How To Make Chicken Biryani

Moving between Canada, Singapore, India, and the United States multiple times over the course of my childhood means I’ve never quite identified one place as “home.” Instead, I find the comfort of home through the various flavors and dishes of my childhood. One of these dishes lies in a clay pot brimming with spiced rice and meat, sealed with plain dough, which, when sliced open, releases steady puffs of steam that make my mouth water instantly. I’m talking about biryani.

There’s something mystical about biryani, an abundant Indian dish layered with spiced marinated meats and aromatic long-grain rice. Historians have tried and failed to come up with a conclusive origin for it. Some say it originated in Persia around the 15th century (or perhaps earlier) and was brought to India by Persian migrants. Other stories revolve around war and trade.

Perhaps the most famous tale involves the leading lady of one of the grandest love stories ever told: Mumtaz Mahal, the beautiful queen whose husband built her a mausoleum now known as The Taj Mahal. Legend has it that in the 1600s, Mumtaz visited the royal army barracks and found the soldiers looking weak and malnourished. She ordered the royal chef to prepare a dish filled with meat and grains for sustenance. The result was biryani, a fragrant and hearty dish that later grew popular and increasingly opulent across all the royal kitchens in India. 

It is said that every ruler put their own spin on the dish inspired by ingredients found locally, which resulted in more than 30 different varieties of biryani. While the base components of rice and meat remain the same, every variation has subtle variations in technique and ingredients. The most commonly known biryanis today are Lucknowi, Bombay, Memoni, Malabar, Ambur, Thalassery, Sindhi, Tehari, Dindigul and, perhaps the most popular, Hyderabadi, a version of which I’m sharing here. My recipe features chicken as the protein, and involves a store-bought shortcut to get it on the table faster.

Biryani can be cooked in one of three ways: dum phukt, a method where par-cooked rice and raw marinated meat are cooked for many hours in a heavy-bottomed vessel, such as a clay pot or Dutch oven; kacchi, a method that combines raw rice and raw meat cooked dum-style; and pukka, a method where the meat and rice are both par-cooked separately and then cooked dum-style.

When it comes to making biryani at home, I’ve tried all three cooking methods and have found that pukka is the most reliable way of getting the most flavor in the quickest amount of time. In fact, while the list of ingredients and steps may seem complex, it’s actually a fairly straightforward recipe. The key to success here is mise en place — have all your ingredients laid out and measured before you start cooking! 

While the idea of cooking dum-style (slow cooking) can be achieved using a heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, you can get ambitious and make a traditional dough seal. Many Indian restaurants will serve biryani this way because it keeps the steam in, allowing for true “slow cooking” and flavor development. To make it at home, mix 1 cup flour with a pinch of salt and enough water to create an elastic dough and stretch it over the top of your pot right before you put the biryani in the oven. When you’re ready to serve, cut a slit in the dough to release the steam before removing the dough entirely.

1. Start with a store-bought biryani mix. Starting with a store-bought seasoning mix is so much faster and easier than making one yourself, and it means you don’t have to have all of the individual spices on hand. The Shan biryani mix is my personal favorite: It’s the closest I’ve come to what I’ve had at an Indian restaurant (better, in fact).
2. Let the chicken marinate overnight. This recipe uses full-fat Greek yogurt to slowly tenderize the chicken thighs. For superbly tender and well-spiced results, let the chicken marinate overnight with the yogurt and spices.
3. Opt for basmati rice. While biryani can be made with a variety of rice types, the long, nutty grains of basmati rice are the best accompaniment to the spices. Since basmati can be very starchy, I recommend rinsing the grains in a bowl of cold water to prevent clumping.
4. Use ghee. Cooking with ghee instead of other oils adds to the nutty undertones of the dish.
5. Don’t skip the final layer of yogurt. The addition of saffron-infused yogurt to top the rice just before baking ensures the rice stays moist and infuses the dish with saffron’s distinct flavor.