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Biryani masala powder recipe | How to make biryani masala

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Biryani masala powder recipe – This homemade masala powder can be used to prepare any kind of Biryani like a hyderabadi veg dum biryani, easy chicken biryani in cooker or a simple hyderabadi chicken biryani. It can also be used to make chicken curry of your choice. Todays markets are flooded with ready made powders and masalas that many buy them instead of preparing at home.
homemade biryani masala powder recipe
But making biryani masala powder at home is very easy. The aroma of fresh homemade spice powder is always superior to the store bought ones. It can be prepared in bulk and freezed. It lasts for an year, if packed in separate containers or foils and handled with moist free spoons and hands.

For years i had been hunting for a good homemade biryani masala powder recipe that is suitable for home cooking that is not very pungent nor very spicy but should have a good and moderate aroma of spices. This recipe has been updated overtime for making it better.

The original recipe that many of my blogger friends have tried from my blog is still the same except that i have added new ingredients to make it the best. To reduce your dish from becoming pungent, use in moderate quantities.

To retain the aroma of the biryani masala powder , make small packs of the powder using foil or freezer safe jars and freeze them. Open and use them one after the other when you need it. You can even mill the ingredients which is often the best. Please stick on to the quantity of ingredients mentioned for best results.

More Masala powder recipes on the blog
Punjabi garam masala powder
Sambar powder
Pav bhaji masala powder
Simple garam masala powder

Ingredients or spices used to make biryani masala or chicken masala powder

ingredients spices for biryani masala powder

 

Homemade biryani masala powder recipe

briyani masala recipe

Biryani masala powder recipe | How to make biryani masala recipe

Biryani masala powder or chicken masala powder, a spice mix that is used to prepare fragrant biryani rice like chicken biryani or vegetable biryani. It can also be used to make chicken masala curry
Print
Course Condiment
Cuisine Indian
Keyword aromatic, easy
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 1 cup (120 ml)
Calories 234 kcal
Author Swasthi

Ingredients (240 ml cup used)

  • 1 bay leaf or tej patta
  • 1 ½ tsp saunf or fennel seeds or sompu or sombhu
  • 2 star anise or biryani flower
  • 10 to 12 Green cardamom or elaichi
  • 2 Black cardamom or badi elaichi
  • 1 tsp Pepper corn or kali mirch
  • 5 pieces cinnamon or dalchini (2 inches each)
  • 1 tbsp cloves or lavang
  • 4 tbsps Coriander seeds or sabut daniya
  • 2 tbsps Shahi jeera
  • 1 Mace flower or strands from 1 flower or javitri
  • ½ tsp Nutmeg or jaiphal - grated
  • 3 stone flowers or kalpaasi or dagad phool - medium sized

How to make the recipe

Preparation for biryani masala.

  1. Clean up the spices one after the other to pick and discard stones and debris.

  2. Wipe clean bay leaf, mace and cinnamon stick with a cloth or tissue.

  3. On a low flame, dry roast the spices each separately until they begin to smell good. You can skip roasting and just sun dry them for few hours until crisp.
  4. Cool them completely.

Making biryani masala powder

  1. Blend them in a blender jar. They can also be milled to a fine powder.
  2. Sieve and store biryani masala powder in an airtight glass jar.

  3. You can use the coarse particles to make masala tea.

  4. Use biryani masala powder as needed while making any kind of biryani. To make chicken masala curry, use as needed based on the recipe.

Recipe Notes

Left over coarse powder after sieving can be used for curries or for making masala tea. Do not use coarse masala for making biryani as it totally spoils your dish.
Roasting and sun drying are done to bring out the aroma of the spices and to prevent the masala powder from getting worms or going rancid. If you are going to refrigerate the powder, you can skip the roasting part. i just take my spices right from the freezer , measure and make the powder. The powder warms up on its own by the time it is fine powdered.

Saunf or fennel seeds can be increased to 1 to 1.5 tbsps. if you like the flavor.

Nutrition Facts
Biryani masala powder recipe | How to make biryani masala recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 234 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Sodium 26mg 1%
Potassium 741mg 21%
Total Carbohydrates 49g 16%
Dietary Fiber 29g 116%
Protein 8g 16%
Vitamin A 1%
Vitamin C 11.2%
Calcium 53.5%
Iron 59.7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

briyani masala recipe

How to make biryani masala powder at home

1. Dry roast the spices one after the other on a low flame to prevent burning them. You could sun dry too instead of roasting or you could totally skip the process of roasting as i sometimes do and i find no difference.
2. Cool the spices and powder in a blender or you can mill it, sieve and store in an airtight jar. I powder the left over again and sieve, repeating the process thrice.
3. Store biryani masala powder in a clean airtight glass jar.
roasting cooling grinding spices for biryani masala powder
An image of kalpaasi, stone flower called as dagad phool in hyderabadi langauge. This is my latest addition to the biryani masala powder. Do not skip this if you intend to use it for chicken recipes.
kalpaasi, dagad phool

Biryani masala can also be stored in refrigerator.

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Comments

  3. Hi Swasthi, thanks for the excellent recipe! The biryani was excellent and I was proud to make from scratch 😊

    Reply

  4. 5 two inch cinnamon sticks is how much in tspn or tbspn in powder form? 1 mace flower or strands from 1 flower or javitri is how much in tspn or Tblspn ? And javitri is it pink in color? 3 medium sized stone flowers or kalpasi is how much in tspn or tblspn? I am little confused with stone fower how it looks ? Is it black and white in color?Please let me.I am planning to make this egg biryani.All ingredients in the biryani looks good. .God bless you.

    Reply

    • Hi
      Thanks a lot for the wishes.
      Unfortunately I cannot tell you accurately how much these spices will measure in powder form. Even if i tell you approximately it may not come out good. Pls let me know which egg biryani recipe you want to try. There are 4 egg biryanis on the blog. I may be able to tell you how much powder you can use for the recipe. Yes javitri will be slightly pink to light orange in shade. You can also skip stone flower if you dont have.

      Reply

  10. In your recipe for biryani masala, you mention 3 stone flowers. Since stone flowers come in flakes, how much of a teaspoon would make 1 stone flower? I would like to try out your recipe.

    Reply

  11. Hi Swati
    Awesome recipe. I have received many compliments on the biriyani.

    Have you tried Marathi Moggu in a biryani powder? what is the shelf life of powder stored in a air tight container in a cabinet vs refridgerator.

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Welcome Samirah
      Thanks for trying. We generally use marati moggu in bisebele bath and karnataka style sambar powder. I have seen it is used in karnataka cuisine but have not personally tried it in biryani masala. My mother uses it in garam masala but not sure if it goes well for meat biryani. If stored in fridge it keeps good for 3 months and in freezer for 12 months. Cabinet for a month. But if you are a biryani lover and cook often, it will not even last for 6 weeks.

      Reply

  12. Hi swathi, thank you so much for this recipe. I made it fresh for the chicken biriyani and the taste was awesome! Thank you once again. Is it best to store this masala in the freezer, fridge or at room temp?

    Reply

    • Hi Anu
      You are welcome. You can store it in fridge for 3 to 4 months. If you prefer to store any longer then freeze it for upto an year. Thanks for trying.
      🙂

      Reply

  13. I live in Bangladesh and I have never heard the name of the spice “stone flower”. If I do not get it instead of this spice what I should use.

    Reply

  14. I love diversity. Enjoy experimenting with foods from different cultures. Problem is obtaining the spices. Need a single source to obtain special spices wish to try more Indian cooking & to get books or videos

    Reply

  18. thank you for this recipe. Is your teaspoon “measurement teaspoon” or the spoon used to eat food? Also how many is 1 tbsp of cloves?

    Reply

    • Welcome Kushi
      All the tbsp and tsps mentioned on this blog refer to measuring spoons.
      It is hard to tell how many cloves in a tbsp as it depends on the size of cloves, I level the tbsp and use. Hope this helps

      Reply

  20. Hi
    I am scheduled to open a Biryani restaurant & takeaway, specialised in a range of Biryani versions, in March

    Hyderbadi dum Kachi biryani (chicken / mutton / Vegi)
    Bombay biryani
    CULCUTTA biryani
    Kerala fish biryani

    After, 6 months, I will be expanding the range of biryanis

    Regards

    Reply

  21. What quantity of biryani masala to be used for marinating 2 Kgs of chicken to cook Hyderbadi dum Kachi biryani

    Thank u

    Reply

    • Hi Jayasekera
      In kachi biryani actually no spice powders are used. It is made with puree spices which are not processed & still have the essential oils in them. But since those are not easily available in market, we use biryani masala powder to make it more flavorful. According to me again how much powder to use depends on the quality of spices used. If you are getting premium quality spices then for marinating you may try with 2 tsps of powder for 2kgs and then whole spices according to your judgement. You may need to try few times until you get it right. Since you are aiming for a commercial purpose, trying a few times is better. Hope this helps

      Reply

  23. HI Swati,
    Great recipe.. Can you double or triple the quantities to make a big batch? i makes wonderful packaged gifts.

    Reply

  24. Dear friend Swati

    Can I know what is Kalpaasi or Stone Flower and what is it called in Telugu and where is it available..?

    In fact I am planning to start a Dum Biryani Centre. So, pls let me know the quantities of all ingredients and chicken needed for 1 kilo rice.

    You can also mail to me at ‘useitasyou@gmail.com’ or if you give a missed call to 9989466888, I will call you back. Your postings are very helpful to everyone and I thank you very much for it.

    _Raja

    Reply

  25. Hi.stone flower quantity i am not understanding.i purchased it from the market and i got small small pieces instead of total flower.how much should i use for above recipe

    Reply

  26. Hi Swasthi

    Have enjoyed many of your recipes and all have turned out to be down-right excellent! Also love the simplicity and your attention to minute detail. Very user-friendly.

    A quick question about your biriyani masala. Do you think it would be wise to halve the quantities of the ingredients to yield less masala?

    Reply

    • Hi Suraj
      Thank you. Happy to know the recipes have been useful. Yes you can halve the recipe if you have a mini blender else the quantity may be too little for the Indian mixers. The spices my not get powdered well. Hope this helps

      Reply

  27. what is the difference between garam masala and Biryani masala powder? both ingredients are looking similar!

    Reply

    • Hi Jeelani
      There is no shahi jeera and dagad phool, used in punjabi garam masala. The proportions are completely different in both the recipes. That’s why they serve different purpose. Only when you use them for non veg biryani you can make out the difference. The biryani made with biryani masala is very fragrant.

      Reply

  28. hi swasthi
    I tired searching for stone flower but can’t find. is thr any replacement for it? or if I dont put stone flower will it affect the taste of the biryani? please reply

    Reply

    • Hi Nadia
      There is no replacement for it. It does affect the flavor of biryani though not the taste. For now you can just make the powder without it and store. When you make the biryani try to use one in the seasoning.

      Reply

  29. Awesome recipe.
    Tried it and it tasted great!
    Much better than another recipe I got off Youtube.
    I made the marsala mix according to your recipe too (at least mostly followed it!) and the taste was far superior than the other recipe.

    Reply

  30. Loved it made it last week and it turn out great. The wife and kids said it tastes like I purchased it in a restaurant .

    Reply

  32. any book for making masala or chilly powder process in machine or traditional i want book name & available in Mumbai

    Reply

    • Hi Jen
      This masala will be very strong for mutton. I usually use the powder i have listed in the ingredients of this muslim biryani in the recipe card. But that works good when a onion mint and coriander paste is used. That biryani recipe can be used to make mutton biryani as well. Very aromatic and delicious. Hope this helps

      Reply

  36. Hi,

    Should we grind the spices seperately or that can be done all together. Also is bay leaf tamalpatra and nutmeg is jaaifal

    Reply

  37. Dearest Swasthi
    You have so much knowledge and talent.thank you for sharing .your pickles and spice s look so beautiful.I will definitely try and feel proud I can make them
    Regards
    Lallue

    Reply

    • Welcome Lallie,
      Thanks for the compliments.
      🙂
      Do try. I Would love to know your experience making them. Have a wonderful weekend.

      Reply

  42. Thank u mam,mujhe biryani bht psnd hai but bna nhi pati thi,apki biryani recipe pdkr maine try kiya ar vo bht acchi bni.

    Reply

    • Hello Kalpana,
      one to 1.5 tsp masala powder to one 240 ml cup raw rice yields a good aromatic biryani. Try using one tsp first time for one cup rice, since this is strongly flavored, then adjust to suit your taste. Hope this helps

      Reply

  46. A friend brought home a Chicken Masala powdered mix from India. There are no instructions on how to use this in a recipe. All the recipes that I have looked up include adding these spices at different times during the cooking process. I don’t know how much of the mix to use, how to marinate with it and what step it is used in the recipe. Can you help?

    Reply

    • Generally the spices that go towards making most chicken masala powders are same except, they vary in the proportion of ingredients used. Some use red chili too, it looks red in color like this powder, in that case you have to skip using red chili in the recipe. Some garam masala powders turn out to be very pungent, they generally look darker in color like you see in this post. so you can skip using dry spices or whole spices called in the recipe. you can try the below mentioned recipes, they work well with ready made masala too
      andhra chicken curry
      simple chicken curry
      you can even make a simple biryani like this
      andhra chicken curry
      hope this helps

      Reply

    • Shilpa, What u see in the pictures is shahi jeera and not regular jeera. There are many varieties of shahi jeera in the market,may be mine looks different from the one available in your place.

      Reply

  48. thanx swasthi for such a great masala recipe..bt as i m frm west bengal so here dagad phool or black stone flower is nt available..and star anise too is nt available.. wat shall i do? pls help..

    Reply

    • Hello Ruchita,
      Thanks
      biryani masala powder turns out good even without dagad phool, though it is highly recommended for chicken biryani in the south. Dagad phool has been my recent addition to the powder, i made the powder for years even without it. The results will not vary much.Just skip it.
      🙂

      Reply