium so that it is easier for you to control the heat.
Use a large pot or braiser
The first time I made this biryani, I tried to cook everything in a large (12 inch) frying pan. For 2 cups of rice and the gravy, that was WAY too small. Instead, I recommend you do this in a large braiser. If you can’t, cook it in a larger pot. You may have to take out some of the gravy so that you can make 2 layers of rice and gravy opposed to one (kind of like a lasagna).
Recommended Garnishes
Lots of Cilantro/Coriander and Mint leaves
Many people swear by adding lots of cilantro/coriander and mint leaves to top off their dish to really elevate the dish. Since the biryani itself doesn’t have too much color variation as is, the fresh pop of green will really help the dish stand out!
Fried Onions
This is also another beautiful garnish you can add to the top of your dish to really give the dish a “restaurant finish”. It also adds a great textural contrast to your dish as the crispy onions really compliments the fluffy rice.
We made our biryani with chicken breast as that was the meat that was available to us at the time. However, you can substitute with any meat of your choice (e.g. lamb, pork, beef, etc). You’ll just need to adjust the cooking time of the meat accordingly to ensure it is thoroughly cooked as larger pieces of meat or meat with bone-in tends to take longer to cook.
Give this recipe a try and let us know how it turned out in the comments below! Please tag us on Instagram @cookingwithteamj as we’d love to see your creations.
Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1.5-2 lbs of chicken breast, chopped into smaller chunks (1.5 inches)
- 2 tsp garlic/ginger paste
- 1/4 tsp tumeric
- 1 – 1.5 tsp chilli powder (adjust according to your spice preference)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp plain yogurt*
Rice
- 2 cups basmati rice, soaked
- 4 cups of water
Fried Onions
- 1 1/2 onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup oil
Masala (Gravy)
- 3 tbsp ghee**
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 3 black cardamom pods
- 2 cinnamon sticks (2-3 inches each)
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 cloves
- 13 black peppercorns
- 3 medium onions, sliced
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- salt to taste
Toppings
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp ginger, julienned (thinly sliced)
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp ghee**
- a pinch of saffron soaked on 3 tbsp warm milk (optional)
Garnish
- Fresh mint/cilantro, roughly chopped
- Fried Onions
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Instructions
To be done overnight
- 1. Marinate the chicken with the chicken marinade recipe above store overnight in fridge, covered.
- Prepare 30 minutes before you begin to cook
- 2. Wash the rice until the water is no longer opaque. Soak the rice in 4 cups of water for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- 3. Prepare the fried onions by thinly slicing 1.5 medium size onions and put them in a medium sized bowl.
- 4. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt and start massaging the onions for about 1 minute or until water starts to release from the onion. Squeeze all the water content out of the onions and dry in some paper towel.
- 5. On a pan on medium high heat, add the onions in batches (as to not overcrowd the pan) to fry the onions in the oil until they are golden brown. Remove from oil and allow to cool on a wired rack lined with paper towel. Set aside.
Cooking meat
- 6. Prepare a separate large pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil in preparation to cook the rice in step #12.
- 7. Heat oil and ghee in a large braiser or pot on medium heat. Add the green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cloves, and peppercorns into the oil and stir for a few minutes until the bay leaves slightly turn brown. Be careful not to burn the spices.
- 8. Add the remainder of the onions to the pan and fry till soft and translucent.
- 9. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook until tomatoes have softened.
- 10. Add the marinated chicken to this mix and cook until the meat is seared or cooked on the outside. Season the mixture with salt to taste and add approximately ¼ cup of water just enough to prevent ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pan and help build up that gravy. Cover with lid and set temperature to medium-low heat and continue to cook until meat is done. Depending on the thickness of your meat, cooking time may vary. For us, this was approximately 8 minutes.
- 11. While the meat is cooking, semi-cook the rice.
Cooking rice
- 12. Drain the rice and transfer soaked rice into the pot of boiling water you prepared in step 6. Boil until the rice is half cooked. For us, this only took about a couple minutes. To test if the rice is half cooked, do a taste test. It should be soft on the outside but still a bit hard on the inside.
- 13. Drain the rice and let it cool for about a minute before transferring it to the large pot with the gravy. The rice should not be cool to the point where it’s sticky. We want the rice to be fluffy.
Putting it all together
- 14. Remove the lid from your large braiser/pan to check and see if your chicken is done. When it is, gently layer on your half-cooked rice on top of the gravy. Ensure it is evenly spread on top of all the gravy and gently remove any clumps of rice with a wooden spatula. Do not be too harsh as you want the rice to remain fluffy.
- 15. Once all the rice has been added on top of the gravy, sprinkle on the toppings (i.e. lime juice, thin ginger slices, saffron milk (optional), salt to taste)
- 16. Cover tightly with a lid so no steam can escape. Keep heat on medium and cook for about 15 minutes or until rice is fully cooked.
- 17. To serve, scoop the rice from the bottom of the pan onto a plate or bowl of your choice to ensure you get an even mixture of gravy and rice. Garnish with a generous amount of mint, coriander/cilantro, and fried onions. Enjoy!
