Traditional Biryani Recipe – For Beginners

A Pakistani chicken biryani is an aromatic and everyone’s favourite dish.

Its recipe is filled with vibrant colours and bursting with flavour from the array of spices and herbs.

Biryani might seem like a challenging and demanding dish but with this chicken dum biryani recipe you will be able to make the best chicken biryani to please all your guests. It tastes so good that you will be able to serve it up even a few days later.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp Salt/Namak
• 400g Rice
• 500g Chicken
• 25ml Vegetable Oil
• 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 Bay Leaves/Tez Paat
• ½ tsp. Black Peppercorns
• ½-inch Cinnamon Stick/Darchini
• ½ tsp. Cloves/Laung
• 2 Black Cardamoms/Bari Elachi
• 3 Green Cardamoms/Choti Elachi
• ½ tsp. Cumin Seeds/Jeera
• 2 Onions/Pyaz (finely diced)
• 5 Garlic Cloves/Lehsan (chopped)
• ½-inch Ginger/Adrak (crushed)
• 1 Tomato
• 2 tsp. Salt/Namak
• 2 tsp. Chilli Powder/Laal Mirch Powder
• 2 tsp. Garam Masala
• ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder/Haldi
• ½ tsp. Coriander Powder/Dhaniya Powder
• ½ tsp. Black Pepper/Kali Mirch Powder
• 75g Yoghurt/Dahi
• 150g Potatoes/Aloo
• Coriander/Dhaniyaa (finely chopped)

• 2 Green Chillies/Hari Mirch (finely chopped)
• Coriander/Dhaniyaa (finely chopped)

Directions

1. In a bowl wash the rice until the water runs clear
2. Leave it to soak it in cold water for at least an hour
3. In a pan, heat up the vegetable oil on medium heat
4. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves, black cardamoms and green cardamoms
5. Sauté the whole spices for a few minutes
6. Add the sliced onions, garlic cloves, ginger and salt
7. Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the onions are softened
8. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes
9. Add the garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin seeds
10. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the spices are cooked
11. Add the chicken and mix
12. Cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the colour of the chicken changes
13. Whilst the chicken is cooking, boil the rice until almost cooked and drain
14. Add the yoghurt and mix before cooking for another 10 minutes
15. In another pot, add some water and allow to come to a boil
16. Add the soaked rice and cook the rice until 80% cooked
17. Drain the rice and layer the rice, chicken masala, green chillies and coriander
18. Cover with lid and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes on low heat
19. Your chicken biryani is ready!