Today’s recipe is definitely a special one. It is one of my favourite Indian dishes. Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani, like all the food of the area, is greatly influenced by the Mughals, Arabic, Turkish and Iranian food that use plenty of rice, wheat and spices.
I particularly like the mix of spices and herbs in this recipe: the aroma of the mint that you can smell throughout the house while the biryani is cooking is inebriating. My husband says it is one of the best biryani he has ever eaten, and that is a fantastic compliment being that he has actually eaten plenty throughout his life! hehehehe
When you read the long list of ingredients, this dish looks like a lot of work, but you’ll be amazed by how quickly it actually comes together, so much so that I often make it as a mid-week’s dinner. You basically need to mix all the marinade ingredients together, put the chicken in it and refrigerate it. Then cook the rice for a few minutes and layer both the chicken, rice and herbs in a heavy bottomed pot… let it cook for 30 minutes and you will have a dinner set for a king… or better still, a maharaja!
Serve it warm with some raita on the side for a complete and delicious Indian meal! Enjoy! And if you like biryani… also check out my Mughlai Lamb Biryani, inspired by my favourite Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking
!
!Yum!
Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani
How to make a delicious Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani: an aromatic Indian rice made with herbs and spices!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
Marinade
- 400 gms – 0.9 lbs. chicken tenders cut in 3 pieces
- ½ bunch coriander leaves roughly chopped
- ½ bunch mint roughly chopped
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp black cumin
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 green chilli you can use more if you like your food more spicy
- ¼ tsp red chilli powder you can use more if you like your food more spicy
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp javeri mace
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup fried onions I bought mine at my local Indian store
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 pepper corns
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 235 gms – 1 cup yoghurt
- Salt to taste
Rice
- 300 gms – 1 ½ cup basmati rice
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Layers
- ¾ cup fried onions
- ½ bunch coriander leaves roughly chopped
- ½ bunch mint roughly chopped
- 1 pinch saffron dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
Instructions
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To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl, add the chicken pieces to it, mix well and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
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When you are ready to cook your biryani, prepare the rice. Wash it and soak it in cool water for 30 minutes. Fill a big pot with water, add salt and oil and bring it to a boil. Cook the rice in it for 4 or 5 minutes.
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In the meantime, take another big pot, spray it with some oil and add the chicken and its marinade to the bottom. Make sure to spread it all around.
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When the rice is ready, drain it and spread it on top of the chicken.
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Add the mint and coriander leaves, the fried onions and the saffron water.
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Put a tight lid on and put the pot on the fire, on top of a tawa or flat pan (this will help the heat to spread uniformly).
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Put the fire on high for the first 5 minutes, then keep cooking the biryani on a medium fire for 15 minutes and on low for the remaining 10 minutes (for a total of 30 minutes).
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Serve warm with some raita on the side!
*In the spirit of full disclosure, this page contains affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from the sites above.
Wonderful O___O
Masterpiece! I LOVE this dish, often order it in restaurants, but never made it at home. I am definitely pinning this one for a special dinner
Ho provato un sacco di piatti indiano quado abitavo a Singapore e mi sono veramente innamorati di questa cucina che all’inizio era così piccante e strana. Voglio provare questa ricetta e chissà che anche il mio maritino non incominci ad apprezzare di più la cucina indiana. Lui adora la cucina italiana!
Ciao
That is a spectacular biryani. I love how the rice grains are perfectly cooked and the biryani is layered.
Applause!
PS: – *This comment is from someone who grew up eating Hyderabadi Biryani*
Yum! Love Byriani and yours looks perfect!
I have never heard of this dish before and I love anything with garam masala and/or curry seasoning. This is such a beautiful dish!
Looks great Manu…and my family is Hyderabadi so I have had many good ones! I am glad when you made it the kacchi way…or raw…as that is what separates Hyderabadi biryani from the others. Great job! One tip, which may help you…I make mine in the oven 200 deg C for 40 minutes ( more or less). I fear I am going to burn it on the stove top.
Nazneen
Perfection…bravo! 🙂
Perfect Biryani….Manu what a co-incidence we just had biryani for our dinner…..mine was pakhi biryani, list of ingredients is same though…
A wonderfully interesting recipe I shall most certainly follow! Black cumin and javeri mace are two ingredients I shall have to research as I have not used them before!! It all looks the kind of food for which I wait . . .
This biryani looks divine manu!
This is the best biryani ever!
Manuela,
Thank you for your recipe.It turned out well.The rice and chicken cooked perfectly. I am from India and love the fact that I follow a recipe for hydedrabadi biriyani written up by an Italian from Australia! The rest of your recipes also look really delicious.
I love chicken biryani. Your looks and sounds delicious! Beautiful photos too. Thanks for participating in this month’s DMBLGit contest!
LOVEEE ITTTT
thank u so much
wonderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfullllllllllllll……….
Oh my—just reading down the list of all those spices is making me crazy hungry, I love this!
I ordered it in resturentt bt now I’ll try it at home.I am a great fan of biryani
my son and i love biriyani, trying dum biryani for d first time……came out very well thank you
Wonderful and beautifully described. Chicken biryani was really yummy.. Thanks
I saw your comment on the forum and came looking for your biryani because I knew it will be amazing!!
I stumbled across this recipe on google last night and decided to give it a try. Let me just say two words, MIND BLOWING! Yes, this hyderabadi biryani takes a while to prepare but after the entire process, the result makes it worth every bit of hard-work you put in. I was a little short on the ingredients last night, so I had to improvise my way through the recipe. This morning I woke up and headed straight to the grocery store to pick up all the missing pieces(yes, I’m actually making it today as well!) and as I write this, my chicken marinades in the fridge. Can’t wait to savor this deliciousness again tonight.. thanks Manu!
Wow! THANK YOU so much for your comment! I am so happy that you liked it so much to make it again tonight!!! It is a family favourite and I try and make it at least once a month (sometimes twice!)!!! 🙂 Enjoy!
As always your photos are stunning and your biryani is absolutely mouthwatering!
I’m new to cooking, and I’ve been looking for a good biryani recipe to try out for my new hyderabadi husband, and this is the first one I’m actually going to attempt tonight/tomorrow! I hope it turns out great and tastes as good as your pictures look! 🙂
Awww! I am so honoured you chose my recipe!!! Please, let me know how you and your husband liked it! 🙂
Both my husband and I loved this! I didn’t have any black cardamom or javeri mace, so I went without it, but it still tasted great! I added 2 ground tomatoes to the marinade so the dish would be a bit more moist the way my mom’s is, and I might even add 4 next time. I think I’m going to add some potatoes and boiled eggs to the recipe next time just because I like them in my biryani. Thank you so much for the easy-to-follow recipe! The YouTube recipes often don’t give specific measurements, and I NEED them at this phase of cooking, so thanks!
Yesterday I tried ur chicken biryani and it just turned out awesome 🙂 I loved the way you described the recipe. It is just so simple and clear. I would be experimenting more from your list. Thank you 🙂
I cooked for my mom,dad n my littile brother, they just loved it. They requst me to make again in another day.
thnks for d recepie.
True perfection. …
Amazing recipe! After 5 failed attempts at preparing dum biryani, this was going to to be my last shot at it – it worked! Thanks!
itz lovely…. i hv tried its, really delisious man…… 🙂
I loved ur chicken briyani!!! its so appetizing !!!
soon i would try and send u my feed back & pictures!!
Thanks for ur wonderful recipe manu…
Thank you so much Preethi! I can’t wait to see your biryani! 🙂
I tried out this recipe with a few adjustments to my own taste and it was magnificent. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Amazing recipe ……have tried many but never came out well…..this recipe is very simple and works like magic….thank you….it works for American crowd (who cant handle spice) and Indian crowd equally well (just increase spice level … I put about 12 -15 green chillies….split)…..thank you again….I baked in convention oven at 350 for 30-40 mts…looks beautiful too….
Probably the only biryani that did not stick, was not undercooked and tasted just perfect!
(I have tried TONs of recipes with no success).
I love this recipe!
Greeting Manuela,
I must say this… you are not just the best cook also amazing photographer! It’s a GOD gift, two talents same time… that too professional. Being an Italian Australian and cooking Indian “HYDERABADI CHICKEN BIRYANI” the presentation its self say lot about the taste. I’m not a critic but a food lover and experiment cooking as hobby.
Just want to say you are Amazing Wife to Husband, Great Mother to Kids and with amazing two talents.
I’m from India too, but I spend all my life in Saudi Arabia and I’m Arab food lover as well…
Its pleasure knowing you…
I just have request if you can make some Arab sweet or dish… Such as “Basbusa (Sweet) or Mazgoot (like biryani)”
Waiting for your update…
Best Regards,
Mohammed Ishaq
How many people does this recipe feed?
Thanks
Pam
It’s for about 4 people.
Tried this recipie
Very very tasty and the oven bake idea was fantastic
Thanks
well v good i will try tonight if everythig ok ,
i would like to thanks author .
Master Class Recipe……..:)
Cooking Basmathi Rice is the Crucial Part.
hyderabadi biriyani without ghee????? sad….
Its so nice so god and I loves it thanks to u
Hi,
Thank you very much for both this & the lamb biryani recipes! I combined the two and the results were amazing both times. I love the madhur Jaffrey tip about roasting the saffron! Took it to a whole new level 🙂
Many thanks to you, I now have a relatively straightforward recipe to follow.
Best wishes
Delicious and aromatic.Prepared biryani in tthis style for the first time,and that too while fasting.Had my fingers crossed as it was the only dish i was preparing for iftar.Turned out great.i didnt have bay leaf so it was the only ingredient missing,and as i was short on time i allowed the chicken to marinade for only one and a half hour.Made double the amount mentioned to serve 3 adults and 3 kids.
I had a lot of apprehension about the success of the dish when I was trying it out, but to my awe it turned out to be a professional performance. I can’t thank you more for the lucid, crisp and to the point description of the same. Your recipe brought me huge compliments from my husband who dug into the plate voraciously. May God bless you. Keep posting me such wonderful miraculous recipes. Thank you once again.
Love anything curry-ish so was happy to find this recipe. It was very, very good. Am making it again for a family gathering this weekend.
I take it ‘black cumin’ is its own separate spice from cumin, correct? I did a Google search and it has two names– kala jeera and black seed which are two separate spices. Which one is which. What will it be named at the Indian Grocery?
Hi Marissa,
Yes, black cumin is different that regular cumin. You will find it as kala jeera in Indian stores. Hope it helps. 🙂
Hi I tried this recipe twice now…..and its the best biriyani recipe out there. The entire family loved it. It’s a keeper. I am planning to double the recipe for a few guests…..could u let me know if I should increase the cooking time ?
Hi! Thank you so much for your comment! I am very happy you like my biryani recipe. 🙂 The cooking time should not increase based on quantity, but it does depend on the pot you will use. Maybe let it rest, covered, a little longer or cook the rice (before layering) for a couple of extra minutes if you have any concerns. 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
Took your advice and cooked the rice a little longer before layering…..turned out perfect. Keep your kitchen busy and share those yummy recipes 🙂
I am Italian and made this for my south Indian partner (who eats chicken biryani anywhere Indian we go!) and he said one of the best biryani he has eaten!
Super easy to make too, GREAT recipe!
Ma che meraviglia Maria! I am very happy you and your husband enjoyed it! This is also my husband’s favourite biryani (he’s Indian too). <3
I am always searching for new biryani recipes because my husband ‘loves’ biryani. Tired your recipe today and he was impressed. Thank you!!
this sounds really delicious and something new to try. Thanks for sharing.
Simon
For this recipe do you grind the cardamom for the marinade and then put it in or throw it in whole? Also if you do grind do you take the seeds out of the shell or leave it whole?
Side note I love your recipes! I’ve tried a few and they are always a hit with my husband, especially the Mughlai Lamb Biryani.
Hi! Thanks for your comment and for letting me know you have tried and liked some of my recipes! I am very happy to know that! 🙂
I use whole cardamom pods for the marinade, so the flavour is not overpowering.
I really hope you like this chocken biryani, it is our favourite! Do let me know please!
Thanks for giving Hyderabad Chicken Biryani is a wonderful recipe. I found lot of Chicken recipes and good tasty and healthy also.
Just made my first Chicken Biryani. It turned out really well. Family loved it. I served it with onion-tomato-cilantro raitha. Thanks very much for the wonderful recipe.
What should be the ratio of rice to vegetables for veg biryani?
I am always searching for new biryani recipes because my husband ‘loves’ biryani. Tired your recipe today and he was impressed. Thank you!!