Hyderabadi · Lunch, Dinner
Chicken biryani
Layered spiced chicken and rice
- Total time5 hr 30 minstart to table
- Hands on50 minactual work
- EffortInvolved
- Serves4as written
- Per serving~760 kcalapprox.
Hyderabadi-style chicken biryani with yogurt-spiced bone-in chicken, aged basmati, browned onion, mint and saffron milk. Rice is parboiled separately, layered over partially cooked chicken, then sealed for a gentle dum so the grains stay long and distinct.
Method
-
Mix 150 g plain full-fat curd, 30 g ginger garlic paste, 2 tbsp biryani masala, 3 piece green chillies, the juice of 1 piece lemon and 1 tsp of 2 1/2 tsp fine salt. Coat 800 g chicken curry cut, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Done when: Every chicken piece is coated and has remained covered at 4 C or colder for the full four-hour marination.
-
Rinse 400 g aged basmati rice until the water is nearly clear, then soak for 30 minutes. Bring 2 1/2 l water to a rolling boil with the remaining salt; drain the rice, add it, and boil for 5 to 6 minutes until a grain bends but still has a firm white core. Drain immediately.
Done when: Rice grain is elongated and flexible outside with a firm opaque core.
-
Heat 45 g ghee in the dum pot over medium heat. Thinly slice 300 g onions; fry for 12 minutes until deep golden, stirring often. Lift out half the onion and reserve it for layering.
Done when: Onions are evenly deep golden, not dark brown or bitter.
-
Add the marinated chicken and all marinade to the remaining onion. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat for 12 minutes, turning pieces twice, until the gravy thickens and the chicken is opaque outside but not assumed cooked through.
Done when: Chicken is coated in thick gravy and opaque outside.
-
Spread the drained rice over the chicken without mixing. Scatter the reserved onion, 30 g fresh mint leaves and 30 g fresh coriander leaves. Warm 120 ml whole milk, steep 1 g saffron threads, and pour it evenly over the rice. Seal with a tight lid; cook 5 minutes on medium, then 20 minutes on low. Probe two thick chicken pieces through the rice and continue gently until both reach 74 C.
Done when: Chicken is cooked through and rice grains are tender, separate and aromatic.
-
Turn off the heat and rest sealed for 10 minutes. Open away from your face, lift chicken from the bottom and fluff rice gently from the sides so the grains do not break.
Done when: Steam has settled and rice lifts in separate grains.
Or have it read to you
In the app these same steps are read aloud one at a time, hands-free, with the timers running — and the cook guide speaks eleven Indian languages, so whoever is at the stove can follow along without reading English.
- English
- Hindi
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Bengali
- Marathi
- Kannada
- Malayalam
- Gujarati
- Punjabi
- Odia
Good to know
- Diet
- Non-vegetarian
- Contains
- milk
- Eaten at
- Lunch, Dinner
- Nutrition, per serving
- ~760 kcal · 41 g protein · 85 g carbs · 27 g fat (approx.)
- Keeps
- 2 days in the fridge