Chicken Biryani

Name: Chicken Biryani
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 tbsp lemon juice; 12 g/½ oz/¼ cup fresh mint leaves; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup rapeseed/canola oil, plus 1 tbsp; 3 tbsp ghee, melted; 4 tbsp fried onions; 3 onions, finely sliced; 3 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; 1 tbsp kewra water (or rose water); a few saffron strands soaked in 1 tsp milk; 500 g/1 lb 2 oz skinless boneless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces; 500 g/17½ oz/2½ cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained; salt, to taste; 4 cloves; 2 bay leaves; 1 cinnamon stick; juice of 1 lemon; 1 star anise; 2 black cardamom pods; 2 green cardamom pods; 4 whole black peppercorns; 180 g/6½ oz/¾ cup plain yogurt; 2 tsp salt; 1 blade of mace; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 2 tbsp ground coriander; 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 12 g/½ oz/¼ cup fresh coriander/cilantro leaves; 1 tbsp single/light cream; 5 green chillies, slit

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Yatra

By Rohit Ghai

Published 2025

About

Is there anything as satisfying as an aromatic, fluffy biryani, fresh from the pot? Biryani hails from the Mughlai cuisine and there are many variations on it, influenced by the wide regions through which the Mughals travelled. This is a typical Lucknowi (or Awadhi) biryani, ideal for a special occasion.

Ingredients

500 g/17½ oz/2½ cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained
500

Asia
India
Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Place the rice in a large bowl of water and leave to soak.

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken, mix well and leave to marinate for about 45 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large pan (that has a lid) over a medium heat. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, cardamom pods, star anise and mace. Once they start to crackle, add the onio