Chicken Biryani
چکن بریانی
Biryani is the dish for Sundays, Eid and guests, and it is far less difficult than it looks. It is really three simple jobs: a well-cooked chicken masala, rice boiled until it's three-quarters done, and a gentle that lets the two steam together. Get the rice right and everything else follows.
- ⏱ Total: 1 hr 55 min
- Prep: 40 min
- Cook: 1 hr 15 min
- Hard
- Serves 6
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy . Fry the onions over medium heat, stirring often, for 12–15 minutes until deep golden brown. Lift out half of them for layering: this is your .
Turn the heat to high. Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes until it turns white, then add the ginger and garlic paste and stir for a minute.
Add the tomatoes, chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder and salt. Do the until the tomatoes break down, then stir in the yogurt and keep cooking for about 10 minutes, until the oil separates.
Add half the mint, half the coriander and the green chilies. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the masala is thick. Sprinkle in the garam masala.
Meanwhile, bring a large of water to a rolling boil with 2 tablespoons of salt, the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin. It should taste salty, like the sea. Add the drained rice and boil for 6–8 minutes.
Drain the rice the moment it reaches : a grain should break easily but still have a firm white dot in the middle.
Layer the biryani: spread half the rice over the chicken in the degchi, scatter over half the birista and the remaining mint and coriander, then top with the rest of the rice. Drizzle the saffron milk in streaks, and add the lemon slices and remaining birista.
Seal for : cover the pot tightly (a strip of dough or foil under the lid works) and cook on the lowest heat for 15–20 minutes. Put a tawa under the pot if your stove runs hot.
Turn off the heat and leave it closed for 5 minutes. Open, then mix very gently from the sides with a flat spoon so you lift up layers of white and saffron rice with chicken. Serve with raita.
Kitchen notes
Salt the rice water generously. It's the only chance the rice gets to be seasoned, and most of the salt drains away.
Never stir once the layers are in. Stirring breaks the half-cooked grains and turns biryani into pulao.
The masala should look a little too salty and saucy before layering. The rice soaks up both during dum.
The three parts of a good biryani
The masala should be fully cooked and slightly over-seasoned before it meets the rice, because the rice will soak up both salt and moisture during dum. The rice should be long-grain basmati, soaked so it cooks evenly and stays long. And the dum should be gentle: low heat and a tight seal, so the top layer of rice steams through without the bottom catching.
Birista: worth the patience
The fried onions are not just a garnish. Half go into the masala and give it its sweetness and dark colour; the other half go between and on top of the rice layers. Slice them thin and evenly so they brown together, and keep stirring towards the end. They turn from golden to burnt very quickly.
Serving
Biryani is served straight from the pot, scooped from the bottom so everyone gets chicken, masala and both colours of rice. A cooling raita (yogurt with cucumber, mint and a pinch of roasted cumin) and a simple onion-tomato salad are the usual sides.
Storing and reheating
Biryani keeps for 2 days in the fridge. Sprinkle a little water over it and reheat covered on low heat, or in the microwave with a damp paper towel on top so the rice steams instead of drying out.
Questions people ask
Why did my biryani rice turn mushy?
The rice was boiled past kanni, or it was stirred after layering. Start checking a grain at 5 minutes, and drain as soon as it has a firm centre.
Can I make it without saffron?
Yes. Most homes in Pakistan use a few drops of yellow or orange food colour mixed into milk instead. You can also leave it out; the biryani will just be all white.
How is this different from Sindhi biryani?
Sindhi biryani adds potatoes, dried plums (aloo bukhara) and more green chilies, and is tangier and spicier. This is a simpler, everyday chicken biryani.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 820
- Protein
- 38 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Carbs
- 92 g
