After years of testing and perfecting this authentic recipe, I can now say this is the only chicken biryani recipe you will ever need. Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list, I include helpful step-by-step instructions to ensure you can easily follow along. In this dish, layers of rice, chicken, and gravy combine with fresh herbs and biryani masala (spice blend). It’s a deeply flavorful, aromatic and authentic Pakistani recipe.
WHAT IS BIRYANI?
Biryani is a rice dish wrapped in a delicious meat gravy. Its layers of rice and the meat gravy will be among the most aromatic smells you will encounter. Also try our Mutton Biryani with Homemade Biryani Masala.
HISTORY OF BIRYANI AND WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE THIS BIRYANI?
Biryani is a very popular dish in Pakistan and India. The dish originally hailed from the Persians, who brought it to Delhi, India where it spread like wildfire across the South Asia. As with many cultural staples, each region has its own adaptations when it comes to making biryani. I like to describe my biryani as the biryani you'd find at somebody's marriage back home, or the shadiyoon wali briyani (the briyani you get at weddings.)
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN BIRYANI?
- Make the masala for the chicken biryani in a powder form.
- Make the chicken gravy using Homemade Biryani Masala.
- Parboil the rice.
- Layer the rice and chicken gravy (will give details below).
- Steam the biryani (dum).
TWO TYPES OF BIRYANI
As I was guiding Sarah (my wife) in making the Authentic Chicken Biryani, I had to explain to her that there are actually two different forms of biryani:
- Bati huwi biryani - That just means your biryani is sitting down. When biryani sits down, it's a bad batch of biryani which means either the rice was overdone prior to the layering process, the gravy was too runny, or too much water and/or oil was added to the pot after the draining step.
- Kari huwi briyani- That means standing biryani which is what we want. Pure perfection. When your biryani is Kari huwi, it means the rice is parboiled just fine, drained at the perfect time. The rice ISN'T Soggy, the right amount of oil and water is at the bottom of the pan, and the gravy is just the right consistency and amount.
TEXTURE OF THE RICE IN BIRYANI
Biryani is composed of a motley assortment of spices, masalas, vegetables, and, of course, the Basmati rice. Each grain of rice, arguably one of the most important parts of this delicious concoction, is long, fluffy, and laden with masala. When perfectly made the long-form grains should be blooming and airy, basking in the luxurious aura that Basmati rice is so known for. It shouldn't be too soggy, too short, or break apart very easily, as this may ruin the dish.
HOW DO YOU MAKE THE GRAVY FOR THE BIRYANI?
WHAT BRAND OF RICE SHOULD BE USED?
In my experience the Royal Chef's Secret Basmati Rice has been an irreplaceable option. My wife's family has been using Royal rice for more than 20 years, and I'm enamored of the company and the impeccable long grains of rice which have served me well time and time again.
HOW TO PARBOIL RICE PERFECTLY?
Please see how to make the perfect Basmati Rice for more details.
HOW TO LAYER YOUR BIRYANI?
This post is sponsored by Royal .
LET'S MAKE AUTHENTIC CHICKEN BIRYANI
Authentic Chicken Biryani
Ingredients
Gravy
- 2 lbs chicken leg quarter
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely sliced
- 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 6 tbsp briyani masala that was made earlier
- 5 green cardamoms
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 5 black peppercorns
- 3 whole green pepper
- 4 plum Aloo Bukara (get the wet ones not the dried ones)
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tomatoes finely chopped
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp homemade biryani masala
Rice
- 3½ cups rice Royal Chef's Secret Extra Long Grain Basmati Rice
- 5 cup water
- 2 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 bay leaves
Layering
- orange food coloring (make sure it's orange for real authentic look)
- 3 tbsp oilve oil
- 2 tbsp water
- ½ tsp kewra
- ½ bunch cilantro finely chopped
- ½ bunch mint finely chopped
Instructions
Gravy
- In a medium size pot, on medium heat, add oil and heat it up.
- Next add green cardamom and black peppercorns and now lightly sauté it for about 30 seconds.
- Now add the onions and sauté the onion until they are golden brown.
- Next add ginger garlic paste and mix well.
- Add in the chicken and mix well.
- Add tomatoes and yogurt and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Now add the briyani masala and mix well. (Remeber you are only adding 6 tbsp save the rest for future use.)
- Next add in red chili powder, plum, lemon juice, and salt and mix well.
- Add whole green pepper and mix well.
- Let everything cook, stir occasionally during this process.
- When the chicken is fully cooked set aside, the process will take around 10-15 minutes.
- Turn off the stove and set the gravy aside.
Rice
- Presoak the Rice in water for 20 min.
- Drain the water.
- In a large pot, on medium heat, add water, salt, bay leaves, star anise, and cloves.
- Bring it to a boil.
- Then add the drained rice in the pot.
- Now let the rice cook for 6-8 minutes remember you're doing this on medium heat. Check the are cooked upto 75%.
- Remove the pot from the stove and drain the water.
- Set aside.
Layering
- In a large pot, add 3 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp water. Scatter that across the bottom of the pot.
- To set the first layer lay out 25% rice in the bottom of the pot as your first layer. Then sprinkle 3 pinches food coloring on top of the rice. Next place some of chicken gravy that you made earlier and on top sprinkle some fresh cilantro and fresh mint.
- Keep repeating the pervious step two more times.
- On top of the fourth layer of rice, you shouldn't have any chicken gravy left, so your fourth layer will be rice, food coloring, cilantro, mint, and lastly now add kewra to the pot.
The Steam Step (Dum)
- Wrap the lid with aluminum foil.
- Cover the lid, and now place something heavy on top maybe like a pressure cooker, or a heavy pot.
- Now turn the stove on high for 1 min only.
- Now turn the stove on medium heat for the next 5 minutes.
- Next turn the stove on low for the next 30 minutes
- Now turn off the stove.
- Don't open for the next 10 minutes.
sky says
I made this last night. it is so good. best briyani recipe out there.
Sarah Mirza says
you try out almost all of recipes thanks so much for always being supportive. 🙂
rani says
AHHHH THIS BIRYANI RECIPE IS TO DIE FOR!
REMINDS ME OF BIRYANI IN PAKISTAN
INSTRUCTIONS ARE REALLY EASY TO FOLLOW.
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much
Nida says
the best briyani recipe out there
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much!
Naila says
This was pretty good! Typically don’t make biryani or anything for that matter at home, but I tried this and it turned out great!!
Sarah Mirza says
im so happy to hear that. Thank you so much 🙂
Rebecca says
Very yummy!!! Huge fan of Indian food and especially this recipe, my husband loved it
Sarah Mirza says
thank you so much!
Maha Khan says
OMG! I made this biryani in dawat on the last weekend and everyone loved that. This is the actual Pakistani taste Biryani. Thank you so much guys to give your family recipe to us.
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much ☺️ ♥️
Hina Javed says
Wow this was so yummy. Thank you guys for this. I doubled the recipe.
Sarah Mirza says
You're so welcome. so glad to hear that. <3
Lauren says
I’ve never had great experiences with following recipes but WOW this one was truly out of this world. 1000/10
Sarah Mirza says
OMG! thank you so much means alot!
Nancy Oswald says
This was too good!!! Do you guys have a recipe for Chicken Curry.
Sarah Mirza says
https://twoclovesinapot.com/2019/01/13/one-pot-yogurt-chicken-curry/
Thank you so much for trying this recipe.
Shahnaz says
I can't believe I made this. it was so delicious. my rice always comes out soggy but today after following your recipe to the T; they came out perfect. Thank you Vaquas.
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much
Fatima says
Excellent
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much
Abeer says
excellent recipe, thank you so much for teaching me how to make a perfect biryani without using any packet masala. I'm planning to make your Nihari this coming weekend
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much 💗
asif jamal says
Such a delicious biryani. My wife made biryani with this recipe and putting stars on her shoulder. The recipe is simply amazing.
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much <3