Chicken Biryani
Saffron basmati, yogurt-spiced chicken and fried onion crown.
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Parboil the rice to 70% - it finishes cooking during the dum step on top of the chicken. Take it fully done at the boil and you'll get mush by the end.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 6 servings.
- 2½ lbbone-in skinless chicken thighsskin removed, slashed to bone
- 2½ cupsbasmati ricerinsed and soaked 20 min
- 3 largeyellow onion2 thinly sliced for frying, 1 finely diced
- ¾ cupplain whole-milk yogurt
- 8garlic clovesminced
- 2 tbspfresh gingerminced
- 2green chili (serrano)finely chopped
- 5 tbspghee
- 1 pinchsaffron threads
- ¼ cupwhole milk (for saffron)warmed
- 2bay leaves
- 1cinnamon stick
- 5green cardamom podslightly crushed
- 5whole cloves
- 1 tspcumin seeds
- 2 tspbiryani masala (or garam masala)
- ½ tspground turmeric
- 1½ tspkashmiri chili powder
- ⅓ cupfresh mint leaveschopped
- ⅓ cupfresh cilantrochopped
- ½lemonjuiced (for chicken marinade)
- 2½ tspkosher salt
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 580calories
- 36gprotein
- 62gcarbs
- 22gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Remove skin from chicken; slash each piece 2 times to the bone.
- Rinse basmati 3-4 times; soak in cold water 20 min.
- Thinly slice 2 onions for frying; finely dice 1.
- Mince garlic, ginger, green chili. Chop mint and cilantro. Crush cardamom pods.
- Bloom saffron: warm milk and saffron threads in a small bowl.
Marinate chicken
In a bowl combine chicken, yogurt, lemon juice, half the garlic and ginger, 1 tsp kashmiri chili, 1 tsp biryani masala, turmeric, 1 tsp salt. Massage in. Let sit 20 min while you fry onions.
20 min · hands offFry onion
Heat ghee in skillet over medium. Fry sliced onions (2 onions worth) 12-14 min, stirring often, until deeply golden and crispy. Drain on paper towel - they'll crisp as they cool.
14 min · hands onParboil rice
In a medium pot, bring 8 cups water and salt and bay leaf and cardamom and cloves to a hard boil. Drain soaked basmati, add to boiling water. Cook 4-5 min - 70% done, firm at center. Drain immediately.
6 min · hands onChicken masala
In the dutch oven, heat remaining ghee over medium. Add cumin seeds and remaining cardamom and cloves and cinnamon and remaining bay leaf - bloom 30 sec. Add diced onion and 1/2 tsp salt, cook 6 min until golden. Add remaining garlic, ginger, green chili - 1 min. Stir in marinated chicken (and all marinade). Cover, cook 15 min, stirring once, until chicken is 80% cooked through.
22 min · hands offLayer and dum
Add remaining biryani masala and kashmiri chili to the chicken; stir. Layer parboiled rice evenly on top. Drizzle saffron milk. Scatter half the fried onions and half the mint and half the cilantro. Cover tightly (foil under lid for a seal). Lowest heat, 25 min. Off heat, rest 10 min - DO NOT lift the lid.
35 min · hands offServe
Lift the lid - steam plume. Fluff GENTLY from the bottom so chicken and rice layers swirl. Top with remaining fried onions, mint, cilantro.
2 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Pressure-cook or pre-braise lamb 45 min until tender before layering. Adds about 45 minutes.
Sear cubed paneer in ghee 3 min, then proceed with masala - skip chicken cook step. Saves about 20 minutes.
Serve as-is. Saves about 5 minutes.
Sub coconut yogurt 1:1; coconut oil for ghee. Use water for saffron soak.
What keeps
Keeps 4 days. Reheats best covered, 300F oven 15 min.
Don't microwave. Make extra fried onions and store separately to refresh garnish.
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