After years of testing and perfecting How To Make Authentic Chicken Biryani At Home finally we got it! Donโt be intimidated by the ingredient list, I included 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 homemade biryani masala (spice blend).

WHAT IS BIRYANI?
Most South Asian Individual know Biryani is a rice dish wrapped in a delicious meat gravy. The dish is known for its layers of rice in meat gravy in aromatic smells. My version of chicken biryani takes 2 hours to make relies in steaming methods that's done in the oven or stove.
Come and learn How To Make Authentic Chicken Biryani At Home I know it can be intimidating but I gotcha! I have found a simple way to make delicious Biryani.
I make this almost every week because my daughter is obsessed with Biryani. You know how little girls plan their weddings? Well, she skipped that and went straight to planning her wedding menuโand itโs all Biryani! She wants 10 different kinds, from mutton to chicken to beef. Honestly, I respect the dedication! However, I do think obsessed is kind of understatement. Haha!
HISTORY OF BIRYANI AND WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE IT?
Biryani is a super popular dish in both Pakistan and India. It actually came from the Persians, who brought it to Delhi, India, and from there, it spread all over South Asia. Like many traditional foods, different regions have their own ways of making it. I like to say my biryani is just like the kind youโd get at a wedding back homeโwhat we call shadiyon wali biryani (wedding biryani)!
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
When I first start making biryani, I didn't know what I was doing so my husband helped me in making the Authentic Chicken Biryani, he had to explain to me 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 made with a mix of different spices, masalas, and either Basmati or Sella rice. The rice is one of the most important partsโit should be long, fluffy, and packed with flavor. When cooked right, each grain stays separate, light, and airy, which is what makes Basmati rice so special.
Sella rice is a bit thicker than Basmati, but both types need to be cooked just right. If the rice turns out too mushy, too short, or breaks apart easily, it can mess up the texture and taste of the biryani.
INGREDIENTS
- Rice: I sometimes use Sella rice and other times Basmati. However, in the blog postโs pictures and video, I used Basmati rice.
- Tomatoes: I used medium-sized Roma tomatoes.
- Oil: I used olive oil for this recipe, but any neutral oil will work.
- Onions: I used red onions, but white or yellow onions can be used as well.
- Dry Plums: This is one of the most essential ingredients in biryaniโwithout it, biryani just wouldnโt be the same!
- Biryani Masala: I used my delicious homemade Biryani Masala, but store-bought works too.
WHICH BRAND OF RICE SHOULD BE USED?
In my experience the Royal Chef's Secret Basmati Rice has been an irreplaceable option. My 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.
For Sella rice, weโve found that India Gate Sella Rice works perfectly for our biryani. Weโve been using this brand for the past 2โ3 years. I was first introduced to it by my maternal aunt, and itโs been our go-to ever since!
HOW TO MAKE THE GRAVY FOR THE BIRYANI?

HOW TO PARBOIL RICE PERFECTLY?
Please see how to make the perfect Basmati Rice for more details.
HOW TO LAYER THE BIRYANI?
This post is sponsored by Royal .
Hey Friend, Youโve made it this far, so now weโre basically best friends! If you make this recipe, Iโd love for you to give it a quick review & star rating โ below. Make sure you follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
LET'S MAKE AUTHENTIC CHICKEN BIRYANI!!!
How To Make Authentic Chicken Biryani At Home
Ingredients
Gravy
- 2 lbs chicken leg quarter
- โ cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely sliced
- 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tomatoes finely chopped
- ยฝ cup yogurt
- 4 dried plums Aloo Bukara (get the wet ones not the dried ones)
- 3 green pepper
Whole spices
- 5 green cardamoms
- 5 black peppercorns
Powdered spices
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 6 tbsp homemade biryani masala that was made earlier
- 1ยฝ tsp kosher salt or as needed
Rice
- 3ยฝ cups rice Royal Chef's Secret Extra Long Grain Basmati Rice
- 2 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 2 tsp kosher salt or as needed
Layering
- orange food coloring any color food coloring is fine
- 3 tbsp oilve oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp kewra
- ยฝ bunch cilantro finely chopped
- ยฝ 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 sautรฉ it for about 30 seconds.
- Now add the onions and sautรฉ 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.
- 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 they are cooked upto 90%.
- 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) on the stove
- Wrap the lid with aluminum foil.
- Place the covered lid with aluminum foil on top of the pot.
- Place the tava, on the stove then place the pot on top of the tava.
- Now turn the stove on high for 5-7 min only.
- Now turn the stove on medium heat for the next 10 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.
- Unwrap the lid and open and mix up the biryani slowly and carefully so rice wouldn't break.
- Enjoy!!!
Steaming step in the oven
- As you layer the biryani and wrap the lid in aluminum foil, Preheat the oven 400โ.
- After layering and aluminum foil step place the pot of biryani in the oven.
- 30 minutes in the oven.
- Turn off the oven.
- Let it sit in the oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, you can take it out of the oven.
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
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. ๐
rani says
AHHHH THIS BIRYANI RECIPE IS TO DIE FOR!
REMINDS ME OF BIRYANI IN PAKISTAN
INSTRUCTIONS ARE REALLY EASY TO FOLLOW. ๏ปฟ
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 donโt 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 ๐
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 โบ๏ธ โฅ๏ธ
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
Iโve 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 ๐
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
Dane says
What you're of whole green chili are you using?
Sarah Mirza says
I use regular green chili from Indian/Pakistani store. it has a label of green chilies.
Dane says
Thank you so much! My friend turned me on to biryani and I'm going to try to make at home because I need to eat this all the time, I love it so much. I can't wait to try your recipe.
Sarah Mirza says
I can't wait til you try this version
but I must tell you this is a spicier version of biryani
if you want mild spicy biryani you want to try https://twoclovesinapot.com/homemade-sindhi-chicken-biryani/
can't wait to get your feedback on version you try. ๐
Sarah Mirza says
feel free to message me if you need help with the recipe.
thanks
Sarah Mirza says
please msg me on
I can send you a picture so you can see what they look like.