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Chicken Biryani

Name: Chicken Biryani
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 800 g Chicken thighs; 400 g Basmati rice; 200 g Full-fat natural yoghurt; 300 g Onion; 200 g Ripe tomatoes; 6 cloves Garlic cloves; 25 g Fresh ginger; 60 g Ghee (clarified butter); 8 g Chilli powder; 4 g Ground turmeric; 10 g Garam masala; 1 piece Ground cinnamon; 5 piece Whole cloves; 6 piece Green cardamom pods; 2 leaves Bay leaves; 1 piece Saffron threads; 60 ml Whole milk; 20 ml Lemon juice; 15 g Fresh mint; 15 g Fresh coriander; 14 g Fine sea salt

Marinated chicken and part-cooked basmati rice layered together and finished under a tight lid, so the rice steams in the meat's own spiced juices and saffron milk while staying separate, fluffy grain from grain.

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 50 min
Difficulty: Advanced

About this dish

Biryani's roots trace to Persian pilaf traditions carried into the Indian subcontinent through Mughal courts and trading routes, then reshaped by regional kitchens — Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kolkata each claim a distinct style. The defining technique, dum, seals a pot with dough or a tight lid so the dish finishes cooking in its own trapped steam rather than direct heat, a method suited to grand feasts where a single covered pot could feed a household without constant attention. What separates a real biryani from a one-pot pilaf is exactly that: the rice and meat are cooked separately before meeting, layered rather than stirred together, so neither turns to mush.

Gluten-free
Not vegetarian because of Chicken thighs
Contains dairy because of Full-fat natural yoghurt, Ghee (clarified butter), Whole milk

Ingredients

4servings

800gChicken thighs
400gBasmati rice
200gFull-fat natural yoghurt
300gOnion
200gRipe tomatoes
6clovesGarlic cloves
25gFresh ginger
60gGhee (clarified butter)
8gChilli powder
4gGround turmeric
10gGaram masala
1pieceGround cinnamon
5piecesWhole cloves
6piecesGreen cardamom pods
2leavesBay leaves
1pieceSaffron threads
60mlWhole milk
20mlLemon juice
15gFresh mint
15gFresh coriander
14gFine sea salt

Instructions

Marinate the chicken in the yoghurt, half the garlic and ginger, chilli powder, turmeric and lemon juice for at least 30 minutes, longer if you have time.
15 min
Tip: The yoghurt's acidity tenderises the chicken and the marinade clings to it through cooking — this is what carries most of the spice flavour into the final dish, not the rice.
Boil the rice with the whole spices and salt until it's about 70% cooked — still firm at the core — then drain.
15 min
Tip: Undercooking the rice here is deliberate: it finishes steaming later under the lid, and rice that's already fully cooked at this stage turns to porridge by the time the dish is done.
Fry the onion in the ghee until deep golden, add the marinated chicken and tomatoes, and cook until the chicken is nearly done, then stir in the garam masala, mint and coriander.
20 min
Tip: Take the onion further than you think — pale, softened onion gives a flat curry; a proper deep golden-brown is what Hyderabadi cooks call the base of real flavour.
Layer the part-cooked rice over the chicken, drizzle with the saffron soaked in warm milk, cover tightly and cook on the lowest possible heat for 18–20 minutes without lifting the lid.
20 min
Tip: A ring of foil or a damp cloth under the lid seals in the steam completely — every time you lift the lid to check, you lose the trapped moisture the whole method depends on.