This biryani tastes so good you will not begrudge it the extra steps it takes to produce this utterly delicious dish. The rice is so fluffy and aromatic, run through with herbs and spices, and the chicken gloriously tender.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, and fry the onions. Cooking the moisture out of the onions is the first stage, which will take about 8 minutes.
The next step of browning the onions will require frequent stirring. Don't walk away. This will take another 5 minutes or so. When they are a shade lighter than you are wanting, pull the pan off the heat and let them sit another minute or two; they will continue to darken. If the onions burn they will be bitter. Remove them from the oil and place them on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. If you would like to see a video of the process, I love the Vlog CookingShooking, which demonstrates how to make fried onions, also called birista.
Marinade Chicken
Gather your chicken marinade ingredients and see the last Note about making this dish in stages.
Marinate chicken: Mix together all the marinade ingredients and marinate for as long as you can, up to 24 hours.
Soak Saffron or Turmeric
Saffron or turmeric: Place saffron threads, or turmeric in a small bowl with hot milk. If using saffron threads, massage them briefly to help them to release their essential oils. Set aside.
Parboiled Rice (70% Cooked)
Gently rinse the rice in a bowl filled with water to cover it. Rinse until the water is clear enough to see your hand.
In a large pan over high heat, bring 6 cups of water to boil and add salt, whole spices, and the rice. Lower the heat to medium-high and cook at a boil for 5 minutes and then check the rice. It should be 70% done and still a bit uncooked in the center of the grain. When finished drain, keeping the spices with the rice.
Biryani
Over medium heat, place a large heavy dutch oven, or saucepan and add 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over, cover and cook for another 4 minutes. If the spices are sticking to the pan, add a splash of water. You are not cooking the chicken completely. If you left the skin on the chicken thighs, make sure it is skin side down. See 2nd Note.
Remove from the heat and scatter half of the onions over the chicken, and all of the chopped mint and coriander.
Layer all of the rice next, and drizzle the saffron, milk, and ghee or melted butter over the rice. When serving guests not used to eating food with whole spices, give them a heads up that they find a whole spice or two. Alternatively, you can fish them out in this step.
Cover with the lid, and over medium heat, cook for 16 to 24 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Chicken thigh meat should be cooked to 165°F (74°C).
Let the biryani rest for 10 minutes, and then garnish with the rest of the crispy onions and chopped cilantro. Serve with simple raita or plain yogurt.
Notes
Shortcut: the browning of the onions step can be skipped if you prefer to buy store-bought fried onions or shallots. Most grocery stores carry this product and it makes an excellent short cut. If you would like more details on cooking onions, in general, and the crispy onions called for in this recipe, please see my post on cooking onions.
For chicken biryani, I alwaysprefer chicken thighs, but you can use drumsticks here as well. If you are determined to use chicken breast, understand that you risk having dry meat.
I know this may seem heretical and I blame the idea on the lovely Nagi of the essential food blog RecipeTinEats, but keeping the skin on chicken thighs is genius. The thighs cook skin side down and protect the meat from over-cooking, if in case (oops) one has allowed them the cook too long.
Biryani masala powder substitute: Garam masala which you can buy or make.
You could substitute another long-grain rice for basmati, but you won’t get the fluffy, aromatic flavors that basmati rice brings to the table.
If youdon’t have saffron or don’t want to go to the expense of buying it, ground saffron is a good substitute. Or you can use 1/4 teaspoon turmeric mixed with 1/2 paprika (not smoked). Add both of these substitutions the way saffron threads are used in this recipe.
Yes,you do need this much salt. It may seem like a lot of salt, but this is the only opportunity you will have to season the rice, and most of the salt will be drained off.
Chicken biryani can be made ahead in parts. Marinate the chicken 2 days before serving, the next day cook the chicken until the point that the rice is added, and parboil the rice. On day three, simply finish the final cooking step. If you are needing to do your cooking farther in advance, parboil the rice, and cook the chicken through Step 1, under Biryani, and freeze separately. Ideally, defrost in the fridge a day or two in advance.