“WoW” was the first word that came out of my husband’s and my mouth after tasting this biryani…
There was no special occasion nor any particular reason for me to make biryani, yet I made biryani and made an ordinary day very special. When I was with my mom I got to eat biryani almost every week, each time she made it in a totally different way – lamb biryani, hyderabadi biryani, kashmiri biryani, vegetable biryani, fried chicken biryani, dum biryani, king fish biryani, mussel biryani, prawn biryani, malabar biryani, chettinad biryani, beef biryani and the list is just endless. How I miss those days 🙁
One of her biryani preparation methods captured my interest. Despite the easy preparation method that biryani tasted real delish. Also, when I had visited my hubby’s aunt while in India, she had made biryani in which the method she used to cook the rice sounded pretty interesting. So this time when I made biryani, I combined my mom’s simple method of making the chicken and my hubby’s aunt’s method of making the rice.
Usually, when I make the rice for biryani, I make the rice separately in a rice cooker after flavoring the water with spices. While making this biryani, I first cooked the chicken in a pressure cooker after adding lil more water than usual, then drained the excess water from the cooked chicken. Believe me, this water is full of flavor and aroma. So for cooking the rice, I cooked the rice in this water. The cooked rice tasted unbelievably yummy and that’s what made this biryani much tastier than the other biryani’s I had made.
After tasting the cooked rice, I felt like I don’t need to mix the chicken with the rice as the rice itself tasted phenomenal. Also, this time I didn’t layer the rice and chicken separately. I combined both the rice and the chicken in a wide pot and garnished with cilantro. I even skipped garnishing this biryani with roasted cashew nuts, fried onions and roasted raisins, even without these this biryani tasted so divine. However, you could go ahead and add all the extra garnishing to make this even more delightful.
The aroma that emanated while cooking this biryani had made both my husband and I go wild. When the biryani was all ready on the dining table we didn’t talk nor looked at each other, we were seen greedily gobbling it. And the first word that came out of both of ours mouth was “WoW”.
Cooking Video
South Indian Style Chicken Biryani Recipe
Cooking the Chicken
To grind
- Garlic- 7 cloves
- Ginger- 3 inch slice
- Green chilies- 8
- Small onions or pearl onions- 8
For making chicken masala
- Chicken, bone-in- 10 pieces
- Onion, sliced thin- 4
- Cinnamon- 1 inch slice
- Cardamom- 3
- Cloves- 2
- Bay leaves- 2
- Garam masala- 1 tbsp
- Tomatoes, chopped- 3
- Fennel powder- 2 tbsp
- Yogurt- 2 tbsp
- Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
- Cilantro, chopped- 1/4 cup
- Mint leaves, chopped- 8 leaves
- Water- 1 cup
- Ghee- 2 tbsp
- Salt- 1 1/2 tsp
Preparation:
- Grind small onions, garlic, ginger and green chilies together into a coarse paste and keep aside.
- Place a pressure cooker over medium heat.
- Add the ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and bay leaves, saute for a few seconds.
- Add the onions and 1/2 tsp salt, saute for a few minutes.
- Add the coarsely ground small onions, garlic, ginger, green chili to the onions, saute for 3 minutes.
- Add garam masala, combine everything well.
- Add tomatoes, cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken and combine well.
- Now, add fennel powder and combine well.
- Add yogurt, lemon juice, chopped cilantro, and mint leaves. Combine well.
- Add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt according to your needs.
- Add 1 cup of water to the chicken.
- Close the cooker with its lid and cook until 2 whistles, about 20 minutes.
- After the pressure subsides, open the lid.
- Separate the liquid or gravy from the chicken through a mesh strainer.
- Keep aside the gravy and the chicken separately. Chicken gravy will be used for cooking the rice.
Cooking the Rice
Ingredients:
- Basmati Rice – 2 1/2 cups
- Gravy drained from the cooked chicken- 4 cups ( if the liquid from the cooked chicken measures less than 4 cups, add extra water to make it to 4 cups)
- Whole Cinnamon- 1-inch slice
- Whole Cardamom- 2
- Dried Bay leaf- 1
- Garam masala- 1 tsp
- Ghee- 2 tbsp
- Salt- 1/2 tsp
Preparation:
- I cooked the rice in the same pressure cooker used for cooking the chicken, you could use a rice cooker or a non-stick saucepan instead.
- Rinse the rice taken in a mesh strainer under running water.
- Place the cooker over low-medium heat.
- Add ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaf.
- Add garam masala and combine well.
- Immediately add the rice and combine well.
- Add the gravy from the cooked chicken and combine everything. For 2 1/2 cups of rice there should be 4 cups of gravy, if the gravy measures less than 4 cups add some water.
- Season with salt.
- Close the cooker and place the whistle on it.
- Keep the heat to low-medium and cook the rice for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Don’t overcook the rice.
- Remove the cooker from the stove and let the pressure subside naturally.
- This was the first time I cooked the rice in a pressure cooker, I’ve always found cooking rice in a rice cooker better as the rice will cook perfectly in a rice cooker without turning mushy.
Mixing the Chicken and Rice:
- Heat a wide cooking pan, add the cooked chicken into the pan.
- Cook over medium heat and let any extra water in the chicken masala dry out.
- Lower the heat, add the cooked rice to the chicken, combine well.
For Garnishing
Saffron, soaked in 1/2 tbsp water- 2 pinches
Fried onions- 1/2 cup
Roasted Cashew nuts- 3 tbsp
Roasted Raisins- 1 tbsp
Cilantro, chopped- 2 handfuls
Mint leaves, chopped- 8 leaves
- Drizzle saffron soaked in water over the biryani.
- Garnish with fried onions, roasted raisins, cashew nuts, chopped cilantro, and mint leaves.
- Remove the pan from the stove. Cover the pan with its lid and keep covered for 30 minutes.
- Serve the biryani with Raita, Pickle, Pappad etc.
Tips:
- If you want the biryani to be more spicy, increase the green chilies; around 10 or 12.
- Garlic- 7 cloves
- Ginger- 3 inch slice
- Green chilies- 8
- Small onions or pearl onions- 8
- Chicken, bone-in- 10 pieces
- Onion, sliced thin- 4
- Whole Cinnamon- 1 inch slice
- Whole Cardamom- 3
- Whole Cloves- 2
- Dried Bay leaves- 2
- Garam masala- 1 tbsp
- Tomatoes, chopped- 3
- Fennel powder- 2tbsp
- Yogurt- 2 tbsp
- Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
- Cilantro, chopped- ¼ cup
- Water- 1 cup
- Ghee- 2 tbsp
- Salt- 1½ tsp
- Basmati Rice- 2½ cups
- Water drained from the cooked chicken and extra water- should equal to 4 cups
- Whole Cinnamon- 1 inch slice
- Whole Cardamom- 2
- Dried Bay leaf- 1
- Garam masala- 1 tsp
- Ghee- 2 tbsp
- Salt- ½ tsp
- Saffron, soaked in ½ tbsp water- 2 pinches
- Fried onions- ½ cup
- Roasted Cashew nuts- 3 tbsp (roasted in ghee)
- Roasted Raisins- 1 tbsp (roasted in ghee)
- Cilantro, chopped- ¼ cup
- Mint leaves, chopped- 8 leaves
- Grind small onions, garlic, ginger and green chilies together into a coarse paste and keep aside.
- Place a pressure cooker over medium heat.
- Add ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves, saute for a few seconds.
- Add the onions and ½ tsp salt, saute for a few minutes.
- Add the ground small onion, garlic, ginger, green chili to the onions and saute for 3 minutes.
- Add garam masala and combine well.
- Add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken and combine well.
- Now, add the fennel powder, combine well.
- Add yogurt, lemon juice, chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
- Add salt according to your taste, combine well.
- Add 1 cup of water to the chicken.
- Close the cooker with its lid and cook until 2 whistles.
- After the pressure subsides, open the lid.
- Separate the liquid or gravy from the chicken through a mesh strainer.
- Keep aside the gravy and the chicken separately.
- I cooked the rice in the same pressure cooker used for cooking the chicken, you could use rice cooker or a non-stick saucepan instead.
- Rinse the rice taken in a mesh strainer under running water.
- Place the cooker over low-medium heat.
- Add the ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf to it.
- Add garam masala, combine well.
- Immediately add the rice and combine well.
- Add the gravy from the cooked chicken (total 4 cups) and combine well.
- For 2½ cups of rice there should be 4 cups of gravy, if the gravy measures less than 4 cups add some water.
- Season with salt.
- Close the cooker and place the whistle on it.
- Keep the heat to low-medium and cook the rice for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Don't over cook the rice.
- Remove the cooker from the stove and let the pressure subside.
- Place a wide pan over medium heat.
- Add the cooked chicken to the pan, cook for a few minutes and let any water in the chicken masala dry out.
- Lower the heat and add the rice to the chicken, combine well.
- Drizzle saffron soaked in water over the biryani.
- Garnish with fried onions, roasted cashew nuts, roasted raisins, chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
- Remove the pan from the stove. Cover the pan with its lid and keep covered for 30 minutes.
- Serve the biryani with Raita, Pickle, Pappad etc.
