Hyderabadi biryani recipe – Making a good hyderabadi biryani is very simple and this recipe is perfect for a home preparation. This is the easiest biryani since it needs no sauteing of spices or meat. Just marinate the meat with the spices & other ingredients. Layer partially cooked basmati rice over it. Cook on a slow dum process, trapping the steam to retain the aroma.
To get an authentic flavor and taste of Biryani, do use all the mentioned ingredients and if desired you can substitute ghee for oil.
This is one of the best hyderabadi biryani recipe I have made for years and has been a favorite among the readers of this blog. It is very easy and even a beginner can try without any troubles.
This is a kacchi hyderabadi biryani, meaning partially cooked rice is layered over the marinated raw meat.
To make the best out of this recipe, chicken needs a proper marination which mainly helps to tenderize it, resulting in juicy, flavorful, soft and tender chicken.
It can be marinated the previous night and refrigerated to make the best flavorful biryani.
You can serve hyderabadi biryani with any of these raitas I have shared earlier. Even lassi goes well in the meal.
You can also check
Chicken biryani in cooker
Chicken dum biryani
Lamb biryani
Vegetable biryani
Preparation for hyderabadi biryani recipe
1. To a mixing bowl, add 2/3 cup (165 ml) yogurt, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 to 1½ teaspoon red chili powder, 1 to 1½ teaspoon biryani masala, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, 2 slit green chilies, 1¼ tablespoons ginger garlic paste and ½ teaspoon cardamom powder. Do not use sour curd here.
2. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. If your curd is even slightly sour, then just skip lemon juice.
3. Mix all of them and taste the marinade. Add more salt if needed. I had to add another half tsp.
4. Add the chicken and marinate. Cover the bowl and allow it to sit overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours.
5. Keeping overnight makes the chicken very soft & succulent once the biriyani is cooked. If you are marinating it just for 2 hours, I suggest keeping the pieces to small to medium and not very large.
Frying onions
6. Skip this step if using store bought fried onions. This can be done the previous night or just before you begin to make the biryani. Slice 1 large onion uniformly and thin. Separate the layers. Heat ¼ cup ghee in the same pot you intend to make the biryani.
When the ghee turns hot, add the onions and spread them well. Fry them uniformly until golden, crisp and aromatic. Keep stirring uniformly to fry them evenly without burning. When they brown, remove them and set aside. Do not over fry as they turn bitter quickly.
7. Soak a large pinch of saffron in 3 tablespoons hot milk. Do this just before you soak the rice.
8. Wash rice at least thrice. Do note that biryani turns out good only with aged premium quality basmati rice.
Cooking rice for hyderabadi biryani
9. Pour fresh water and soak for 30 to 40 mins. Refer to the rice pack for soaking time.
10. Drain after 30 to 40 mins. Set this aside.
11. Add all the whole spices and 1½ teaspoon salt to a large pot of boiling water. Also pour 1 tsp oil. Stir and check the salt, the water has to taste salty. If not add more salt to your liking.
You can add the whole spices to a muslin cloth and make a knot if you don’t like to get a bite of the spices. Allow the water to simmer for 5 mins. Then bring it to a rapid boil.
12. Add soaked drained basmati rice.
13. Cook on a medium high flame till rice is ¾ th cooked.
14. The rice must be grainy and you must get a bite into it, meaning it has to be slightly under cooked. If you are a beginner, please take a look at this detailed post on how to cook basmati rice for biryani.
15. Drain the rice to a colander.
Making hyderabadi biryani
16. While the water for rice boils, add the chicken marinade to the heavy bottom pot you used to fry the onions. I used my 6½ ltrs heavy bottom pressure cooker pan. Sprinkle half of the fried onions, 2 tablespoons coriander leaves and two tablespoons mint leaves. Add the ghee or oil (4 tbsps we used for frying onions).
17. Mix all of them and level the chicken to spread to a single uniform layer.
18. Layer half of the cooked rice over the chicken. The rice must be moist and not with dripping water. It should not be dry either. Add a few more fried onions retaining some more for later. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon mint and 1 tablespoon coriander leaves retaining a few more for later. Sprinkle little more biryani masala (about 2 to 4 pinches).
19. Layer the rest of the rice again.
20. Sprinkle the rest of the fried onions, mint and coriander leaves and biryani masala. Pour the saffron milk.
21. To finish off, pour 2 tablespoons ghee. Please don’t use oil here, you won’t get the real flavor.
Dum Cooking hyderabadi biryani
22. Method 1 – You can use either moist cloth or foil to seal the rim of the biryani pot. The cloth has to be thick and moist. Spread it over the rim. Place a heavy lid and bring the edges of the cloth to the center. (refer video for details)
23. Method 2 – Use a foil to seal the rim completely. Or make dough and stick to the rim of the pot. Place a heavy lid.
24. Place a old tawa or griddle on the stove. The flame has to be medium high. Do not use a non stick pan or a dosa tawa. I used my lodge cast iron pan which doesn’t work for making dosa. The flame has to reach across the diameter of the pan.
25. Place the biryani pot on the tawa. Cook on a medium high flame for 15 to 20 mins. Then Lower the flame to very low and cook for another 15 minutes. Switch off the stove and let it rest for atleast 20 mins.
26. When done, there should be no excess moisture left in the hyderabadi biryani. If you see too much moisture, then cover back and cook until it is done. Fluff up the rice gently.
Serve hyderabadi biryani in layers with shorba or raita.
you can find raita recipes here
you can also find easy biryani gravy recipes. Hope you will like this hyderabadi biryani as much as we do.
Related Recipes
Hyderabadi biryani recipe
Hyderabadi biryani | How to make hyderabadi biryani
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for hyderabadi biryani
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice (aged)
- ½ kg chicken (preferably thighs & drumsticks)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon biryani masala (garam masala for layering)
- 1 large onions or ⅓ cup fried onions store bought
- 4 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro ,finely chopped, 2 tbsps + 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp divided)
- 4 tablespoons mint leaves (pudina, finely chopped, 2 tbsps + 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp divided)
- 4 tablespoons oil (or ghee)
- 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
- ¼ teaspoon saffron strands (kesar, soaked in 3 tbsps hot milk)
Marination for hyderabadi biryani recipe
- 1¼ tablespoons ginger garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 to 2 green chilies slit
- ⅔ cup yogurt (fresh curd) (or 165 ml or ½ cup + 3 tbsp)
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon red chili powder (paprika, adjust to taste)
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon biryani masala powder (or garam masala)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder (or elaichi powder)
- ¾ teaspoon salt (I used 1 ¼ tsp pink salt)
Whole spices for rice
- 7 cups water
- 1 to 1¼ teaspoon salt (I used 1 ½ tsp pink salt)
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
- 3 inch cinnamon piece (dalchini)
- 6 cloves (laung)
- 4 green cardamom (elaichi)
- 1 star anise ( biryani flower)
- 1 black cardamom (optional)
- 2 strands mace (javitri) (optional)
- ½ tsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera) (optional)
Instructions
fried onions for hyderabadi biryani
- Slice onion thinly, separate the layers and set aside.
- Heat 4 tbsps oil or ghee in a deep pan.
- Fry the onions stirring often until deep golden to brown.
- Do not burn else they turn bitter. Remove them from oil & set aside.
- Cool & pour this oil to the marinade later.
Marination for hyderabadi biryani recipe
- Add yogurt, salt, turmeric, chili powder, biryani or garam masala powder, cardamom powder, green chilli, ginger garlic paste & lemon juice to a mixing bowl.
- Mix well & taste this. If needed add more salt or spice.
- Next add in chicken & marinate for 2 hours to overnight for best results.
- Overnight marination in fridge yields best soft succulent chicken.
Cooking rice for hyderabadi biryani
- Wash rice till the water runs clear. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain & set aside.
- Heat 6 to 7 cups water in a pot. Add 1 tsp oil, whole spices & salt.
- Taste this. The water has to be slightly salty.
- Boil water rapidly for 5 mins to release the aroma of spices.
- Add rice & cook till it is ¾ or 75% done.
- The center of the rice must be still slightly uncooked.
- Do not make the rice mushy. Drain off to a colander.
Preparation for hyderabadi biryani
- While the rice cooks, transfer marinated chicken to a heavy bottom casserole or non-stick pan.
- Add oil, ½ of the fried onions, mint & coriander leaves. Mix & spread chicken in a single even layer.
- Layer the cooked rice evenly, sprinkle fried onions, mint & coriander leaves over the chicken.
- Sprinkle ¼ tsp masala powder. Pour the saffron milk all over & then ghee.
How to make hyderabadi biryani
- Cover the pot with a foil to trap the steam or dum. Then cover with a tight & heavy lid.
To bake hyderabadi biryani in Oven
- Bake for 30 to 40 mins at 200 C in a preheated oven. The timings will slightly vary depending on the depth of the casserole/pot used. Once done, if the chicken is too moist then bake for another 10 mins.
To make on stove
- Place this over a thick hot griddle or tawa. Set the flame to medium high such that the flame reaches all over the diameter of the casserole. Cook this way for exactly 20 mins.
- Reduce the flame to lowest. Cook for exactly 15 mins. Off the flame. Rest for 20 to 30 mins.
- Garnish hyderabadi biryani with fresh chopped coriander leaves & serve with raita.
Notes
Do not use sour curd or flavored yogurt.
To Brown the chicken – The last 5 mins cook the biryani on a medium high flame. This gives browned chicken. To prevent charring you can check the chicken at the bottom before you do this.
If you do not like to use a cloth for trapping the steam or dum, you can use dough to seal the lid of the utensil. But cleaning up the mess is difficult. An aluminium foil too works.
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 hyderabadi biryani recipe
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
First I want to say I love your website, I’ve been preparing so many meals from is. The recipes are usually perfect! But this one: I don’t understand how this works.. the rice is 75% cooked but still has to steam for 20 minutes? Isn’t that too long? And too short for the chicken? For me the rice was way overcooked and the chicken still raw..
Hi Barbara,
Thank you. You either overcooked the rice or used the wrong kind of basmati. This recipe requires aged rice, if it is not it can turn mushy. This recipe requires some practice and it won’t turn out right the first time you try.
Hi, i do not understand cooking on a Tawa. 15-20 minutes directly on a radiant stove seem too hot. Would cooking in the stove be ok?
Hi,
Cooking on a tawa prevents the biryani from burning at the bottom. FYI – A tawa is just a griddle. Take a look at the video to understand the process.
Yes 15 to 20 mins on a radiant stove top will burn the biryani. This recipe won’t work without a tawa. I would try this chicken dum biryani instead. Hope this helps
Hi thanks for the recipe. I noticed that the yogurt curdled slightly. Is there a way to avoid this please? The taste was great.
Hi Gary,
Using thicker yogurt with less whey should help.
Thanks for the fast response. My grocery only sells Greek yogurt. Can you provide an example? I live in the uk
Yes you can use store bought greek yogurt. I use homemade yogurt made from full fat milk.
Can I use normal rice if I don’t have basmati?
Manju, yes you can use aged sona masuri or kaima rice.
Hello Ma’am! You’re my guru when it comes to getting any recipe done authentically! I have tried your pakki dum Biryani recipe a couple of times before and they’ve always turned out perfect and amazing. I’m trying the kachhi style for the first time and I had a doubt as of how much should the cooking time vary if I’m doubling the quantity to serve like 16 people?
Hello Akilesh
Thank you so much! Glad to know the recipe worked well. I think I am late in replying. For best results, use a wider utensil such that the meat is in a single layer at the bottom, so it will get done in almost the same time. Hope this helps.
I used the big biryani utensil in my house and it took just almost the same amount of time, and it turned even more amazing than the pakki biryani!! Now this is going to be my quick fix for biryanis as this recipe saves much more time!
Thank you so much ma’am for your brilliant recipes!
Glad to know it turned out good.
Thank you for leaving a comment here.
Hi Swasthi. Nice feedbacks on your recipe. I will definitely try this but I am quite stressed re: the safron milk. I cannot find safron in my local grocery. Can I skip this ingredient? Will this greatly affect the flavor of the dish?
Hi Fred
Yes feel free to skip saffron. The biryani still tastes good. Hope this helps
Thank you Swasthi. I read that Turmeric will also work in place of saffron. I will try it as well to get that yellow tint on the biryani.
Yes give it a try.
Hi! Can I substitute caraway seeds with fennel? Thank you!
Hi,
A lot of people don’t like whole fennel seeds in their rice. You may skip it or use the same amount of cumin seeds.
I tried this chicken biriyani recipe and it came very well. I marinated chicken bbreast peices night before and they very soft in biriyani dish. I used cast oven dutch oven to make my final cooking for 40 minutes. Everything came very well and thanks for the good recipe .
Hello Chapa
Glad to know it turned out good. Thank you so much!
Thank you thank you so much., I started cooking recently and wanted to try out the most delicious dish of all that is dum biryani., I came across your recipe which is absolutely perfect amazing awesome. and just the simplicity and accurate instructions with tips helped me cook the best biryani I’ve ever tasted so far ,. Writing this review is the first thing I did after I finished eating this biryani ., you are awesome ! 🙏🏽💯
Hello Dave
Glad your biryani turned out delicious. Thank you so much for leaving a comment.
Hi, Want to try this recipe, can i make it directly on an induction stove top if i don’t have a cast iron pan? will timings change if i need to do that?
Swasthi, this is he best Chicken Biryani recipe I have ever used, I followed your instructions religiously and was very, very happy. Thank so much, my family and I loved it, loved it, loved it. Thanks
Thank you so much Desh
So glad to know!
hi.
this recipe is so tasty but ii tried to measured the rice and water ratio. 11/2 cup rice with 6 0r 7 cups of rice doesnt add up. it turned my rice to be overcooked and this is after i used my fingertip to measure rice as asian way. and remove water contents as mentioned in recipe. could you tell me if thats the right measurement? thanks
Hi Maya
Please follow the recipe as is.
In this recipe , you are to cook rice half done and doesn’t matter how many cups of water you cook it in because you cook the rice and strain off the water .
I think Maya wanted to cook rice where all water is absorbed by the rice . Don’t do that unless you are a bit of an expert in cooking rice .
While Cooking in large amount of water , you can check frequently to ensure rice is cooked 50percent ie half done . It is important to check saltiness of the water else the rice may taste bland in the final biriyani. And adding salt at that time is a spoil .
Thanks George
My wife gave this a 10 star rating….one of the best she ever had…beats the restaurants she says…..My dear your recipe is excellent….tho I added a few pinches of garam masala too in addition to the biryaini masala….i think the strands of mace u suggested made a good exquisite flavour…..and i got from a friend some very nice mountain grown safron from Iran……We had it with my wife signature dhall and raita…..thank you for sharing this wonderful gourmet recipe
Hi Rafi
That’s awesome! Glad to know you all liked it. Thank you so much for leaving a comment.
Hi mam, I want to do the Hyderabadi Britani for 10 people so can we just double the recipe ingrrdients
Hi Chitra
Yes you can double or triple the recipe but you have to use larger pot accordingly. Chicken has to be in a single layer in the pot. If you put a lot of chicken in small pot then the results won’t be the same. Chicken won’t get cooked well. Hope this helps
Thank u so much
Have tried your Indian Mushroom recipes and they are spot on! Yummy. I’ve never put chicken raw in the biryani, nervous about under cooking it. I’m using a clay Biryani pot sealed with foil. Should I follow the same cooking times you have mentioned?
Hi Puja,
Glad to know! I haven’t tried this recipe in a clay pot. So not sure about the timings.
The taste of the biryani cooked according to Swasthi’s recipe was superb. The description of the cooking has been done in great detail and precision. But unfortunately the recipe, which comes later, does not match it. They should be exactly the same. Alternative to dum cooking should be given, as many people may not have time for it.
Maharaj Kaul
Hi
Glad to know! It is the same recipe, just that the first 2 sections are swapped so it is easier for people following the recipe card. I will recheck it. Thanks for leaving a comment.
Made biryani for the first time with this recipe. Turned out great!
Thank you
Hello,
Whats the difference between soaking the saffron in milk rather than water? Is that a specific reason or just preference? anything helps.
Thank you!
Hello Bruce
Yes you can soak it in water too. Just that milk is used traditionally. If making in large quantities then it makes a difference. Thanks for rating
Hi swathi
This time will be teh forth time making this recipe.
But with a baby arround, I’m wondering if I can do the following a night before as part of preparation with the chicken marination:
1. Fry the onions
2. Half cook the rice with the spices then keep it in the fridge for next day
3. Soak zaffron in milk
Hi Abir,
Thanks for rating the recipe. Yes you can do 1 & 3. No 2 I haven’t tried. Cold rice may need longer to dum cook. Just keep it out of the fridge 1 hour earlier and try.
My family loves this recipe and we make this dish once a month. Since we use the oven, it’s so easy and quick to make. Delicious!
So glad to know Swaathi.
Thanks for leaving a comment
Unbelievable, thank you Swasthi. I followed your instructions and I am very happy with the results. Everybody loved the Biryani. I could not believe it myself, the taste, the texture, amazing quality. The rice was perfect, the chicken soft and full of taste. I am so overwhelmed. Thank you. You are very inspiring.
Welcome Shelton
So glad to know it turned out good. Thank you so much!
🙂
Hi Swasthi,
Thanks for the recipe. Will be trying it soon. I have a couple of questions though.
Can we add mint, coriander leaves and fried onions when we marinate chicken? Also when can we add nuts and raisins??
I dont have an oven. Will the setup work with just a light bottomed steel vessel and nonstick pan? I also have aluminium pressure cooker in that case can i use the pressure cooker lid?
Thanks. Anju
Hi Anju
You are welcome! Yes you can add them when you marinate. Yes fry the nuts and raisins in ghee and use them for garnish.
No this recipe won’t work with a light bottom pan. Yes you can use the pressure cooker and the nonstick pan. Using the pressure lid – I am afraid it will build up pressure. I have another recipe which you can make it easily with the cookware you have. Check it here – Chicken dum biryani. Just use any loose plate/lid, no problem but place a heavy thing on the plate so the steam won’t escape. Hope this helps.