If there is any dish that is quintessentially Pakistani, it is biryani -- especially when made using a 5-Minute Homemade Biryani Masala. There is an otherworldly enjoyment in creating your own masala. After doing so, you'll be able to internalize this ages-old adage: once you make your own, you'll leave the grocery shelves alone!
WHAT'S HOMEMADE BIRYANI MASALA?
5-Minute Homemade Biryani Masala is an undeniable game changer. Dry roasted whole spices are blended together with some pinches of salt and a few powder spices.
A pretty simple assortment, but it still allows for some culinary Pakistani creativity, as you can mess around with the spices you put.
After all, we are all about rolling our sleeves up and learning as we do - so go ahead, make your own Pakistani Biryani Masala!
Cilantro Tomato Yogurt Raita typically accompanies the Biryani when the food is served.
INGREIDENTS
Countless iterations of different spice combinations and mixtures have culminated in my final, most refined biryani masala.
- Dried long red peppers lal lambi sukhi mirch
- Bay leaves tez patta
- Cinnamon sticks dal chini
- Coriander seeds sabut daniya
- Cumin seeds zeera
- Caraway seeds shahi zeera
- Mace javitri
- Cloves long
- Green cardamom hari elaichi
- Black peppercorns sabud kali mirch
- Anise badiyan ke phool
- Fennel seeds sauf
- Netmug jaefil
- Turmeric powder haldi
- Red chili powder Lal mirch powder
- Salt namak
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT MASALA?
HOW LONG DOES THE MASALA LAST AND HOW MUCH TO USE?
With recipe below the masala should last 2 to 2-and-a-half months if you make biryani once a week on average.
I typically mix about 4 tbsp of the masala with 3 lbs of meat.
Use 6-7 tbsp if you want it more spicer. Check out my Authentic Chicken Biryani and Instant Pot Mutton Biryani and also if you want a mild spice mix be sure to try Sindhi Biryani spice mix.
Let's Make Homemade Biryani Masala!!!
5-Minute Homemade Biryani Masala
Ingredients
Whole Spices
- 18 dried long red peppers lal lambi sukhi mirch
- 12 bay leaves tez patta
- 6 cinnamon sticks dal chini
- 9 tbsp coriander seeds sabut daniya
- 3 tbsp cumin seeds zeera
- 3 tbsp caraway seeds shahi zeera
- 1 mace javitri
- 30 cloves long
- 12 black cardamon kali elachi
- 30 green cardamom hari elachi
- 30 black peppercorns sabud kali mirch
- 9 star anise badiyan ke phool
- 3 tsp fennel seeds sauf
- ⅓ piece netmug jaefil
Powder Spices
- 1½ tsp tumeric powder haldi
- 6 tsp red chili powder lal mirch powder
- 3 tsp salt namak
Instructions
- In a fry pan, add in the whole spices and dry roast them for 1 minute.
- Let it cool down for 5-7 minutes.
- Now add only cinnamon sticks and mace and blend them until they are powder form.
- Add bay leaves and blend them until they are powder form.
- Next add the dry red chili peppers and blend them until they are powder form.
- Now add nutmeg and black cardamoms and blend them until they are powder form.
- Add anise stars and green cardamoms and blend them until they are powder form.
- Now add the rest of the whole spices and blend them until they are powder form.
- Next add whole spice powder that you just blended in a bowl.
- Now add powder spices and salt and mix well.
- Store in a air tight jar. Biryani Masala is good up to 4-5 months.
Saba says
Hi,
Was getting ready to make this today.
I don’t see black cardamom listed in the ingredients but it is in the pictures and detailed instructions. Can you please clarify? Thanks!
Sarah Mirza says
thank you so much for letting me know. It's fixed now. Sorry about that.
Please msg me when you're done with the recipe would love to get feedback. <3
Saba says
Thanks!
Will do. It looks like you tripled the quantities for Biryani Masala in your original post on Chicken Biryani. However, you did not triple the jaefal and javitri (mace and nutmeg). Should they be tripled or are they strong enough in small quantities?
First time trying your recipes so I'm really excited to see how it turns out!
Sarah Mirza says
yes Javitri and Nutmeg are empowering for this particular biryani masala. You don't want too much since this is mild biryani masala.
if you add too much of this in this recipe. it will taste weird, I made this mistake in the past. lol
Sarah Mirza says
Can't wait until you try this! remember for a mild version only use 4 tbsp of the biryani masala and for a much spicier version use 7 tbsp when adding the masala of course the masala is measured with 1.5 lbs of meat (chicken, goat, and beef).
Saba says
The masala was great! Everybody loved the biryani…a tall order as there were many foodies in attendance.. thanks for the delicious recipe!
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much <3 so happy to hear that.
CHRIS FULLINFAW says
Last weekend (Sep 24, 2023), I finally made it to biryani nirvana! For years, I had experimented with different biryani recipes and always ended up with a dish that nowhere resembled what it was supposed to look like. Until last weekend, that is.
I happened across your recipe and decided to give it a shot. I had a few small changes (i.e. I "steamed" the rice at the end in the oven instead of on the stovetop). The biryani turned out a little spicier than my family likes, so I will be toning it down slightly the next time I make it, this weekend!
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe - I know what I will be doing this weekend!
Sarah Mirza says
awww thank you means a lot. I personally make 4 times the masala then store it in a jar.
Then Adjust the quantity of the masala according to my taste that day if I want it spicy I use 4 tbsp of the masala.
If I want less spicer version I only use 2 tbsp in my biryani.
Chris Fullinfaw says
Thanks Sarah - that explains it. I used 6tbsps of the masala for 2lbs of chicken and 3.5 cups rice. Would you recommend 4 or 5 instead of 6?
Sarah Mirza says
In 3.5 cups of rice I would add 2.5 tbsp max 3 tbsp tops of this homemade biryani masala
when I am making a less spicier version of this masala.
Sarah Mirza says
Also try this: https://twoclovesinapot.com/5-minute-homemade-sindhi-biryani-masala/
this is much milder spice mix.