A yummy chicken biryani paired with potatoes, recipe that is so delicious and easy to make at home that this will become your regular weekend meal – just like ours is!
Biryani is a very popular muslim Indian, non-vegetarian rice preparation, where the meat and the rice are cooked together. In India, you will find different regions with their own distinct style of biryani. Some of the more popular ones are from Lucknow, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Tamil Nadu etc. The differences range from, the way it is made, layered or the kind of meat that is used, some are more aromatic and some more spicy. However, the recipe I am sharing with you, is of a chicken biryani with potatoes. And if you ask me, which region does my recipe belong to, I wouldn’t be able to give you a very precise answer. That is because, I have borrowed the good parts from most these versions, to come up with an easy biryani recipe.
Nonetheless, my recipe has close links to the Calcutta and Hyderabadi biryanis. While the Calcutta biryani is popular for the inclusion of potatoes, the Hyderabaadi ones are more spicy. So, my recipe draws inspiration from these two. I have cooked, the potatoes, in the biryani with the chicken first, and then the rice. This makes them well coated with all the spices and very well cooked too.
A lot of biryanis, are cooked on the dum – Â a slow cooking process on low heat – and they are hence called, dum biryanis. And when this method is followed, the rice and the raw meat are generally cooked together. However, since I am making an easy and quick biryani version, I have cooked the chicken first and then again with then rice. So, I have simplified the process of treating yourself to a wonderfully, yummy chicken biryani, that too, with potatoes.
Also check,
Chicken Beary (Mangalore muslim style) biryani
Layering the biryani
If you have tasted biryanis earlier (and I am guessing that you have!) you would know that, it is made in layers. And that is the beauty of this rice dish. In fact, this is what differentiates, a biryani from a pulao – the layering technique. I find, building the biryanis in layers, extremely enjoyable. Moreover, since I am making a simpler version and lesser quantity, in my recipe, I have a single layer each of the chicken and the rice. However, if you are scaling it up, you could go ahead and build multiple layers of the same. Also, it is not just the rice and the meat here. You will also be arranging mint and coriander leaves along with saffron milk and ghee over the rice. Oh what joy!
So, don’t let lengthy ingredients list deter you from making this. Follow the simple steps of my chicken biryani with potatoes recipe, and be sure to fall in love with the cooking process too.
Some essentials
Some ingredients are a must haves while cooking a flavoursome biryani. Don’t worry, none of them are challenging to find and in most probability, you already have them in your kitchen. It is just that, you need to make sure, that you do use them. While a detailed ingredients list is in the recipe box below, here are some must haves:
- Basmati rice: Long grain rice won’t do the magic that basmati rice will in your biryani. It’s fragrance is what is crucial for a good biryani
- Browned onions (beresta): Deep fried and browned onions add tons of flavour. You could easily fry them up or buy a pack from your grocery store – both work equally well
- Ghee: Another very important, flavour and glaze inducing agent in a biryani. If for health reasons, you need to avoid it, please do. But, if you are counting calories, then this recipe has got to be an exception
- Mint and coriander leaves: They add a bunch of freshness. And while, they are essential ingredients in a Hyderabadi biryani, the Calcutta one, doesn’t have them. I love to add them in mine and hence an essential when I am making a biryani at home
Chicken biryani with potatoes
For my recipe, I have let the chicken marinate overnight in a spicy yoghurt mix. This makes sure that, the chicken is quickly cooked and has a melt-in-the-mouth texture in the biryani. Also, I have used chicken on the bone for this recipe. While you could also use boneless chicken, the former lends more flavours to the dish. You can use the same recipe to make a mutton or lamb biryani. Only that, you will need to cook the meat longer than the chicken. Additionally, while I love potatoes in my biryani, you can leave them out, if you are not a fan.
The only accompaniment, you need with this chicken biryani with potatoes is some chilled and spiced yoghurt, so I have served it alongside a raita.To make it, I simply, whisked yoghurt, added chopped cucumbers, pink salt and chaat masala. The chilled raita is a classic side to this spicy biryani.
So, here goes the recipe for my easy chicken biryani with potatoes. I hope, that you will give this a try and let me know how you like it. You can drop your feedback in the comments section, below. Also, if you are on Instagram, you can share your food pictures with me there, as well.
Eat hearty!
Chicken biryani with potatoes
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
- Stock pot/thick bottomed cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1½ cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 15 minutes
- 1 cup fried onions beresta
- 2 big potatoes cut in halves
- 1 big tomato chopped
- 4-5 cloves
- 2 black cardamoms
- 6 green cardamoms
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 inch cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 star anise
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 cup coriander leaves finely chopped
- 1 cup mint leaves finely chopped
- 4-5 chillis slit
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 tbsp milk
- 6 tbsp ghee
- salt to taste
For marinating the chicken
- 500 g chicken on the bone
- 1 cup yoghurt whisked
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 3 tsp garam masala powder
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp mustard oil or any cooking oil
- 1 tsp salt to taste
Instructions
- Add all the marination spices and the yoghurt to the washed and cleaned chicken
- Massage the chicken well with the marinade. Cover and leave it in the fridge overnight
- Set 6 cups of water with the a tablespoon of ghee, 1 black cardamom, 3 green cardamoms, 2 bay leaves, 2 cinnamon sticks,1 tablespoon peppercorns, cumin seeds, star anise and salt to boil
- Once the water comes to a roll boil, add the soaked basmati rice. Cook the rice until 75% done. Drain the water and keep the rice aside, until needed
- Warm the milk and add the saffron strands to it. Keep it aside
- Heat a heavy bottomed pan with two tablespoons of ghee. Once hot add the cloves, 2 sticks of cinnamon, a bay leaf and 2-3 green cardamoms. When they turn fragrant, add the potatoes. Fry until they are light golden brown in colour
- Add the marinated chicken, chopped tomatoes, a few chillis, the beresta and some coriander leaves. Mix well
- Add half a cup of water and salt to taste. Be mindful, as the the cooked rice and marinated chicken already have salt - so add accordingly
- Again give it a good mix, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.* Remove from flame and set aside
- Now, grease your stock pot/thick bottomed pan with ghee very well
- Arrange the chicken pieces, from the curry, on the edges and keep the potatoes in the centre. Cover with the curry
- Now carefully layer the rice over the chicken and the curry. Use a spatula to do this so that the rice grains do not break
- Drizzle the ghee and the saffron milk over
- Then arrange the slit chilis and beresta
- Finally add the mint and coriander leaves. Cover and cook on a very low flame for 15-20 minutes (or until the rice is fully cooked). When done, turn the flame off. Keep covered for 5-10 minutes before opening the lid
- Scoop the rice out carefully with the chicken and potatoes and serve. Enjoy your chicken biryani with potatoes, hot, with a chilled raita on the side!
Notes
- *You should have a thick curry once the chicken is cooked. In case it is watery, cook without the lid until the quantity of curry reduces to desired amount
- This is important, so that your biryani has well masala coated chicken in it. Otherwise, it can turn out to look like chicken curry and rice, if the curry remains watery, before adding the rice
- If you are unable to marinate the chicken overnight, then marinate it for an hour at least
- The saffron milk, besides giving the biryani rice a lovely yellow colour, also adds to the flavour. However, this is optional
- If you do not wish to add the potatoes, you may skip it
- g - grams
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
Recipe looks great! However, isn’t basmati rice cooked in double the amount of liquid, so 1.5c of rice would require only 3c of liquid and not 6?
Hi Yasmin, thank you. You are correct however, that measure of water is used when cooking the rice completely. Here we are using the water to cook the rice partially and then the excess water is drained off, as well.