A brief history, biryani is one of the most amazing royal delicacies introduced to Indians by the Mughals. Since then it has been much popular and is a good treat to enjoy on special occasions so today, we are going to be giving instructions on how to prepare chicken biryani. Biryani can be of a different variety, for example egg biryani, vegetable biryani, lamb biryani, beef biryani, shrimp biryani. To make a good biryani the use of quality ingredients is important this includes; basmati rice, whole spices, spice powders, chicken and ghee(butter). They all contribute to the flavors of the dish.

Step 1: Ingredients for Chicken Biryani A) for Marinating Chicken:

1 lbs. Chicken
· 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
· 1 ½ tablespoons or Ginger garlic paste
· Salt (as per taste)
· ¼ teaspoons turmeric
· ½ teaspoon of red chili powder (or as per your choice)
· ½ teaspoon of garam masala (all spice)
· 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Step 2: B) Whole Spices (skip If You Don’t Have Any)

1 bay leaf
· 4 green cardamoms
· 4 to 6 cloves
· 1 Cinnamon
· 1-star anise
· 1 teaspoon of cumin seed

Step 3: C)Other Ingredients for Chicken Biryani

3 cups basmati rice
· 3 teaspoons of butter
· 1 large onion(chopped)
· 1/2 cup mint leaves
· ¼ cup yogurt (not flavored)
· 1 teaspoon garam masala
· 3 cups water
· Salt
· 3 tablespoon Fried onions

Step 4: The First Step of the Preparation (pre-prep)

Any part of the chicken that you desire can be used ie the breast, thigh personally I prefer the drumsticks. Marinating the chicken with yogurt and spices is the first step, yogurt tenderizes the chicken and the spices enhance the flavors. After marinating the chicken, you can then leave it covered with cling film for at least 30 minutes. If you don’t like yogurt you can substitute it for coconut milk. The next step is preparing the rice. The rice must be rinsed thoroughly with cold water twice to get rid of the starch. After rinsing, the rice should be covered with water in a bowl and left to soak for at least 15 minutes, this helps make the grains fluffy before cooking.

Step 5: Preparation and Cooking- Step 1

1.You can buy biryani masala itself too, but in this article, we made our own. You will need masala powder, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seed, powdered nutmeg (grind some more to make finer). All of these will be added to a small clean bowl for use later.

2.Cut chicken into pieces and add to a clean medium size round bowl. Then, add 4 tbsps. of yogurt, biryani masala 1 tbsp (the one we made earlier), ginger garlic paste, two pinches of salt, red chili powder and turmeric.

Step 6: Rice Preparation(Step 2)

3.Preparing rice is the next step. Place a big pan over the cooker on high heat and fill it with water. Add 1 tbsp. oil, star aniseed, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, cumin seed and let it boil. Add rice and cook it uncovered the water is supposed to just cover the rice.

Within 4-5 mins the rice will start boiling in the water. Cook the rice for about 6 minutes or until 60% of rice is done. Be sure not to overcook the rice. Drain the rice and add the cold water in it.

Step 7: Step 3

4.Next place a pan on medium heat. Add 3-4 tablespoon of butter. Add the marinated chicken and spread it evenly. Add 3 tablespoons of biryani masala, coriander leaves, mint leaves, and fried onions.

Step 8: Step 4

5. Now layer the rice all over the pan on top of the chicken. Spread it nicely and save 1/2 cup of rice and color it yellow with turmeric. Spread the yellow-colored rice and pour ½ the cup of milk all over the rice. Then layer it with the fried onions, coriander leaves and pour some melted butter on the top.

Step 9: Step 5

6. The last step, cover the pot with an aluminum foil and put the lid on it. Now cook the biryani on low heat for at least 45 minutes. After 45 minutes turn off the heat and let it rest for another 20 minutes then open the lid. Now after 20 minutes open the pan and garnish it with coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions, and your biryani is ready to be served. You can serve your chicken biryani with a side of yogurt sauce.