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5 from 3 votes

Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani is one of the most flavorful chicken and rice dishes I have ever had.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani
Keyword: biryani, chicken, indian, rice, saffron

Ingredients

Chicken ingredients

  • 10 chicken drumsticks
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp kashmiri chili powder
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • ½ tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • ½ cup Greek yoghurt
  • 3 tomatoes (diced)
  • 1 green chili

Rice ingredients

  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 clove
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp salt

Saffron water

  • 3 tbsp hot water
  • ¼ tsp saffron

Crispy shallots

  • 3 large shallots
  • 1 cup oil

Other

  • cilantro

Instructions

Crispy shallots

  • Thinly slice your shallots using a mandolin.
    3 large shallots
  • Heat up oil over medium heat until reaches about 300F.
    1 cup oil
  • Place shallots into the oil and continue stirring until golden brown.
  • Remove from oil and strain over paper towel.

Saffron water

  • Soak saffron in boiling water and set aside while you prepare the rest of the steps.
    3 tbsp hot water, ¼ tsp saffron

Chicken and rice

  • Wash and soak basmati rice in cold water for 30 minutes.
    2 cups basmati rice
  • While you wait for the rice, season chicken drumsticks with garam masala, chili powder, salt, cumin, turmeric powder, minced garlic, minced ginger, and greek yoghurt.
    10 chicken drumsticks, 1 tbsp garam masala, 1 tbsp kashmiri chili powder, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp cumin, ½ tbsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp minced ginger, 1 tbsp minced garlic, ½ cup Greek yoghurt
  • Place chicken into a hot pan with oil along with your diced tomatoes and green chili.
    3 tomatoes, 1 green chili
  • Cover pot with a lid and keep over medium for 25 minutes. Remove the lid afterwards and let it simmer uncovered for another 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and is no longer watery.
  • Into a large pot, add water and bring it up to a boil.
  • Add all the aromatics and salt.
    1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 1 clove, 2 cardamom pods, 2 bay leaves, 1 tbsp salt
  • Strain the soaked rice and drop it into the boiling water. Keeping it at high heat for 3-4 minutes MAX. we want the rice to be 75% cooked only.
  • Remove half of the chicken and sauce from our pot then layer with rice, cilantro, and crispy shallots.
  • Repeat once more by adding the rest of the chicken, more rice, cilantro, and crispy shallots.
    cilantro
  • Pour over your saffron water, then cover with a lid and place over med-low heat for another 15 minutes.