Traditionally Biryani is made with marinated meat and layered cooked rice, with different types of spices/seasonings and saffron, for that extra flavor. Biryani, is one such dish that is made almost in every part of the world. And therefore, we see lots of variation in taste, flavor, and make methods. With our busy lifestyle we all want a quick and easy recipe, which is easy to follow and tastes good too.
I love to cook traditional recipes, but many a times authentic way of cooking is quite time consuming and becomes tedious at times. Therefore, I try to modify the recipe to fit my lifestyle. And this version of Chicken Biryani is one of the recipes, where I try to keep the authenticity of the recipe, but at the same time is easier to make, than the traditional one.
Biryani, to my experience is made mainly of two components, first the meat part and second is the rice. The flavors and texture of both meat and rice are extremely important in cooking a perfect Biryani. I am sharing some of my tips that will definitely help you make a perfect Biryani every time. Happy Cooking!
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| CHICKEN BIRYANI |
I like to serve chicken biryani with some cucumber raita and some salad. Enjoy!!
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| CHICKEN BIRYANI, CUCUMBER RAITA, SALAD |
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CHICKEN BIRYANI
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: chicken biryani
Diet: Non-vegetarian
Method: Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker / Stove Top
Servings: 8
Author: Jyoti Behrani |
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Ingredients:
8 piece chicken drumsticks
2 cup Basmati rice
¼ cup warm milk
Pinch of saffron
1 + ½ cup water
3 medium onion sliced
2 green chili (optional)
Handful of fresh cilantro
Handful of fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoon lime juice
5 tablespoon oil
For marination:
½ cup yogurt
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
2 green chili (optional)
1 ½ tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon red chili powder (optional)
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
Salt to taste
Whole Spices:
1 tablespoon Shah jeera (or cumin seeds)
4 green cardamom
6 cloves
10 to 12 peppercorn
1 bay leaf
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Instructions for Instant Pot Cooking:
Step 1: Clean the chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
Make slits in the drumsticks.
Mix all the ingredients listed under marination. Add chicken, mix well. Keep the marinated chicken for minimum of an hour, or overnight.
Rinse and soak rice for 30 min. After 30 min, drain the rice and keep it aside.
Soak saffron in warm milk.
Step 2: Turn on Saute mode. Add oil, sliced onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and saute till onion turns light brown color. 10 to 12 min. Remove a tablespoon of onion and keep it aside to use it later. Add whole spices, saute for few min.
Add the marinated chicken, saute for few min. Add ½ cup of water, and mix well, and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Switch to Manual mode for 3 min.
Let pressure release naturally.
Step 3: After NPR for 10 min. (NPR: Natural Pressure Release)
Adjust the seasoning. Add soaked rice, lime juice, 1 cup water, milk with saffron, cilantro, mint, green chili (optional), and fried onion. Turn on Manual mode for 2 min.
Let pressure release naturally.
Step 4: After NPR for 10 min. (NPR: Natural Pressure Release)
Chicken biryani is ready to serve. I like to serve it with some cucumber raita, and some salad. Enjoy!
Instructions for Pressure Cooker Cooking:
Step 1: Clean the chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
Make slits in the drumsticks.
Mix all the ingredients listed under marination. Add chicken, mix well. Keep the marinated chicken for minimum of an hour, or overnight.
Rinse and soak rice for 30 min. After 30 min, drain the rice and keep it aside.
Soak saffron in warm milk.
Step 2: Turn on heat, in a pressure cooker, add oil, sliced onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and saute till onion turns light brown color. 10 to 12 min. Remove a tablespoon of onion and keep it aside to use it later. Add whole spices, saute for few min.
Add the marinated chicken, saute for few min. Add ½ cup of water, and mix well, and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Close the pressure cooker, after the first whistle, lower the heat and cook for 3 min.
Let pressure release naturally.
Step 3: After NPR for 10 min. (NPR: Natural Pressure Release)
Adjust the seasoning. Add soaked rice, lime juice, 1 cup water, milk with saffron, cilantro, mint, green chili (optional), and fried onion. Close the pressure cooker, after the first whistle, lower the heat and cook for 2 min.
Let pressure release naturally.
Step 4: After NPR for 10 min. (NPR: Natural Pressure Release)
Chicken biryani is ready to serve. I like to serve it with some cucumber raita, and some salad. Enjoy!
Instructions for Stove Top Cooking:
Step 1: Clean the chicken and pat dry with paper towel.
Make slits in the drumsticks.
Mix all the ingredients listed under marination. Add chicken, mix well. Keep the marinated chicken for minimum of an hour, or overnight.
Rinse and soak rice for 30 min. After 30 min, drain the rice and keep it aside.
Soak saffron in warm milk.
Step 2: Turn on heat, in a pot, add oil, sliced onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and saute till onion turns light brown color. 10 to 12 min. Remove a tablespoon of onion and keep it aside to use it later. Add whole spices, saute for few min.
Add the marinated chicken, saute for few min. Add ½ cup of water, and mix well, and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Cover the pot and cook the chicken until chicken is cooked.
Step 3: Add soaked rice, lime juice, 1 cup water, milk with saffron, cilantro, mint, green chili (optional), and fried onion. Cover and let it come to a boil, lower the heat and cook till rice is cooked.
Step 4: Chicken biryani is ready to serve. I like to serve it with some cucumber raita, and some salad. Enjoy! |
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Note(s):
1: Marinating the chicken for a longer period of time, does help enhance the flavor and taste of Biryani. I usually marinate chicken overnight, for all the spices and flavor to be absorbed in the chicken.
2: Quantity of liquid, plays very important role when pressure cooking. I am using 2 cups of Basmati rice, soaked for 30 min. Therefore, the quantity of liquid, must not be more than 2 cups. The way I calculate is ¼ cup milk with saffron + 1 ½ cup of water + water from the cooked chicken. This assures each and every grain of rice is fluffy and separate. |
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Rani says
Had bookmarked this recipe for a long time and finally got to make it tonight for dinner!
Turned out really good !!
Jyoti Behrani says
Hi Rani, I am so glad you liked my recipe 🙂 Thanks for sharing your feedback!