Chicken Birayani – A fragrant colorful chicken and rice casserole
A Biryani is many layers of comfort and celebration. A restaurant staple both in India and in Indian restaurant menus in the US. It holds the kind of place that a Pad Thai, does on a Thai restaurant menu. Biryani’s vary and a named after the protein on hand. So today I share with you a chicken biryani, and on this site, you can find, variations for, An Easy Shrimp Biryani and A Mushroom and Chickpea Biryani and A Lamb Biryani, just to name a few.
It features on my table, when I am looking for something that is both festive and comforting.
The Story of today’s Biryani
This recipe is a class dish. I made this at the request of a student who said, this really was her favorite. After careful cross questioning, I learnt it was her husband’s favorite. She is Italian while her husband is Indian. Rice dishes despite their simplicity can be daunting. It has taken me a while to get comfortable with making a risotto. However, a biryani with its plethora of spices makes for a great dish for an Indian cooking class.
About the Chicken Birayani.
At core, a birayani is a rice-based dish. It comes to India, from Persia and gets its name from the word Biyan which means to fry. The dish therefore started in Northern India, introduced to that region by the Moghul rulers from Central Asia. It has moved all across the country with various regional nuances.
This particular one is a relatively simpler one hailing from Hyderabad which is in South India. I learnt this version during graduate school from my friend Ali.
Tere really is no single Birayani recipe, or one authentic style. So, the question becomes, what allows this dish to meander through its variations and still keep its name? IMHO – cooking together the meat and rice in layers, much like a casserole. It is important to have a good heavy cooking pot for this rice dish. My go to spice blend for this is my birayani spice mix, and I have featured this recipe here.
My recipe might seem a little complex, but I have broken down the steps, and following through them should get you a birayani to be happy about.
A classic fragrant one-dish meal, chicken birayani is a one-pot dish that is colorful, fragrant and very satisfying.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger and garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Plenty of water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon birayani pulao masala
- 11/2 cups white basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 onion, cut into a dice
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 black cardamoms
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon birayani masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup whole cashew nuts
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon saffron strands
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon ghee (optional)
- ½ tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
- 1. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Mix together the yogurt, ginger and garlic paste and the salt and set the chicken to marinate for about 3 hours. I like to do this outside the refrigerator in room temperatures up to 70 degrees.
- 2. Heat the water for the rice with the salt and birayani masala. When it is boiling add in the rice and cook for 4 minutes, drain thoroughly in a colander.
- 3. Heat the oil on medium heat for about 1 minute, add in the diced onions and cook for about 4 minutes, until the onions are soft and beginning to turn softly golden.
- 4. Add in the chicken with the marinade and cook on medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and the bay leaves, black cardamoms, and the red cayenne powder and mix well and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Gently stir in the rice and the birayani masala and salt with about 1 cup of water.
- Stir in the cashews and raisins. Cover the rice and cook on low heat for about 25 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking, heat the oil on medium heat and add in the red onions and cook the onions until they soften and begin to turn soft and golden brown. The onions should eventually be crisp and a golden brown color, this will take a good 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the oil and let them drain.
- Remove the cover and stir once. The rice should be soft and relatively separate, note if you need to add additional water you can do this in a gradual manner.
- Stir in the saffron strands and the ghee if using. Garnish with the cilantro before serving.