Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani + Video

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani boasts of a beautiful cacophony of flavours that is known the world over. A delicious medley of fine long grain rice spices and chicken pieces, this Hyderabad style dum biryani is very easy to make and a delight to eat. Here is how to make Chicken Biryani Recipe at home.

What’s great about Hyderabadi biryani is its unique taste and influences from different parts of the world, especially from the Mughals.

It’s one dish that’s really close to everyone’s heart and the perfect definition of soul food.

This delectable dish is made with tender, juicy pieces of chicken cooked to perfection with Indian Spices and caramelized onions, each rice grain bearing the flavors of this royal treat.

When I started to cook, I never thought that Biryani can be made at home.

It was always a special dish we went out to eat.

Then one day, a friend of our’s invited us over a biryani dinner and that day changed everything for me.

The biryani he made was out of the world and was made at home from scratch.

I became his fan immediately and we had many biryani meals at his place later.

This man gave me the confidence to try out biryani at home and with a little hand holding by him, it took me no time to become a Biryani champion myself.

I made many variations later apart from chicken biryani and posted the recipes here.

Some of the other biryani recipes I’ve posted are: Mutton Biryani, Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani, Kathal Ki Biryani, Hariyali Jheenga Biryani, Egg Dum Biryani and a seafood special Fish Dum Biryani.

What is Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani?

Biryani is basically rice cooked with meat in layers and on very slow heat or dum.

There are many ways in a which a biryani is prepared and each method is unique and have it’s own significance.

There is Hyderabadi Style Biryani, Lucknowi Biryani, Ambur Biryani, Donne Biryani etc to name a  few.

Hyderabadi Biryani is prepared in two ways – Kacchi or Pakki Biryani.

Kacchi Biryani is where the meat is not cooked separately but gets cooked along with the rice while in the pakki biryani, the meat is cooked prior to layering it with rice.

The method I have mentioned below is Kacchi Biryani method and I will soon be posting the Pakki Biryani method too.

How to make Chicken Biryani?

This royal treat is prepared by cooking the rice first, and then layering it with chicken.

Long grain basmati rice is to be soaked and added into a bowl of boiling water with khada garam masala, salt and shahi jeera.

The rice is allowed to infuse the flavours of the masala and jeera and cook in it.

The chicken pieces are marinated with ginger paste, garlic paste, garam masala powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, vegetable oil, green chilli and lemon juice, it’s allowed to sit for a few hours so that it soaks in all the flavours of the marinate and become tender.

You must make sure to marinate the chicken well in advance for it to get tender and cook under dum to perfection.

Once marinated, this delicious Hyderabadi biryani is assembled by putting in the chicken first and topping it with partially cooked rice.

As the rice starts to cook, the biryani is topped with milk, soaked saffron, browned onions and ghee.

Then the pan is covered and the biryani is allowed to cook on dum beautifully with the flavours of the spices and toppings.

At this point in time, the aromas in your kitchen are going to be simply divine.

It’s important to slow cook the biryani so that all the flavours seep right through and the chicken gets cooked thoroughly.

Once it’s cooked completely, the biryani is mixed and served hot.

It’s very important to see to it that the rice is cooked to perfection; you don’t want it to be too mushy.

The flavours of this dish speak for itself, chicken is to be marinated well and the final touch of saffron give this whole biryani a royal touch.

People from all over the world flock to Hyderabad to get a taste of this delicious Hyderabadi Chicken biryani, but what most don’t realise is that you can bring the taste and flavours of Hyderabad to your home.

In Hyderabad, the taste of the biryani differs from region to region, but the method of cooking the biryani continues to be the same.

So for your next party, do try this delicious Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani and you won’t be disappointed.

This recipe continues to be one of my all-time favourite biryani recipes.

Tips to make best Chicken Dum Biryani

Use best quality rice to make biryani. Long grain basmati rice which is atleast 2 years old is considered best to make a good biryani.

I use Fortune basmati Rice to make my biryani.

The chicken must be marinated before hand. Since we are not cooking it separately, marinating it beforehand will make it tender and easy to cook.

Use a heavy bottom pan to assemble the biryani. 

The biryani needs to be cooked for 35-40 minutes on low heat and if the pan is not heavy, it might burn.

The traditional potli masala used to make biryani recipe has many unusual ingredients, but since it is not easy to source them, I have a mix which is easy to find and not compromise on taste.

Making Birista at home is the best way to go. I always make a large batch and freeze it for later use.

You can check the recipe to make golden fried onion or Birista here.

Be very attentive while cooking the rice. Do not stir the rice much while cooking otherwise it will break the grains.

Choose a pan with a tight fitting lid. This biryani cooks on dum or steam and we want to retain as much steam that is formed inside. 

Traditionally, a sealing of dough used to be put around the pan and the lid but I don’t think that it is required if the lid fits tightly.

How to choose rice to make best Chicken Dum Biryani Recipe?

Both the taste and visual appeal of Biryani should stand out in its preparation. 

Now while this recipe takes care of the taste, the visual appeal comes only through rice grains. 

Longer the grain, better would be the biryani. I always choose the rice which is extra long and stands out as individual grains.

This gives the visual appeal of a blooming flower and makes eating biryani an enjoyable experience. 

Hence Basmati rice is the best choice to make Biryani, it stands out individually, without forming lumps while cooking.

In the market, you now even get specially selected long grain Basmati Rice, which is perfect for this Biryani.

The age of the rice is also very crucial to make good biryani. Choose the rice grain which is at least 2 year old. The older the rice, the better it is.

What to serve with Chicken Biryani?

Chicken Biryani can be served with any raita of your choice like Onion Tomato Raita, Boondi Raita or Pineapple Raita.

You can serve Mirchi ka Salan with it too.

Don’t forget to top the biryani with some browned onion before serving.

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Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani Recipe

4.04 from 27 votes

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Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani Recipe

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani boasts of a beautiful cacophony of flavours that is known the world over. 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 668 kcal

Author Neha Mathur

Ingredients

For the rice

• 3 cups Long Grain Basmati Rice
• 1 tsp Shahi Jeera
• 2 Black Cardamom
• 2-3 Green Cardamom
• 2 flowers Javitri
• 3-4 Cloves
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 5-6 Black Peppercorns
• 2 Bay Leaf
• 2 inch Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 4 tsp Salt

For the chicken

• 750 g Chicken Curry Cut
• 1 tsp Shahi Jeera
• 2 tsp Ghee
• 2 tsp Ginger paste
• 2 tsp Garlic Paste
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
• 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 2 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 4 tsp Green Chilli Finely Chopped
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 200 g Curd
• 2 tbsp Mint Chopped
• 2 tbsp Coriander Chopped
• 1/4 cup Golden Fried Onion

For assembling the biryani

• 1/2 cup Milk
• 10-12 strands Saffron Soaked in 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup Golden Fried Onion
• 1 tbsp Coriander Chopped
• 1 tbsp Mint Chopped
• 2 tbsp Ghee

Instructions

For the rice

1. Wash the rice and soak in water for 40-45 minutes.

2. Heat 10-12 cups of water in a large pot.

3. Take a cloth and add shahi jeera, black cardamom, green cardamom, javitri, cloves, cumin seeds, black peppercorn, cinnamon and bay leaf and make a potli.

4. Add potli masala, ginger garlic paste and salt in the pot and bring the water to a boil.

5. Drain the rice and add it in the boiling water.

For the Chicken

1. Mix chicken with shahi jeera, ghee, ginger paste, garlic paste, garam masala powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, vegetable oil, green chilli and lemon juice and marinate for 10-12 hours.

2. Add curd, mint, coriander and golden fried onion in the marinated chicken and mix well.

Assembling the biryani

1. Transfer the chicken along with the marinade in a heavy bottom pan.

2. Once the rice gets 20% cooked, take out half of the rice and top it over the chicken.

3. Once the remaining rice is cooked to 80%, take it out and top it over the 20% cooked rice.

4. Sprinkle 1/2 cup milk, saffron soaked in water , golden brown onion, coriander, mint and ghee on top.

5. Cover the pan tightly with a lid.

6. Place the pan on a very slow heat for 35-40 minutes.

7. Remove the lid and mix the biryani gently.

8. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Use best quality rice to make biryani. Long grain basmati rice which is atleast 2 years old is considered best to make a good biryani.

I use Fortune basmati Rice to make my biryani.

The chicken must be marinated before hand. Since we are not cooking it separately, marinating it beforehand will make it tender and easy to cook.

Use a heavy bottom pan to assemble the biryani. 

The biryani needs to be cooked for 35-40 minutes on low heat and if the pan is not heavy, it might burn.

The traditional potli masala used to make biryani recipe has many unusual ingredients, but since it is not easy to source them, I have a mix which is easy to find and not compromise on taste.

Making Birista at home is the best way to go. I always make a large batch and freeze it for later use.

You can check the recipe to make golden fried onion or Birista here.

Be very attentive while cooking the rice. Do not stir the rice much while cooking otherwise it will break the grains.

Choose a pan with a tight fitting lid. This biryani cooks on dum or steam and we want to retain as much steam that is formed inside. 

Traditionally, a sealing of dough used to be put around the pan and the lid but I don’t think that it is required if the lid fits tightly.

 

Nutrition Facts

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 668 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 13g81%

Cholesterol 68mg23%

Sodium 2499mg109%

Potassium 421mg12%

Carbohydrates 84g28%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 20g40%

Vitamin A 510IU10%

Vitamin C 11.9mg14%

Calcium 127mg13%

Iron 2.7mg15%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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