Chettinad Biryani
Updated: May 23, 2024, By Swasthi
This Chettinad Biryani is super aromatic, delicious and stands for the authentic and true flavors of Chettinad Cuisine. If you are a biryani lover, I am sure you will love to explore this popular dish. The traditional version is made with short grain rice known as seeraga samba rice, coconut milk, whole and fresh ground spices. But you can always replace the short rice with basmati.
Chettinad cuisine is a regional cuisine of Tamil Nadu state, India. It is well known for its super aromatic foods. The specialty being the foods are made with fresh ground spices or a paste which are unbeatable. Chettinad Chicken, goat curry and pepper chicken are some of the popular dishes from here.
About Chettinad Biryani
Rice, spices, coconut and meat are available in abundance locally and they are a staple among the meat eaters of this region. Chettinad Biryani is one popular dish that uses all these. It tastes so much different from the other kinds of biryani you find elsewhere in India.
Like the Awadhi or Hyderabadi biryani this one is not cooked in a dum style, meaning it is not a layered biryani. It is cooked in a one pot style like a pilaf. But it is not called a pulao due to the liberal use of spices and oil.
There are plenty of restaurants in India and abroad serving Chettinad foods and this biryani is one of the top-selling after their chicken curry. The short grain seeraga samba rice contributes to the overall flavors in a Chettinad Biryani. But this kind of rice is not available easily. So I make mine with aged basmati and suggest the same if you can’t find the samba rice.
You can make this recipe in a regular pot or in a pressure cooker. I have the instructions covered for both.
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Recipe Card
Chettinad Biryani
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
To make a paste
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds / sombu
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 6 cloves
- 3 green cardamoms
- 2 to 2 ½ teaspoons ginger garlic paste or 1 inch ginger 4 to 5 garlic cloves
Marinade
To temper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons oil (adjust as needed)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick small
Other ingredients
- 2 cups seeraga samba rice or basmati rice
- 3½ cups thin coconut milk or 1½ cups thick coconut milk + 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 onion large , sliced thinly about ¾ cup
- 2 to 3 green chillies (use as needed)
- 1 tomato large , deseeded chopped or about ½ cup or pureed
- ¼ cup mint leaves fine chopped
- ¼ cup coriander leaves fine chopped
- 3 to 4 boiled eggs (to garnish, optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Grind fennel, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms to a fine powder in a grinder. Add ginger garlic. Make a fine paste of all. If your blender doesn't do it fine, add curd mentioned for marination and blend. You can also use a hand pestle to do this.
- Add the paste, salt, curd, turmeric, chili powder and chicken to a mixing bowl. Marinate and set aside.
- Wash and soak rice for at least 20 to 30 mins. Drain the water. Keep your coconut milk and water ready.
How to Make Chettinad Biryani
- Add oil to a hot pot or pressure cooker and add bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon..
- Stir in the onions and green chilies. Saute until they turn golden. Add chicken and saute on a medium heat until the it turns pale and whitish.
- Add tomatoes, mint and coriander leaves. Cook covered on a low heat untl the tomatoes turn mushy. Chicken is almost half cooked at this stage. Do not cook on high heat as it will make the chicken chewy. Cook without lid until the moisture from tomatoes and curd evaporates completely.
- Heat water and coconut milk in a separate pot, until really hot. Pour to the pan and add rice.
- If making in pressure cooker. cover and cook on a medium heat for 1 whistle.
- If making in pot, Cook in open pot until almost the water is absorbed. Then cover and cook on a low heat until soft cooked. If the rice remains undercooked, you may need to sprinkle some water and cook until done.
- Allow the cooked chicken biryani to rest for atleast 15 mins. Open the lid and fluff up gently.
- Garnish Chettinad biryani with eggs or coriander leaves.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s 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. More about me
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Comments
Thank you for the amazing recipe. It worked out well as written. But did reduce the amount of liquid to 3 cups and it turned out great. Love serving it with boiled eggs for extra protein. I wonder if it is essential to heat the coconut milk and water?
Glad you like it Samuel. Adding cold water and coconut milk can sometimes toughen the chicken. So I prefer heating it up first.
I made this for a friend coming over for dinner. Rave reviews all the way around. So I see what I think is a boiled egg in the picture?? Did not see it included in the recipe. lol TU for sharing the recipe.
Hi Erin,
I have mentioned in the intro, we garnished the biryani with boiled eggs. It is not a part of the recipe. However I will add the details.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. The flavours were so intense. The best ever!
Hi Helen!
You are welcome! Glad you liked it. Thank you!
This recipe is awesome. I tried it, and the Biryani tasted too yummy. The whole experience of cooking it, tasting it and also sharing it with my friends was out of the world. I also have a doubt. Can we add mutton instead of chicken for this recipe?
Thanks Vaishnavi
Glad your biryani turned out good. You can check the recipe of mutton biryani here. I would suggest using the chicken biryani recipe for mutton.
Thanks. I have been using this recipe for ages. Always get compliments for my Chettinad Biryani. Thanks again.
Hi Archana
You are welcome. thank you so much for the comment. Happy to know it turns out good.
🙂
Hi,
I’ve tried a lot of your receipes and they turned out very delicious!!!
I have a question about this receipe. If I’m making it in the pressure cooker, is there a need of going the steps till the tomatos turn mushy?
Hi Regina
Thanks for trying. Yes the tomatoes have to turn mushy & the moisture must evaporate completely otherwise the flavor will not be good.
Hi! Should this be canned coconut milk or the kind in the refrigerator section at the grocery store? Thanks!
H Kelly,
You can use the one from refrigerator section. I use homemade coconut milk.
This biryani recipe came out so well. Thanks a lot! I tried a lot of your recipes. No time to decide whether a recipe is going to turn out well, I will choose your’s.
Welcome Sujatha
So glad to know the biryani turned out well. Thanks for trying the recipes from here.
🙂
This is one of the best and easy biryani recipes. Spices mixture eliminates the need for ready made mixture and the rice tastes awesome!
I replaced chicken with mutton in this recipe ( cooked meat in cooker for some time) and it turned very good. Is there a Chettinad mutton biryani recipe from you? If yes, please share the link.
Thanks for everything.
Welcome Nanda
So glad to know you liked it. Thanks for sharing the outcome. I do not have a post on chettinad mutton biryani yet. I do wish to share it sometime soon. Thanks again
Is it mandatory to refreigerate the marinated chicken
Hi Sravani
I haven’t mentioned to refrigerate the chicken in this recipe. If you meant about some other recipe, then You don’t need to refrigerate if you are cooking in the next 30 to 45 mins otherwise it is good to do it. Also resting the marinated chicken makes the chicken soft and tender.
Hello, you didn’t tell how much rice must be taken for 500gms of chicken
Hi Karthiga
I have mentioned it as 2 cups
Interesting blog that Swasthi has here. I plan to try out some of these mouth watering recipes.
Thank you
Yes do try and share the outcome
🙂