Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Name: Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves to serve 4
Ingredients: 1lb 4oz chicken pieces; 1 lb Basmati rice; 1¾ pints water; 3 bay leaves; 2 cloves; 2 sticks cinnamon; 2 black cardamom pods; 2 green cardamom pods; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter or drawn butter); 10 mint leaves; 1 tablespoon javeri mace; 1 tablespoon lime juice; 4 medium onions; ½ tablespoon saffron; 2 medium onions; 2 green chilies; 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste; 1¼ pint natural youghurt; 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves; 6 black peppercorns; ½ teaspoon chili powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds; ¼ teaspoon coriander powder; 2 tablespoons oil or ghee (clarified butter or drawn butter)

Ready in 1 hr

Recipe by Mamtha Sunil Kumar

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani is one of the most popular dishes across the whole of India. Biryani is generally divided into Kachi (raw) Biryani and Pakki (firm) Biryani. In Kachi the meat and rice are cooked together. In Pakki, the meat curry and rice are cooked separately and then mixed and make the Biryani. The chef who can cook a good Kachi (Raw) Biryani is considered to be highly accomplished, so to help you become accomplished, this recipe for Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani is for a Kachi Biryani from the southern India city of Hyderabad.

Preparation Time

20 Minutes

Cooking Time

40 Minutes

A Top Choice Recipe for Flavour

Ingredients for Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

If you are not familiar with any ingredients, please check our International Cooking Terms page.
If you want to know more about Indian ingredients, check our Indian Spices and our Indian Pulses, Rice and Seeds pages.

Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements

To serve 4:

1lb 4oz chicken pieces
1 lb Basmati rice
1¾ pints water
3 bay leaves
2 cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
2 black cardamom pods
2 green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter or drawn butter)
10 mint leaves
1 tablespoon javeri mace
1 tablespoon lime juice
4 medium onions
½ tablespoon saffron
FOR THE MARINADE
2 medium onions
2 green chilies
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
1¼ pint natural youghurt
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
6 black peppercorns
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon coriander powder
2 tablespoons oil or ghee (clarified butter or drawn butter)

How to Cook Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Peel and chop all six onions and fry them gently in vegetable oil for about 6-8 minutes to soften them. Finely chop the green chilies then, for the marinade, take a large bowl and mix together the ginger-garlic paste, yoghurt, chopped green chilies, coriander leaves, pepper corns, chili powder, salt, cumin and the coriander powder. Add in one third of the fried onions (about 2 onions) and the oil or ghee and mix all the ingredients into a paste. Add in the chicken and make sure each piece is well coated in the marinade.
Take a large pan and mix together the water, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms and salt. Bring the water to the boil and add the rice. Boil for about 7-8 minutes until the rice is about half cooked then, using a colander, drain off the water and discard the bay leaves (you can wrap all the herbs in a muslin cloth if you wish - like a bouquet garni. It makes them easier to remove.)
Spread the marinated chicken along with the marinade over the base of a deep non-stick pan. On top of that, add a layer of part-cooked rice then drizzle two tablespoons of ghee on top. Add the remaining half cooked rice, the mint leaves, mace, lime juice, saffron and the remaining fried onion layered on top of the existing rice.
Seal the pan firmly with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 30 minutes on a low heat. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the heat but do not remove the lid for a further 10 minutes. Gently combine the rice and the chicken and serve hot with raita and a curry of your choice.

MAMTHA SUNIL KUMAR'S HOT TIP:
Do not overcook the rice before adding it to the chicken. At most, it should be only half-cooked since it will finish cooking in the pan with the rest of the ingredients. If you overcook it initially, it becomes sticky and soft.