Chicken Biryani Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ kg (1.1 lbs) chicken (skinless bone-in or boneless, large pieces such as thighs, drumsticks, legs or mix)
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (curd or dahi)
• 1¼ tablespoons ginger garlic paste (1 inch ginger & 4 garlic cloves crushed)
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ to 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (or paprika, use less spicy variety)
• ½ to 1 tablespoon garam masala (or biryani masala)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
• 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
• 4 green cardamoms (choti elaichi)
• 6 cloves (lavang)
• 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
• 1 star anise (chakri phool)
• ¾ teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds, substitute with cumin)
• 1 strand mace (javitri, omit if you don’t like)
• 2 cups basmati rice (aged rice only)
• 2 tablespoon ghee or oil
• 1 large onion (sliced thinly)
• ¼ to ½ cup mint leaves (chopped fine, about 15 leaves)
• 1 green chili (slit or chopped)
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (Indian curd)
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder (optional, for heat)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (or biryani masala)
• 3 cups water (3½ cups for pot, more if needed)
• ¾ teaspoon salt (to stir in water)
• 2 tablespoon fried onions (optional)
• 1 pinch saffron (optional, soaked in 2 tablespoons hot milk)

Instructions

1. Combine yogurt, ginger garlic paste, salt, garam masala, turmeric, lemon juice, and red chili powder in a bowl, mix well, taste, and adjust seasoning.
2. Make slits on the chicken pieces, add them to the marinade, mix thoroughly, cover, and rest from 1 hour to overnight while rinsing and soaking basmati rice for 30 minutes.
3. Heat ghee or oil in a pot or pressure cooker, add bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, shahi jeera, and mace, then fry sliced onions until evenly light brown.
4. Add the marinated chicken, sauté on medium until pale (about 5 minutes), cover and cook on low until soft, stirring to evaporate excess moisture before adding yogurt, mint, green chili, red chili powder, and garam masala.
5. Mix everything, layer chicken evenly at the bottom, spread drained rice over it, boil salted water separately, and pour hot water along the edges and on top of the rice; top with remaining mint, fried onions, and saffron milk if using.
6. For pot cooking, cover and cook on medium until rice is cooked but not mushy, adding more boiling water if needed; for pressure cooker, cook on medium-high until one whistle, let pressure drop naturally, fluff, and serve with raita, veggies, papad, or shorba.