Chicken Biryani

What is Biryani?

Biryani is a delicious and aromatic dish that hails from the Mughal empire in the Indian subcontinent. It is a rice pilaf cooked with various spices, meat or fish, and vegetables.

Debates about the “right” way to make biryani, or the “best” type of biryani are truly endless. Indian vs Pakistani, Hyderabadi vs Karachi, dum biryani vs marinated biryani, tomatoes or no tomatoes, potatoes or not potatoes. We can go on and on and on. But the simple fact is that the beauty of biryani lies in this diversity of flavors, textures, and methods. Each rendition is special in its own way.

Ingredients To Marinate Chicken:

Ingredients For Rice:

How To Make Chicken Biryani(3 Easy Steps)?

1. Prepare the Chicken Curry:

1. Start by frying the onion in oil until it becomes golden.

   

2. Add the ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute. Then add the chicken and cook on high heat until it looks light brown.

   

3. Add the yogurt, salt, masalas and potatoes and toast for a few minutes.

   

4. Add the tomatoes on top of the masala in a layer along with some mint, cilantro and green chilies. Cover and cook until the tomatoes have softened.

   

2. Prepare the rice:

1. Wash rice and soak in water for 20 minutes. (This step is important as it allows the grain to expand at it best and also reduces the cooking time of rice with even cooking. Go for best quality basmati rice here as basmati unlike other rice absorbs flavors.)

   

2. Boil water with all spices and salt. The water must have soupy salt level or rice will be bland. When the water color changes as the spices release flavors in the water, add soaked rice. Cook until 70% is cooked.

3. Layering (Dum):

1. Finally, it’s time to layer. In a clean pot, add a third of the rice and drizzle over the mint and coriander. Then layer on half of the biryani masala.

   

2. Now sprinkle herbs, chat masala, and chilies on the chicken layer.
3. Mix food color, saffron, and water together. Spread evenly over the rice.
4. Repeat this until all layers are done, you will end with a third and final layer of rice on top.

   


5. The last (but not least) step is to give the biryani “dum” (steam). Place the heavy-bottomed pot on the smallest burner on the lowest heat setting with weight on top, and cook until steam rises through the rice. Then go ahead and very gently mix the biryani.

   

Chicken Biryani judge by 3 things:

1. Masala/Flavors: Use good biryani masala/garam masala.
2. Quality of Rice: Use aged basmati rice/aged premium quality short grain rice.
3. Tenderness of Meat: Always marinate chicken in yogurt and spices.

How to perfectly cook rice for biryani?

This is arguably the most important part of a biryani recipe. The rice is parboiled (i.e., not fully boiled) at first and completes its cooking in the “dum” stage. At the end, it should be fluffy and perfectly cooked, with each grain standing up on its own. If the rice gets mushy or overcooked, the biryani will be ruined.

Wash the rice thoroughly:

Rinse the rise for 20 times in cold water until the water appears more clear. This will remove its starchiness. Then soak it in cold water while you proceed further.

How to give “Dum” (steam) to biryani?

In the Dum stage, the biryani masala is layered with the rice and cooked on low heat until steam penetrates through the layers. This is an important step as it enhances the flavor of the biryani.

To give dum effectively, follow the given steps:

1. Ensure the rice is perfectly parboiled, and both the rice and the masala are hot.
2. Use a heavy bottomed, straighten edged dutch oven pot. The biryani will take longer to steam but the rice won’t burn as easily on the bottom. If you don’t have this kind of a pot, use any large pot you have but place a flat griddle underneath.
3. Use a large spoon to poke holes through the layers of the biryani to allow the steam to penetrate easily.
4. Cover the pot tightly. You can wrap a tea towel around the lid, place it on top of the pot, and place some heavy weight on top. This will allow steam to build up inside.
5. Cook on very low flame, ideally the smallest burner, to avoid burning the biryani.
6. Check for the steam. When close to beind done, lift just an edge of the lid and see if you see steam escaping. If not, you likely need to cook a bit longer.

What to Serve with Biryani?

Biryani is a stand-alone dish, and a simple or Vegetable Raita or Mint Raita will be enough alongside it. Kachumber Salad or fresh, crunchy vegetables such as sliced onions, carrots, or cucumbers will add crunch and texture.

If you’re serving it for guests, kebabs like Aloo Tikki, Chapli Kabab, Shami Kebab would pair well.