Biryani Recipes (Authentic Pakistani & Indian Biryani Guide)

Discover the best biryani recipes — chicken, mutton, beef, Sindhi, Hyderabadi & more. Learn tips, rice cooking, raita pairings & spice mixes.

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Course: Biryani, Rice

Cuisine: Bangladesh, Indian, Pakistani

Keyword: biryani, biryani recipe, chicken biryani, how to make biryani

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 55

Total Time: 1 10

Servings: Persons

Calories: 160kcal

Author: Hinz

In a deep bowl, add ginger garlic paste, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and thick yogurt.
Add freshly crushed crispy brown onion in yogurt bowl. Mix it well to combine all spices.
Add chicken in yogurt marination bowl and give it a good mix.
Cover and possibly marinade for 60 minutes at room temperature (overnight marination in refrigerator is best)

Now in a pan, pour oil and heat it up.
Add whole garam masala (cumin, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon sticks) in a heated pan. As it starts popping up, place marinated chicken and cook on high heat. Keep stirring!
As the chicken starts releasing water then add peeled tomato cubes and cook on high heat. Keep stirring and cook on high heat.
When oil begins to seperate the pan surface, add 200 ml of water and cover for 25 minutes to ensure the chicken becomes tender over low to medium heat.

Wash & Soak: Wash the rice with tap water and Soak it for 30 minutes before cooking.
Heat water in a large pot, then incorporate bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, a cinnamon stick, and salt. Cover the pot and allow the water to boil for 10 to 15 minutes to extract the aroma of the whole spices.
After 10 minutes, drain the soaked rice and gently add it to a pot of boiling water. Cook on high heat for about 5 to 6 minutes until it's around 75% cooked. Strain the rice right away and set it aside.

In a spacious pan, add ghee/oil and brush it on all sides of pan to avoid sticking of rice at pan bottom.
Now place a first layer of cooked rice and pour the chicken curry over it. Spread the curry on all sides of pan with the help of spoon.
Sprinkle freshly chopped coriander/mint and green chilies at the top of the curry layer.
Repeat the same process and place the 2nd layer of rice and topped with chicken curry, and herbs.
Now cover the top with remaining rice and spread it evenly on all sides.
Sprinkle red food color and mix well with the help of a spoon.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice
Sprinkle hand crushed brown onion all over the sides of the pan.
Pour a few drops of biryani essence.
To make it more tempting and aromatic, pour saffron in lukewarm milk for an hour and pour it at the top of biryani.

Securely cover the pan with lid and cook it on high heat for 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes, turn the heat to low to make it steamy. (Dum)
Keep it on steaming(dum) for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, switch off the heat and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Use a spoon or small plate to gently mix the rice before serving.
Best enjoyed with cooling raita and fresh salad.

Always soak basmati rice for fluffy, long grains (Sela rice requires longer soaking).
Adjust spice levels to your preference.
For deeper flavor, cook mutton instead of chicken, but allow extra cooking time.
Don’t over-stir during layering — this keeps rice from breaking.

Serving: 100g | Calories: 160kcal