• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • ABOUT

Swasthi's Recipes

Home >> Recipes >> Chicken Recipes

Ambur biryani recipe video | Ambur star biryani | Tamilnadu biryani

By swasthi , on August 20, 2019, 18 Comments, Jump to Recipe

Ambur biryani recipe with video – One of the most well known south Indian biryani variety is this Ambur star biryani. Ambur is a small town in Vellore district of Tamilnadu which is popular for the star biryani. One can find Ambur biriyani outlets in many south Indian cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

ambur biryani recipe

There is one even in Singapore, that’s how I got to know the true taste of this ambur star biryani. It is mostly made with mutton however one can also find it being made with chicken.

Advertisement

The two main differences of this dish with the other biryani recipes, is that ambur star biryani is made with a short grain rice called seeraga samba or jeeraga samba rice. The other difference is that there is no spice powder used, instead only a few whole spices are used.

Ambur biryani has a more dominant taste and flavor of the meat than any other biryani due to the minimal usage of spices. If this dish is made with mutton then it turns out to be slightly brown in color due to the nature of meat.

Ambur biryani may not be liked by those who are used to enjoying biryani made with basmati rice and a good amount of masala. As I mentioned ambur biriyani is mildly flavored and predominantly it is the flavor of meat that makes it unique.

This recipe cannot be used to make ambur mutton biryani since mutton requires water for cooking which I have not used here. I will be sharing the mutton biryani as well sometime soon.

To make ambur star mutton biryani, water is used to cook the meat. But in this recipe I have made it without using water as chicken itself will ooze out lot of moisture while cooking. This recipe has been adapted from a Tamil channel. All the measurements given below are mine which worked out well and came close to the ambur biriyani that I had eaten in Singapore. This dish is served with ennai kathirikai and onion raita.

You may like to check these
Chicken biryani
Hyderabadi biryani
70 chicken recipes

Related Recipes

hyderabadi biryani

Hyderabadi bi...

chicken biryani

Chicken birya...

How to cook basmati rice

How to cook b...

garam masala

Garam masala ...

andhra chicken biryani

Andhra chicke...

Awadhi chicken biryani recipe | Lucknowi chicken biryani

Awadhi chicke...

Ambur biryani recipe

Advertisement
ambur biryani

Ambur biryani

Ambur star biryani is a well known rice dish popular in Ambur. 
Pin Recipe Print Recipe

For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Servings3
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

  • 500 grams Chicken or ½ kg
  • 1 ½ cups seeraga samba rice or jeeraga samba
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 4 inch cinnamon sticks / dalchini
  • 8 to 10 cloves
  • 8 to 10 green cardamoms
  • 2 tbsp sliced onions
  • 1 tbsp garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste
  • 1 Handful coriander leaves , chopped
  • 6 to 8 red chilies deseeded & soaked in water – about 2 tbsp paste
  • ½ cup onions sliced.
  • ¼ cup tomato or 1 medium ripe, deseeded and sliced (do not use sour ones)
  • 1 ½ tbsp curd
  • 1 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 Handful mint / pudina chopped finely
  • 1 Handful coriander leaves finely chopped
Advertisement

Instructions

Preparation for ambur biryani

  • Wash and soak rice for 10 mins. This is optional. Drain and set aside.
  • Deseed & soak red chilies for about an hour. Make a fine paste with little water used for soaking.
  • Heat oil in a pan and saute cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms
  • Add 2 tbsps onions and saute for 1 to 2 mins.
  • Saute garlic paste for a minute and then ginger paste as well for a minute.
  • Add coriander leaves and mint. Saute until it begins to smell good. This may take about 2 mins.
  • Add the red chilli paste and saute everything together until oil begins to separate.
  • Add half cup onions and fry for 2 to 3 mins until they turn transparent.
  • Add tomatoes and fry until they turn very soft and mushy.
  • Add chicken and fry on a low to medium heat until the chicken turns pale or white. This may take about 2 to 3 mins.
  • Add curd and salt.
  • Cover the pot and cook for 5 mins on a very low heat. Chicken begins to ooze out moisture.
  • Mix it and continue to cook until chicken turns completely soft.

Cooking biryani rice

  • While the chicken cooks, bring water to a boil in a large pot with salt.
  • Add drained rice and cook until 70% done. At this stage rice is still under cooked and you will very well know that it is undone if you bite it. The grain will still be hard in the center.
  • Make sure chicken is soft cooked before adding rice. Add coriander and mint leaves. Mix and level the mixture. At this stage you will see lot of moisture that has been released while cooking chicken.
  • Drain the rice completely and add it to the chicken pot.
  • Gently stir for the rice to get mixed with the moisture from chicken.

Cooking ambur biryani

  • Cover and cook on the lowest heat until the rice has absorbed all the moisture. You can also use a old dosa tawa/ griddle for dum process. To do that heat a griddle first, then place this biryani pot over it. Cook until rice is done.
  • Open the lid and mix gently again.
  • If the rice is under cooked and there is no moisture you may sprinkle some warm water. Stir and cook covered. However I did not use any water at this stage.
  • Once the rice is done, fluff up well and cover it again. Cook for another 2 mins. Switch off and rest for about 5 to 20 mins before serving. Fluff up with a fork before serving.
  • Serve Ambur biryani with ennai kathirikai and raita.
Advertisement

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

Video

Video of ambur biryani recipe

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Ambur biryani
Amount Per Serving
Calories 913 Calories from Fat 369
% Daily Value*
Fat 41g63%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 125mg42%
Sodium 138mg6%
Potassium 889mg25%
Carbohydrates 93g31%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 41g82%
Vitamin A 1290IU26%
Vitamin C 145mg176%
Calcium 127mg13%
Iron 4.6mg26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @SwasthisRecipes or tag #swasthisrecipes!

© Swasthi’s Recipes

WhatsApp
Share
Pin
Reddit
Tweet
Email
FOR MORE RECIPES

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.


chicken biryani
WhatsApp
Share
Pin
Reddit
Tweet
Email

Related Posts

Advertisement

FEATURED RECIPES

Breakfast Recipes

Upma recipe (r…

upma recipe

Cake Recipes

Banana cake re…

banana cake recipe

Breakfast Recipes

Aloo paratha r…

aloo paratha

vegetarian

Paneer recipes…

paneer recipes

Dal Recipes

Dal makhani (S…

dal makhani recipe

Rice Recipes

Veg biryani re…

veg biryani

Advertisement

POPULAR RECIPES

Idli recipe (S…

soft idli

Samosa recipe …

samosa

Pav bhaji reci…

pav bhaji

Eggless chocol…

eggless chocolate cake

Palak paneer r…

palak paneer

Rajma recipe |…

rajma

Advertisement

Paneer butter …

paneer butter masala

Kadai paneer r…

kadai paneer

Paneer tikka r…

paneer tikka

Advertisement

About swasthi

I’m Swasthi shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthis recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills.
Read more..

Reader Interactions

Share Your Comments & Feedback: Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Advertisement
  2. Sonia Mehrotra says

    August 1, 2020

    Hi Swasthi,
    What is the capacity of the pot you have cooked the biryani in? If I wanted to up the meat content to 700 gram for the same amount of rice how much more spice would be needed? Thanks

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      August 1, 2020

      Hi Sonia,
      I don’t suggest any changes to the recipe here. If you increase the quantity of chicken, there will be a lot of moisture in the pot and that may make the rice mushy. Since I have not tried it with more meat, I suggest you stick to the recipe. I think it is a 2.6 L kadai. Hope this helps

      Reply
  3. Raman says

    July 5, 2020

    Hi,

    As usual excellent recipe. Can you please share the ambur mutton briyani recipe

    Raman

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      July 5, 2020

      Hi
      You can use the same recipe to make with mutton

      Reply
  4. Moksha says

    April 26, 2020

    5 stars
    It was amazing my husband tried for the first time cooking biryani but it was delicious thank you

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 27, 2020

      Welcome Moksha
      Glad it turned out good. Thank you

      Reply
  5. Nilima says

    April 24, 2020

    Hello Swasthi.

    Can I use basmati rice instead of jerraga samba?
    Thank you

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      April 26, 2020

      Hi Nilima
      I haven’t tried it. Not sure how it works since the rice is cooked to 70% here. I have a lot of biryani recipes here using basmati. You may check.

      Reply
  6. Prameetha K says

    January 13, 2020

    5 stars
    I have tried this recipe 3 times and its wonderful… My family loves it…

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      January 17, 2020

      Thank you Prameetha
      Glad your family loves it!

      Reply
  7. Michael BONAVENTURE says

    October 21, 2019

    Very interesting recipe goodluck carry.

    Reply
  8. Advertisement
  9. Anup Zachariah says

    September 3, 2019

    Hi
    First of all I’d like to thank you for the wonderful Chicken Korma recipe. It was absolutely scrumptious.
    My one question for this recipe is , if one were to make this for 2 kg of chicken then would the spices need to be quadrupled? 40 peices of cardamom seems to be a tad over the top.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      September 3, 2019

      Hi Anup,
      You are welcome. Thanks for trying!. Yes even 40 cloves will be a lot. Just cut down cloves and cardamoms to 30. Hope this helps.

      Reply
  10. hash says

    August 29, 2019

    yummy

    Reply
  11. J says

    October 1, 2017

    5 stars
    The video is useful, the instructions are not. Never mentioned anywhere about adding salt to the boiling water, about when to add mint,curd and lemon juice. Adding how much onion twice the times etc. The recipe itself is good and mouthwatering picture, but please fix the written instructions. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      October 3, 2017

      Welcome J.
      Thanks a lot for the mention. I have fixed it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

      Reply
  12. Moumita says

    February 8, 2017

    5 stars
    After coming to Bangalore, I have seen so many outlets of Ambur Biriyani. .Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • swasthi says

      February 9, 2017

      Welcome Moumita

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

DIWALI RECIPES

JALEBI RECIPE
RASGULLA RECIPE
RASMALAI RECIPE
GULAB JAMUN
BESAN LADOO
KAJU KATLI
RAVA LADDU
Advertisement

CATEGORIES

DINNER RECIPES
SANDWICH RECIPES
BREAKFAST RECIPES
RICE RECIPES
CHUTNEY RECIPES
SNACKS RECIPES
SWEETS RECIPES

Follow me on social media

Facebook

Like

Instagram

Follow

Pinterest

Follow

Twitter

Follow
Advertisement

HEALTH CORNER

RAGI RECIPES
OATS RECIPES
MILLET RECIPES

Advertisement
Advertisement

© 2012 - 2020 - Swasthi's Recipes. The content is copyrighted to SWASTHI'S and may not be reproduced in any form.