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Muqadas Meherban

No. 1 Quick & Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe for Beginners

5 from 1 vote
Craving biryani but short on time? Try this easy chicken biryani recipe; quick, beginner friendly, and full of flavor in under an hour.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 29 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani, South Asian
Calories: 815
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Rice Prep:
  • 2 cups Basmati rice
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 bay leaf
  • A tiny pinch of mace
  • ½ tsp whole cumin seeds
  • 4-5 cloves
  • 1 tbsp oil to keep the rice from sticking
  • 2 tsp salt
The Yogurt Marinade:
  • ½ cup yogurt
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp dry coriander
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • ½ tsp crushed chili flakes
  • 1 pack biryani masala I use Shan, but whatever you like! All you need to do is follow the packet directions of your particular brand.
Chicken and Other Goodies:
  • 1.5 kg chicken
  • 2 large onions thinly sliced
  • ½ tsp ginger paste
  • ½ tsp garlic paste
  • 2 medium tomatoes blended into a paste
  • 2 potatoes whatever kind you like!
  • ½ cup oil for the chicken and another ½ cup for the potatoes
And for the Final Showdown:
  • Some drops of yellow or orange food coloring
  • 1 lemon thinly sliced
  • A small bunch of fresh chopped coriander
  • 1-2 green chilies
  • Eggs hard-boiled
  • An interesting tip: hint a couple of dried plums to your taste. It is a game changer!

Equipment

  • 1 Large pot (deep, heavy-bottomed) to boil rice with spices
  • 1 Strainer/Basket to drain the rice after boiling
  • 1 Slotted spoon to stir without breaking rice
  • 1 Mixing bowl to prepare yogurt marinade
  • 1 Whisk to mix yogurt and spices
  • 1 Large deep frying pan to cook onions, tomato paste, chicken, and marinade
  • 1 Spatula for stirring
  • 1 Knife + chopping board to slice onions, chop potatoes, coriander, chilies, lemon
  • 1 Blender to make tomato paste
  • 1 Frying pan to fry potatoes separately
  • 1 Large wide heavy-bottomed pot to layer rice, chicken, potatoes

Method
 

Your Step-by-Step Biryani Journey
  1. Ever afraid to go forth and make biryani at home?
    How to prepare chicken biryani which can be compared to the one served in a five-star restaurant? It is in the details, and I will take you through each and every detail. Now the chicken biryani recipe with curd is going to be your new party trick. Interesting collage of photos taken step by step of the preparation process, including soaking the rice or mixing the marinade.
Step 1: Get Your Prep On
  1. First of all, soak your 2 cups Basmati rice at least one hour. This is essential to those long fluffy grains!
  2. Now, prepare that marinade. In a bowl, blend the yogurt with all your spices. This marinating chicken biryani is the actual hero of the dish it makes the chicken so juicy and tasty.
  3. Chop your potatoes, peel and slice your onions and prepare your ginger and garlic pastes. A bit of preparation saves a lot of hassles!
Step 2: Let's Cook!
  1. Heat some oil in a large pan.
  2. Fry the onions until they turn golden and soft. When they are to perfection, add your ginger and garlic pastes. Stir around a minute until you can really smell them and then add the tomato paste.
  3. Let it simmer until the oil separates, that only then do you know the flavors are mixing wonderfully!
  4. Add the chicken and cook in it a few minutes. Add that superb yogurt marinade and stir. Cook together all on medium heat until the chicken is tender and the sauce thick and fragrant.
  5. In another frying pan, add more oil and fry your potatoes until they are golden. What is the biggest pitfall here? Not allowing your oil to QUITE hot! Your potatoes will simply become moist Be patient!
Step 3: Achieving Perfect Rice
  1. Put out a large pot of water to boil with all those beautiful whole spices, salt and oil.
  2. Take your wet rice and add to the boiling water. Cook till it is approximately 90% cooked. It must be somewhat sharp.
  3. Which rice is the best one to make biryani? You are right, it’s always aged Basmati rice for biryani, giving you long, separate grains.
  4. Squeeze all the water out of the rice and put it aside.
Step 4: Layer It Up!
  1. Get a wide and large pot.
  2. Put a little layer of rice on the bottom. Then, top it with your chicken and fried potatoes.
  3. Then additional layer of rice, more chicken and potatoes.
  4. Finish by adding a top layer of rice.
  5. Simple, isn’t it? Feels almost effortless, right?
Step 5: The "Dum" of Your Life
  1. Sprinkle some of that lovely food dye on top. This adds to it the traditional biryani appearance!
  2. Place your lemon slices, eggs and chopped coriander on top. And of course, dried plums to add a zing!
  3. Cover the pot with a lid (or foil) and place it on very low heat and leave it 10-15 minutes. This is the magic part; the flavors get to know one another.
  4. What is the indication that it is ready? The aroma! It will take over your entire kitchen and make your mouth water.
  5. This is the trick of a perfect dum biryani at home for beginners. The low and slow steaming method creates restaurant-quality flavor.