Chicken biryani recipe with video & step-by-step photos. Biryani is one of the most amazing royal delicacies introduced to Indians by the Mughals. Since then it has been much popular and is considered to be a luxurious treat to enjoy on special occasions. Making a chicken biryani in authentic dum style does take some time and needs little expertise.
Traditional chicken biryani is made by layering marinated chicken and then layered with parboiled rice, herbs,saffron milk & then ghee. I have shared that traditional hyderabadi biryani here.
The recipe shared here in this post details a short cut method to make a simple one pot delicious chicken biryani in a pressure cooker or a pot.
So what I have shared in this post is not a dum style biriyani yet it will surprise you with a good aroma and taste.
This recipe yields a chicken biryani that isn’t too oily, spicy, hot or pungent as it looks to be in the pictures. However you can reduce the amount of red chili powder if you do not prefer the heat. This is best served with a Raita, Shorba, lassi and papads.
More Chicken biryani recipes
Hyderabadi biryani
Chicken dum biryani
Chettinad biryani
You can also find the older version of this chicken biryani recipe towards the end of this post as recipe 2.
Step-by-step photos
Preparation for chicken biryani recipe
1. Make few slits on all the chicken pieces and add to a large bowl. Then add
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Indian curd)
- 1¼ tablespoons ginger garlic paste
- ½ to 1 tablespoon garam masala (or biriyani masala)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder (reduce for kids)
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
2. Mix everything well and marinate the chicken. Cover and set this aside for 1 hour. You can also rest it overnight in the fridge.
3. Meanwhile add 2 cups basmati rice to a large pot and rinse it at least thrice. Drain and soak in fresh water for 30 mins. Drain to a colander after 30 mins. Optional – Soak a pinch of saffron strands in 2 tablespoons hot milk.
Cooking chicken
4. Heat ghee or oil in a heavy bottom pot or pressure cooker. Make sure you use a large one for this. Using whole spices is optional but recommended. Use whatever you have. I use
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 green cardamoms
- 6 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon piece
- 1 star anise
- ¾ teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds)
- 1 strand mace
5. Add thinly sliced onions. On a medium heat, fry them stirring often until uniformly light brown.
6. This is the correct color of the onions. Do not burn them as they leave a bitter taste. (check video)
7. Add marinated chicken & saute until it becomes pale for 5 minutes.
8. Lower the flame completely. Cover and cook until the chicken is soft, tender and completely cooked.
9. Check if the chicken is cooked by pricking with a fork or knife. It has to be just cooked and not overdone. Evaporate any excess moisture left in the pot by cooking further without the lid.
10. Taste test and add more salt if needed. I added ¼ more salt here. Add
- ¼ cup plain yogurt (Indian curd)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (or biryani masala)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
- 1 slit green chili pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves (pudina)
How to make chicken biryani
11. Mix everything well. Spread it evenly in a single layer.
12. Layer drained rice all over the chicken. To a separate bowl, pour 3 cups water and add ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt. If cooking in a pot, start with 3 cups water at this stage.
Stir and taste the water. It must be slightly salty. Pour 2 cups of this across the sides of the cooker or pot. Pour rest of the water over the rice gently. (check video)
13. Level the rice gently on top. Add 2 tablespoons more mint leaves.Do not mix up everything, the taste of the biryani cooked in the shown method is good. Optionally you can sprinkle 2 tablespoons fried onions & saffron soaked milk.
14. Finally cover the pot or cooker.
If cooking in a pot, cook on a medium heat until the rice is done completely. If the rice is undercooked pour ¼ to ½ cup boiling water at this stage. How much to add depends on the quality of basmati rice. Cook covered until the biryani rice is perfectly done, grainy and fully cooked. Rest it covered for 15 mins.
If cooking in a cooker, cook for 1 whistle. Later remove the cooker from the hot burner to stop cooking further.
15. When the pressure releases naturally, open the lid. Gently fluff up with a fork.
Serve chicken biryani in layers – top layer with rice and bottom layer with chicken. Enjoy with raita or shorba.
Troubleshooting
Towards the end if the rice is under cooked, you can sprinkle little hot water & cook covered further.
What you need for a good biryani?
To make a good biryani, always use best quality ingredients. The choice of good quality basmati rice, whole spices, spice powders, chicken & ghee all contribute to the flavors of chicken biryani.
1.Basmati rice: There are so many kinds of basmati rice available in the market. For best results choose premium quality basmati rice that is labelled as AGED. This kind of rice is more firm & fluffs up well in chicken biryani without turning mushy. Aged rice is also more fragrant.
Though this biryani is made in a pressure cooker or pot, the texture of rice grains will come out right without getting mushy if made with aged rice.
2.Biryani masala (spices): Good quality whole spices & spice powders elevate the flavor of chicken biryani. So choose a good quality ready made garam masala powder or biryani masala.
I am also sharing the ingredients for an instant biriyani masala powder. If you do not have a ready made or store bought masala, you can make it in just few minutes.
3.Chicken: We usually use up the cut whole chicken to make the chicken biryani. However I always find chicken breast pieces dry out if not marinated well with yogurt. If you prefer soft, tender & succulent pieces of chicken in your biryani, then just use chicken thighs & drumsticks.
Always use bone-in chicken as it helps the dish to turn out more flavorful.
4.Ghee : Traditionally chicken biryani was made using ghee. Since this recipe does not follow the traditional method, you can also make it using oil. But ghee adds a unique aroma to the dish.
How to make the best chicken biryani?
- Marination: Marinating chicken with yogurt & spices is the first key step to make the best chicken biryani. Yogurt tenderizes the chicken & the spices enhance the flavors. Marinating and resting chicken makes it soft & succulent, so do not skip that. If you do not eat curd then can substitute it with coconut milk.
- Preparing rice : Basmati rice has to be rinsed very well a few times in ample amount of water to get rid of the starch. This prevents the rice grains from turning mushy. Soaking the rice helps to cook the rice grains to fluffy & long. So do not skip rinsing & soaking the rice well before using.
- Water : This recipe uses plain water to cook the chicken biryani. However it can be replaced with coconut milk or chicken stock. The quantity of water I have mentioned in the recipe card works well for me with Lalquilla old malai basmati rice. This ratio works pretty well with any aged basmati rice.
- Please do adjust the amount of heat in the recipe. My recipes are usually low on heat for the Indian taste buds. Since I have young kids at home., these levels work well for us.
Related Recipes
Recipe
Chicken biryani recipe | How to make chicken biryani
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Marinade for chicken biryani
- ½ kg chicken (1.l lbs)
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (curd or dahi)
- 1¼ tablespoons ginger garlic paste (1 inch ginger & 4 garlic cloves crushed)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 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) (Refer notes)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice (optional)
Whole spices (skip if you don’t have any)
- 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)
Other ingredients for chicken biryani
- 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 (or coconut milk) (refer notes more if needed )
- ¾ teaspoon salt (to stir in water)
- 2 tablespoon fried onions (optional)
- 1 pinch saffron (optional)(soaked in 2 tbsps hot milk)
Instructions
Preparation for chicken biryani
- To a bowl, add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, ½ tsp salt, garam masala, turmeric, lemon juice & red chili powder.
- Mix up well and taste the marinade. Add more salt and spice if needed.
- Make slits on the chicken pieces. Add it to the marinade &mix well. Cover and set aside for 1 hour to overnight.
- Rinse basmati rice thrice and soak for 30 mins. Drain to a colander after 30 mins.
How to make chicken biryani
- Heat ghee or oil in a pot or pressure cooker.
- Add whole spices – bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, shahi jeera & mace. Skip them if you do not have.
- When the spices begin to sizzle, add onions & fry them evenly stirring often until uniformly light brown but not burnt.
- Add chicken & saute until pale for 5 mins on a medium heat.
- Cover & cook on a low flame until the chicken is soft cooked or tender. Saute to evaporate any excess moisture in the pot.
- Taste test and add more salt if needed. I add about ¼ teaspoon salt. Add ¼ cup yogurt (curd), 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves, 1 slit green chili, ½ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder & 1 teaspoon garam masala.
Layering for chicken biryani
- Mix everything well and layer chicken evenly at the bottom. (check video)
- Spread drained rice in a layer over the chicken.
- To a separate bowl, pour 3 cups water. If cooking in a pot use 3 ½ cups water.
- Add ½ to ¾ tsp salt and mix. Taste the water. It must be slightly salty.
- Pour 2 cups of this water across the sides of the cooker or pot. Gently pour the rest on top of the rice. (check video)
- Level the rice if needed. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons mint leaves. Optionally add 2 tablespoons fried onions & saffron soaked milk if using.
- Pot method – If cooking in a pot, cover and cook on a low flame until the chicken biryani is done to your liking. If the rice is still under cooked or hard, pour ¼ to ½ cup boiling water and cook further. When done it has to be fully cooked, yet remain grainy.
- Cooker method – Set the flame to medium high. Cover & place the whistle. Cook for 1 whistle. Move the cooker away from the burner to stop cooking further.
- Rest until the pressure settles. Fluff up the chicken biryani with a fork.
- Serve from top to the bottom layer. Each serving gets biryani rice from top and chicken from the bottom layer.
- Enjoy chicken biryani with raita and sliced veggies, papad and shorba (biryani gravy).
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
Notes
Notes on chicken biryani recipe
- Water: The amount of water to use depends on the brand of basmati rice. Not all basmati rice need the same amount of water. So for pot method, start with 3 cups water. Towards the end if the rice is undercooked, pour ¼ to ½ cup boiling water and cook further. You will need to experiment a bit with the right amount here.
- Tomatoes: An authentic biryani never uses tomatoes, so I have not used in the recipe. It does not add any taste infact alters the flavor. If you still want to use you an follow the second recipe I have posted below.
- To make biryani masala or garam masala – Powder together very small piece of nutmeg, 5 cardamoms, ½ tsp pepper, 5 cloves, 1 to 2 inch cinnamon, ½ tsp fennel seeds, ½ tsp stone flower.
- Yogurt or curd: Do not use sour curd. If the curd is slightly sour then skip using lemon juice.
- Rice: I have used lalquilla basmati rice, old malai. Any other basmati rice may need less or more water. Make sure to use as needed.
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.
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Recipe 2
This is the older version of the same chicken biryani many readers have been following since 2012. Upon getting several requests I have updated it here.
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml)
Whole spices to Temper
1 bay leaf / tej patta
3 green cardamoms / choti elaichi
4 to 6 cloves / lavang
1 Cinnamon stick / dalchini, Small
1 Star anise / chakri phool
½ tsp shahi jeera / caraway seeds
Marination
1 ½ tbsp curd / yogurt
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt as needed
¼ tsp turmeric / haldi
¼ tsp red chilli powder / lal mirch powder
½ to ¾ tsp biryani masala or garam masala powder
Other ingredients
½ kg chicken
2 cups basmati rice / chawal , aged
3 ¼ cups water or thin coconut milk(if using normal rice use little more water)
2 tbsp Oil
Salt as needed
1 tomato medium , (about half cup)
1 ½ tbsp curd / yogurt / dahi
12 mint leaves / pudina finely chopped
12 stems coriander leaves finely chopped
1 ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
2 green chilies / hari mirch sliced or chopped
1 onion large , sliced thinly
¼ tsp red chili powder
To powder
(or use 2 tsps readymade biryani masala or garam masala )
1 nutmeg / jaiphal piece , Very small
4 green cardamoms / choti elaichi
¼ to ½ tsp Pepper corn / kali mirch
5 cloves / lavang
1 cinnamon stick / dalchini, Small
½ tsp fennel seeds / saunf
½ tsp stone flower / dagad phool/ kalapasi (optional)
Preparation for the recipe
- Soak rice for at least 20 to 30 minutes. If using normal rice (not basmati) soak it for 30 minutes.
- Marinate chicken using ingredients under marination. Set this aside.
Making chicken biryani
- Add oil to a pot or pressure cooker and heat it. Next add the dry spices and saute till they begin to sizzle.
- Add onions and fry till they turn golden. Fry ginger garlic paste till the raw smell goes off.
- Next add chicken and fry till the color slightly changes to pale.
- Add chopped tomatoes, yogurt, red chili powder, corinader leaves and mint.
- Cook till the mixture turns thick and dry. By now the chicken should be almost cooked soft.
- Add the rest of the masala powder and fry till you get a nice smell.
- Mix together water or thin coconut milk and salt in a separate bowl. Check the salt , it must be slightly salty. Since salt is already added to marination, use little only. Pour this to a the chicken pot, bring it to a boil.
Adding rice
- Drain off the rice completely and add it to the pot or cooker.
- Cook till the water very little is left. Cover the pot or pressure cooker with a lid. Turn on the flame to very low. If using basmati rice, cook it for about 3 to 5 minutes, do not let it whistle. Or If using normal rice that is slightly on the harder side to cook allow it to whistle once. If cooking in pot, cook until the rice is done. Next if rice is under cooked, you can also sprinkle little water and cook further.
- Let the pressure go down. Fluff up the rice with a fork. Or transfer it immediately to a wide utensil to prevent turning mushy.
- If desired you can drizzle one spoon of ghee, coriander leaves and roasted boiled eggs.
- Serve pressure cooker chicken biryani with onion raita or biryani shorba or sherva.
Notes
Do not use thick coconut milk, it will look curdled in the biryani. You can dilute thick coconut milk and use it.
Hana says
The ice and chicken turned out bland, although I added higher amounts of all spices suggested. How can I fix this?
swasthi says
Most of the flavor in a biryani comes from the quality of spices and spice powders used. Adding more won’t improve the flavor. Please use good quality masala.
Karin says
I made this recipe for the first time in my live (52 years) , loved it, great recipe. I used long grain rice, according to my Indian friend the taste is better. Hard warming food, thank you for sharing.
swasthi says
Hello Karin,
You are welcome! Glad to know you loved it. Yes long grain rice is best.
Thank you!
Monisha says
Hi Swasthi, Can I add potatoes to the recipe along with chicken? Will it taste good?
swasthi says
Hi Monisha,
I haven’t tried in this recipe. Not sure if it works well.
Marshall says
Definitely too much water for my rice, no clue what “aged rice” is but all the stuff at my local just said “basmati rice” and it was a bit mushy.
swasthi says
Hi,
There are different kinds of basmati rice. Some turn too mushy. Give one more try with 3 cups water and add more boiling hot water later if the rice is undercooked. Hope this helps.
Pratiti says
Wonderful recipe. It turned out amazing. Thank you for sharing it.
swasthi says
Welcome Pratiti
Glad to know!
Raunak says
Hello, I have been greatly helped by your recipes. These are extremely well explained and super tasty. Tried many of it, and got the awesome result everytime. Thank you so much!
Just one question for this receipe, will just 1 whistle be enough for rice to be completely cooked? Want to know it before trying because, if I remove the cooker lid to check after 1 whistle, it can take away all the dum from it.
Thanks again for awesome yet simple recipes! 🙂
swasthi says
Hi,
Welcome! Glad to know! Yes 1 whistle is enough to cook the basmati rice. After 1 whistle, keep the cooker aside and let the pressure release naturally. There will be lots of pressure trapped in the cooker which will cook the rice right, just as needed. Hope this helps
Raunak says
Hi,
Thanks for quick reply! 🙂
I have it put it on pressure cooker now. Just for reference, i have taken 4 cups rice instead of 2 cups. Still one whistle is fine??
swasthi says
Yes still 1 whistle. To double the recipe (4 cups rice), use a wider cooker to avoid mushy biryani
Rajni says
Hi Swasthi,
Thanks to your recipes. I followed a few like chicken biriyani, paneer tikka, soya kurma, paneer butter masala etc. Everything came out good and my family enjoyed it. The steps with photos and the practical tips are very helpful. I like the fact that your recipes don’t demand uncommon ingredients. Thanks for elevating home cooking to restaurant style cooking.
swasthi says
Hi Rajni
You are welcome! Glad to know the recipes helped out. Thanks for leaving a comment! This makes me happy.
🙂
Thembi says
Thank you very much for the recipe. I’m going to prepare for my family.
swasthi says
Welcome!
Hope you all like it
Lia says
This is amazing! I am European and love chicken biryani, and I tried many times and never got it right. This recipe explains everything in detail, great for a beginner or for someone who is not used to Indian cooking.
Thank you very much for sharing. I made it numerous times and my whole family loves it!
swasthi says
Hi Lia
You are welcome! So happy to know the recipe worked out well. Thank you so much for the comment.
🙂
Homimitra says
Tried it today . And to be honest Swasthi i never imagined i would make such a good biriyani that too in my first try itself. Thank you for the guidance. 🙂🙂
Ramya V says
Dear Ma’am,
Iam a great fan of your page.I became a better cook after following your recipes.Thank you for your wonderful teaching of keeping it simple.All the best
swasthi says
Welcome Ramya
Glad to know! Thank you so much!
🙂
Santosh R V says
Thanku so much for this awesome delicious receipe
swasthi says
You are welcome!
F says
Very happy, but for myself I think I will add more whole spices because I love them in my biryani. Also, I ended up with a lot of rice and very little chicken. The ingredients call for 1.1 pound of chicken? I think I would double that, for myself, and also add more biryani masala, just because I want to match with my favorite restaurant. I had it with a little raita and onion slices. I think I will also use less water in my pressure cooker, also. Very happy!
swasthi says
Thanks for trying.
Debashish Bhattacharya says
Thanks a lot! Let me try it today.
swasthi says
Hope you enjoy it!
Danielle says
Question on the “Pot Method”, you say until the rice is cooked to your liking. Is there an approximate time frame you’re looking for? I made this recipe and i was a little confused if mine would be considered mushy. When I took it off the heat there was still water. Should i have continued until there wasn’t any? Also, the 3-1/2 cups might be a bit much and maybe that was my problem.
swasthi says
Hi Danielle,
1. There is no time frame here. The rice should be fully cooked with no water left. “until the rice is cooked to your liking” means some people like it on the softer side (not mushy). Some like it al dente.
2. Yes you should have cooked it until all of the water evaporates. The finished biryani should be dry like our regular rice.
3. Yes may be 3.5 cups of water was more in your case. Some kinds of basmati rice don’t need so much water. Chicken biryani is always made with aged basmati rice which needs about 3.5 cups water. I think yours’ don’t need do so much. Next time try reducing the quantity of water.
Troubleshooting tip: You can instead start with 3 cups water. Later as it cooks you can check and pour more boiling hot water as needed. Every time you make biryani stick on to the same brand of rice, so you know how much water to use.
Hope this helps
Danielle says
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I for sure use aged rice. But i will watch my water amount and maybe try a different pot next time.
Danielle says
Also wanted to rate 🙂
swasthi says
Welcome and thanks for rating.
Maureen says
Hi Swasthi, I live in US and we use an electric cooker (Instant Pot) not a stove cooker. It doesn’t have whistles. Can you let me know if there’s a way to adjust for electric cooker? Basically, if you could say about how long it normally takes your cooker to whistle after the pin goes up. Then I can set time accordingly on the electric cooker.
swasthi says
Hi Maureen,
It works for me with 2½ cups water. Pressure cook for 5 mins with low pressure setting. 7 to 8 mins natural pressure release and quick release the rest.
Note that you need to evaporate all the moisture in the pot that’s released after cooking the chicken. Hope this helps. Would love to know how it worked for you.
🙂
cookie monster says
Hello,
did someone try to cook the chicken meat before marinating it?
I’m going to visit my girlfriend soon and where she is living there you can only get frozen chicken legs. I thought about defrosting and cooking it and marinating after that.
The water aka chicken brooth that was used to cook the chicken could later used to cook the biryani.
swasthi says
Hi,
It was a long time ago I cooked with frozen chicken. I remember the recipe works as is. You don’t need to cook it first and marinate. Ensure you don’t cover the pot while cooking it. Also evaporate all of the excess moisture the chicken releases (step 5 in the recipe card). This will ensure the rice doesn’t turn mushy. The other way is to just strain the broth once the marinated chicken is cooked. Then measure and pour it back along with more water. Hope this helps.
Cookie Monster says
Hi,
thanks for the reply!
I’m wondering why you don’t add any vegetables to the dish in your recipe!?
In the indian restaurant around where I ate Chicken Biryani it was served with carrots, green beans, bell pepper and raisins. I would also try to add broccoli, zucchini and probably egg plant.
swasthi says
Hi,
Raisins and cashews are most commonly added. But not the veggies. Probably to cut down the cost, they add veggies.
Cookie Monster says
Hi,
just ate my first self made chicken biryani and it was delicious!
Thanks for the recipe and your fast answers!
Forgot to add mint and the raisins I bought today 😀
Nevertheless, the seasoning is perfect. The rice got a bit sticky and I can now understand why you warned so often about it.
swasthi says
You are welcome!
Glad to know!
Thanks for rating & leaving a comment.
PM says
I have been trying chicken biryani based on different recipies online, but this recipe is by far the best. Chicken, Masala and Rice everything cooked to perfection and came together very well.. My children also loved it.. Many thanks, keep up the good work!
P. S. I cooked the biryani in pressure cooker.
Namit says
Great recipe! Made biryani for the first time and it turned out amazing! And a lot of useful tips and tricks as well.
Thank you
Sonia Mehrotra says
Hi Swasthi,
Can the chicken be transferred to a rice cooker after cooking and rice added and cooked in the rice cooker? Thanks
swasthi says
Hi Sonia
I haven’t tried this recipe in a rice cooker. But yes it should work. Use the same amount of water as you would use to cook rice in it.
Lesley says
Made this last night and my skeptical husband absolutely loved it! The flavor is amazing. His only comment was that he would have liked it to have more sauce. Did I cook the chicken too long? I used jalapeños for the green chili you referred to. Was that correction? Now I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
swasthi says
Hi Lesley
Chicken Biryani does not have sauce. Any amount of extra water will make it mushy. Or did you mean “more spice”? Is it a typo. Then you can add more green chilies. The chilies I mean here are the slightly hotter chili peppers. I use the Thai green chilies or Indian.
Take a look at this Hyderabadi biryani. Hope this helps
Lesley says
Thanks!
Maureen says
You can also try serving with the shorba, if you make it again. A shorba is like a sauce that comes with biryani sometimes.