About Chicken Biryani
Biryani is one of the most loved dish all over the world. Biryani is made with marinated meat like chicken, mutton, fragrant basmati rice, whole spices, coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions, fried nuts and raisins and lots of ghee. It has an aroma that is so unique to the authentic biryani.
Chicken biryani is the popular variety of biryani which is made with tender pieces of chicken marinated with yogurt, spices, fresh garam masala, coriander, mint and lemon juice. Biryani can be made many different style.
The most authentic biryani is Chicken Dum Biryani and it cannot be matched by anything else. It is cooked in Dum Pukht which means the pot is sealed tight using wheat flour dough and lid. The whole pot is steam cooked over low flame. It is also known as kachi biryani.
Chicken dum biryani involves different steps which can be elaborate and time consuming which I make only during weekends. But during busy weekdays when I crave for chicken biryani, I make them different ways using pressure cooker or instant pot.
The main flavouring for this biryani comes from the masala which we make. It is a homemade spice mix which smell so heavenly. Make sure you check my other biryani recipes starting from pressure cooker chicken biryani to hyderabadi mutton biryani. Best accompaniment for this biryani would be raita.
Chicken Biryani Ingredients
Making a perfect chicken biryani is easy and has few basic ingredients. In this blog post, I have shared three different method for making chicken biryani. Whatever method you choose, the ingredients will be similar. I have added optional ingredients which will add more flavour to the biryani. Here are the list of ingredients which you need for making restaurant style chicken biryani.
Basmati Rice – the most essential and important ingredient in making biryani is rice. Try to find the finest quality basmati rice that you can afford. Better the quality of rice, better the aroma will be. Instead of basmati you can use seera samba rice. check notes for details.
Chicken – for making biryani, use chicken with bone-in and skins-removed. Try and use medium size chicken for this recipe which cooks faster and stays juicy.
Onion – onions are used in making masala and fried till crispy to add finishing touch to the biryani. These fried onions are called as birista which adds sweetness to the biryani.
Ginger & Garlic – this duo of ingredients gives the biryani aroma. Fresh ginger and garlic is ground and used.
Whole Spices – cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaf, cardamom is used. Whole spices are tempered in ghee and also these spices are dry roasted and ground to form fresh biryani masala which elevates your regular biryani to next level.
Fresh Herbs – lots of chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves adds the aroma.
Spice powders – a combination of chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder is used in biryani.
Curd – curd adds the tanginess which a biryani requires. it also makes the chicken super tender.
Ghee or Oil – you can use a combination of both for making biryani.
Optional Ingredients – optional ingredients like coconut milk, fried cashews, raisins, fresh ground masala (shared in stove top method) can be used