Biryani is among the most delicious royal foods that was introduced by the Indians from the Persians. Since then, it has become very popular and is thought as a lavish food to be enjoyed during occasions. Making chicken biryani in authentic dum style takes some time and requires a little know-how.
Chicken Biryani made through traditional methods includes marinated chicken, followed by layers of parboiled rice and herbs, saffron milk, and then Ghee. I’ve shared this traditional Hyderabadi biryanim recipe here. The recipe I’ve shared in this post outlines an easy recipe for making a straightforward one-pot delicious chicken biryani that can be cooked in the pressure cooker or pot. The recipe I’ve provided in this post isn’t an authentic biriyani made with dum, but it will amaze you with its pleasant flavor and aroma. This recipe makes an authentic chicken biryani that’s not too spicy, oily and spicy like it appears in the photos. But you can lower your amount of chili powder, if you don’t like the hotness. This dish is ideal with Raita or Shorba, lassi and papads.
The recipe for chicken biryani preparation
1. This recipe requires half kg of chicken (1.1 pounds.). Cut a few slits across all the pieces of chicken, and then place them in an enormous bowl. Add 3 tablespoons yogurt plain (Indian curd)1 1/4 teaspoons minced ginger, garlic and garam masala, 1/2 cup to one tablespoon biriyani masala, 1/2 teaspoon salt up to 1 teaspoon of red chili powder (reduce the amount for children), 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric, and 1 teaspoon Lemon juice (optional).
2. Mix everything together and let the chicken marinate. Set aside and cover for one hour. You can also let it rest over night in the fridge.
3. Add 2 cups basmati rice into an enormous pot. Rinse it at least three times. Rinse and then soak in fresh water for about 30 minutes. Transfer to a colander after 30 minutes. Optional – Soak a handful of saffron strands into 2 tablespoons of hot milk.
4. Ghee or oil can be heated in a heavy bottom pan and pressure cooker. It is important to make use of a large pot to cook this. Whole spices are not required but highly recommended. Make use of what you have. I have 1 bay leaf, 4 cloves of green cardamoms, one piece of cinnamon, 1 star anise, 3 teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds), and 1 Mace strand.
5. Incorporate thinly cut onions. On a medium flame cook them, stirring frequently until light brown and uniformly.
6. This is the proper shade of onions. Don’t burn them, because they will have bitter taste.
7. Incorporate the marinated chicken and cook until it is pale after 5 minutes.
8. Reduce the heat completely. Cover the pan and continue cooking until your chicken has become tender but not dry and fully cooked.
9. Verify that it is done by poking it with a knife or fork. It should be cooked, but not overcooked. Eliminate any excess moisture in the pan by cooking more without the lid.
10. Test the taste and add more salt if necessary. Add 1/4 salt in this recipe. You can add 1/4 cup of plain yogurt (Indian curd), 1 teaspoon garam masala (or biryani masala), 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (optional), 1 cut green chili (optional), and two tablespoons of crushed mint leaves (pudina).
11. Mix everything together. After this, spread this in one layer by evenly manner.
12. Spread the rice that has been rinsed across the chicken. Add 3 cups of water into a separate bowl. Then include 1/4 to 1 teaspoon salt. If cooking in a pan, begin with 3 cups of water right now. Stir the water and taste it. It should be slightly salty. Place 2 cups along all sides in the pot or cooker. Pour the rest of the water on the rice and gently cook it.
13. Place the rice over the top. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of mint leaves. Do not mix the ingredients and the flavor of biryani cooked. If you wish, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of onions fried and saffron soaked milk.
14. Then cover the cooker or pot. If cooking in the cooker, cook over to moderate simmer until the rice has completed. If the rice isn’t cooked enough, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup boiling water at this point. How much you add is contingent on the quality of the basmati rice. Cover the rice and cook until the biryani rice is done with a grainy texture and is cooked to perfection. Cover it over for approximately 15 mins. If cooking in the cooker, you can cook it for 1 whistle. Then, remove the cooker from the hot flame to stop the cooking process.
15. Once the pressure has released naturally, lift the lid. Then stuff it up gently by using a fork.
Serve the biryani chicken in layers: top layer with rice , the bottom layer is chicken. Serve with raita or shorba.
If towards the end of the cooking process, the rice isn’t cooked enough it is possible to sprinkle a bit of hot water and cook more.
What are you looking for in the best biryani?
For a great biryani, make sure you use the best quality ingredients. It is important to select good quality Basmati rice and whole spice powders, chicken, and Ghee are all part of the flavor that a best chicken biryani contains.
1. Basmati rice: There are a variety of varieties of basmati rice on the market. For the best results, select premium high-quality basmati rice that has been marked as AGED. This rice is firmer and can be fluffed up nicely in chicken biryani and does not turn into mush. The older rice is also more aromatic.
Although this biryani is cooked in a pressure cooker or a pot it’s texture is similar to rice grains will emerge perfectly and not get mushy if it is made using older rice.
2. Biryani masala (spices): A good high-quality whole spices and spice powders improve the taste in chicken biryani. Make sure you choose a high-quality Garam masala powder that is ready-made as well as biryani masala.
I’m also sharing the ingredients needed to make an instant masala recipe for biriyani. If you don’t already have a ready-made or purchased masala making it yourself takes only a some minutes.
3. Chicken: We typically make use of the whole chicken for biryani chicken. However , I find that the breasts of chicken dry out when they are not marinated properly with yogurt. If you like soft, tender and succulent pieces of meat in your biryani, you can use drumsticks or thighs of chicken.
Always choose bone-in chicken since it makes the dish produce a more flavorful dish.
4 .Ghee: The traditional chicken biryani was prepared with Ghee. Because this recipe doesn’t follow the traditional way of cooking however, you can prepare it with oil. Ghee is a distinct flavor for the food.
How do you create the most delicious Chicken Biryani?
Marination: Marinating the chicken using spices and yogurt is the very first process to create the perfect chicken biryani. Yogurt softens the chicken, and the spices improve the flavor. Resting and marinating poultry makes them soft and succulent, so don’t leave out the marinating. If you are not eating curd, you can replace it by using coconut milk.
Preparing rice: Basmati rice needs to be thoroughly rinsed several times with a large amounts of water to eliminate the starch. This stops your rice grains from becoming soft. Soaking rice helps make the rice grains long and fluffy. Therefore, don’t skip washing and soaking the rice in water prior to using.
Water: This recipe uses simple liquid to prepare the biryani chicken. It can however be substituted by the coconut milk, or even chicken broth. The amount of water I’ve mentioned on my recipe cards is suitable for me when using Lalquilla malai basmati rice that is old. This ratio works well with any basmati rice that is old.
Make sure to alter how much heat you use included in the recipe. My recipes tend to be moderately spicy for Indian taste preferences. Since I have kids at home, these amounts work for us.
