Easy chicken biryani

Biryani is a rice dish in which meat such as chicken, goat or vegetables are steamed with rice to make a delicious feast. Biryani is a royal dish originating from the Mughal and Muslim rulers. Dum refers to steam. In India, they seal the pot with dough to indicate when the steaming process is done. This works because as the steaming process occurs, the dough cooks and becomes hard. When they are able to lift the pot open, it means the steaming process has been completed. Here I just used a tea towel.

Whilst deciding how to make this, I looked up several recipes and videos on how you can do it, ranging from very complex to simple versions. This recipe is a 5-layer biryani (rice-chicken-rice-chicken-rice) which I find works well. I also added in this biryani some crispy onions, but these are optional. This recipe serves 6

Ingredients
For the chicken & marinade

500g boned chicken (thighs or legs). This is the most expensive part, but it’s worth getting boned chicken as I find the flavour better.

2-3 tbsp yoghurt

½ tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp garlic paste (3-4 cloves)

1 tsp ginger paste (thumb size piece, mashed)

Other ingredients

500g basmati rice, rinsed well

2 medium sized onions, finely sliced (for the crispy onions, if using)

Salt to taste

Vegetable oil

1 large tomato, finely diced

½ cup water

Ghee (if you don’t have ghee, butter is perfectly fine)

Handful chopped coriander leaves

2 tsp rosewater
Pinch saffron strands soaked in a 1/4 cup warm water

You’ll need these spices

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

3-4 cardamom pods, bashed

½ inch cinnamon

3-4 cloves

Method

Marinating the chicken:

In a large bowl, add the chicken along with all the other ingredients for the marinade. Mix well, ensuring that every chicken piece is coated.
Put in the fridge and leave to marinate for at least 2hrs, but ideally overnight! If you know you want to cook this the next day, marinate it overnight, this also saves time during the main cooking process. The next day, remove the chicken before you start cooking so it can come to room temperature, this ensures that it cooks evenly. The centre will otherwise still be cold, meaning the outside will cook quickly and the centre won’t have cooked.

Crispy onions (if using):

To make the crispy onions, add around a 1 cm layer of vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Let the oil come to a temperature on medium heat. You can test this by adding one onion slice. If it starts to sizzle the oil is ready.
Tip in the onions and fry for 15 minutes until they are golden. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside. Remove all but 1 tbsp of oil from the frying pan. You can keep the remaining oil and use in curries.

Cooking rice:

Now make your rice. Add your rice to a large saucepan and cover well with boiling water. If you like you can add some spices like cloves or cardamom, but this is totally optional.
Boil for around 5-7 minutes until the rice is half-cooked. You don’t want to cook the rice all the way, as you’ll steam it later with the chicken. Drain and set aside in a bowl. The rice works better in the biryani if it is a little cool.

Cooking the chicken:

In this same frying pan that you cooked the onions in and on medium heat, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and cloves and fry until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes and cook until completely soft.
Tip in your marinated chicken (careful it may splutter) and mix well. Make sure to get all the yoghurt from the bowl!
Cook for around 20 minutes on a medium heat until the sauce is reduced. You want the gravy to be thick, you don’t want the rice to become soggy during the steaming process. You will know when the chicken is ready when you see oil floating on top of the yoghurt.

Assembling the biryani:

In the large saucepan you cooked the rice in, add a little ghee (or butter) and water and let melt. This will start the steaming process.
Add one third of the rice and spread in an even layer.
Add half of the crispy onions, a splash of the rosewater, 1/3 of the saffron water and a few of the coriander leaves
Next, add half of the chicken and spread in an even layer.
Now, add the next layer of rice (also one third). Spread evenly.
Add the other half of the crispy onions, another splash rosewater, another 1/3 saffron water and some more coriander leaves.
Add the other half of the chicken mixture and spread in an even layer.
Add the remaining rice (one-third) and spread evenly. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of the saffron water and a few more coriander leaves.
Spread a little butter or ghee around the edges to stop it sticking.
Cover with a tea towel and then place the lid on top, this helps the steaming process. If you are using a large tea towel, fold the edges of the tea towel up and tie in a knot on top to stop it potentially burning on the hob.
Let steam on a low heat for 30 minutes