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    Home » Recipes » Dinner Recipes

    Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe

    Published: May 8, 2019 · Modified: Jan 6, 2021 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

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    Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe, a delicious chicken dinner that is bursting with amazing flavours. Rice cooked to perfection and chicken cooked in fragrant, but mild Indian spices are combined in one fanstastic dish that everyone in the family can enjoy.

    Overehead shoot of a white plate with chicken biryiani, a table cloth next to it and a dish with more biryiani

    How to make chicken biryani at home

    Biryani, also spelt biriyani or biriani, is so popular all over the world, and there are quite a few variations of this dish. The main ingredients are rice, meat and seasoning, and here it is entirely up to you how little or how much you use.

    If you use rather mild spices, kids can definitely enjoy it too. I usually make enough for about 2-3 people, since little ones don't eat that much, so feel free to double up the amount of ingredients if you are cooking for a larger crowd.

    • start by marinating the chicken with yogurt, seasoning and spices
    • boil the rice until it's about 80% cooked, it will cook further in the oven  - drain and set aside
    • sautee the onion, add the garlic and ginger, then tomatoes
    • cook until the tomatoes and slightly mushy, this will take about 3-4 minutes

    Alternatively, you can use tomato paste if you don't have fresh tomatoes, in which case you add the chicken pieces straight away.

    • add the chicken pieces and the broth, and leave to cook for 15 minutes or so until the liquid is evaporated and the sauce is thick
    • in an oven-proof dish, spread half of the rice, add the chicken in one layer, then top with the remaining rice
    • drizzle the turmeric mixture all over, cover with kitchen foil, and bake for about 20 minutes

    Garnish with plenty of parsley or fresh corinader, it's up to you which one you prefer, I usually go for parsley.

    Collage of 4 photos to show how to make the chicken biryani recipe

    The best Indian chicken biryiani recipe

    This super easy chicken biryani recipe can be ready in way under one hour, and no planning in advance is needed. l avoided chilli, but feel free to add it if you like the dish spicy. I am also a bit paranoid when it comes to chicken, l tend to cook it for a lot longer than required, just in case, l'd rather not worry about uncooked meat.

    It is probably worth mentioning that this chicken biryani is my take on this classic dish, a well simplified version. But, you know what, it is absolutely fantastic and l'm sure you'll love it.

    Nothing wrong with making a dish your own by adapting it to your own taste. Like my butter chicken, this too is the perfect homemade version of the so loved recipe. Homemade food can never be beaten, isn't it?

    Overhead shoot of a dish with chicken biryiani garnished with chopped parsley

    What else can you add instead of chicken

    Whether you go for a strong-flavoured or a mild version, this biryiani can be be adapted to your own taste and lifestyle. Swap the chicken for beef, mutton, lamb or any other meat of your choice. But be mindful, the cooking time will be longer, as the meat will not be tender as quickly as chicken is.

    Or make it completely vegetarian, but adding a range of vegetables: cauliflower, baby corn, green beans, eggplant, whatever you have in the fridge. In this case, it will be ready in no time.

    You can also use saffron to make it even more flavourful, I know it's a tad expensive, but I guess if you use it in many other dishes, it's worth the extra expense. Otherwise, just a bit of turmeric with milk can be drizzled over the rice to give it that distinctive biryani touch. I used diced chicken breast, but you can also use drumsticks, thighs, or whole chicken legs.

    Overehead shoot of half a white plate with chicken biryiani

    If you’ve tried my EASY CHICKEN BIRYANI RECIPE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

    4.5 from 2 votes
    Overehead shoot of a white plate with chicken biryiani
    Print
    Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe
    Prep Time
    10 mins
    Cook Time
    1 hr
    Total Time
    1 hr 10 mins
     

    Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe, a delicious chicken dinner that is bursting with amazing flavours. Rice cooked to perfection and chicken cooked in fragrant, but mild Indian spices are combined in one fantastic dish that everyone in the family can enjoy. My version of chicken biryani is a lot simpler, so anyone can cook it..

    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Indian
    Keyword: indian chicken recipes
    Servings: 3 people
    Calories: 575 kcal
    Author: Daniela Apostol
    Ingredients
    • 2 chicken breasts
    • 4 tomatoes
    • 1 large onion
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 2 cm fresh ginger root
    • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon ground mild curry powder
    • 3 bay leaves
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 cup plain yogurt
    • 1 cup basmati rice
    • chopped coriander to garnish
    • ½ teaspoon turmeric
    Metric - US Customary
    Instructions
    1. Rinse the rice with plenty of cold water and set aside.

    2. Dice the chicken breasts and tranfer to a large bowl.
    3. Add the yogurt, ground black pepper, curry powder, ground cumin and mix well so that the chicken is well coated.
    4. Cut the onion, garlic cloves and ginger, then heat up the oil in a pan and fry them until golden.
    5. Chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan, they should be cooked for 3-4 minutes until mushy.
    6. In goes the chicken, stiring well. Leave to cook for 5 minutes, then add ½ cup of water or chicken broth. Bay leaves and salt can be added too.

    7. Cover with a lid and leave it to cook until the liquid is absorbed.
    8. Meanwhile, cook the rice with 2 cups of cold water until it comes to a boil.

    9. At this stage the rice should be about 80 % cooked.

    10. Drain the water and set aside.
    11. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. (390 Fahrenheit)
    12. In an oven-proof dish that has a lid, arrange one layer of rice, one layer of the cooked chicken and again one layer of rice.
    13. Add one tablespoon of milk, one tablespoon of water and the turmeric to a cup, then drizzle some over the rice.

    14. Cook in the oven with the lid on for about 20-30 minutes, the rice will become fluffy and fully cooked.
    15. Carefully remove from the oven, and use a fork to gently mix the chicken and rice.
    16. Garnish with chopped coriander.
    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Chicken Biryani Recipe
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 575 Calories from Fat 144
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 16g25%
    Saturated Fat 10g50%
    Cholesterol 107mg36%
    Sodium 1001mg42%
    Potassium 1197mg34%
    Carbohydrates 64g21%
    Fiber 3g12%
    Sugar 9g10%
    Protein 41g82%
    Vitamin A 1490IU30%
    Vitamin C 28.1mg34%
    Calcium 152mg15%
    Iron 1.8mg10%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

     

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shravani

      September 23, 2016 at 6:31 am

      Nice chicken biryani pic ☺...i like those brown fried onions on top.

      Reply
      • Daniela Apostol

        September 23, 2016 at 7:19 am

        Thank you ?

        Reply
    2. asha

      January 06, 2017 at 10:05 am

      really ssuper dish

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        January 06, 2017 at 5:12 pm

        Thank you, Asha!

        Reply
    3. Adina

      May 23, 2018 at 4:00 pm

      A beautiful recipe, I could start cooking immediately. 🙂

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        May 23, 2018 at 6:12 pm

        Thank you! 🙂

        Reply
    4. James

      December 15, 2020 at 7:39 pm

      Two things:
      1st, lovely easy recipe, thank you, thoroughly enjoyed it.

      2nd, thank you for having 'Jump to recipe' at top of page. It's tedious AF to have to scroll down for ages to get to the recipe.

      Reply
      • Daniela Apostol

        December 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

        Thank you for the lovely comment!

        Reply

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