Bombay Chicken Biryani|Pakistani Biryani

A mouth-watering, flavourful Bombay Chicken Biryani (Pakistani biryani recipe) is a perfect treat for weekends or occasions that everyone would certainly love it.

Jump to:

• About the biryani recipe
• Ingredients
• How to make Pakistani chicken biryani?
• Storage suggestions
• How to avoid chicken biryani getting wet?
• How to avoid biryani getting stuck at the bottom?
• What are some common mistakes when making chicken biryani?
• Tips n suggestions
• Recipe

About the biryani recipe

This Pakistani biryani recipe is a heavenly delicacy prepared with marinated chicken, fried onions, and flavourful long-grain rice. The recipe calls for chicken marination using Bombay biryani masala that infuses aromatic spices into the biryani and is thus named Bombay chicken biryani.

I use Shan Special Bombay Biryani in this recipe, a blend of several aromatic spices, and is suitable for recipes and seasonings. I highly recommend using this masala if you are lazy like me to make your biryani masala.

Chicken Pakistani biryani is a heavy, costly, and time-consuming preparation. But trust me, all the effort and money are worthwhile when you look at this rich dish which is truly a feast for the senses.

For any biryani to come out perfect, the selection of rice is quite significant. A biryani with fluffy, non-sticky long-grain rice is a treat to the eyes.

Consider the following characteristics of rice that are good for biryani:

• It must be Basmati rice.
• It should be aged.
• Long grain.
• Aromatic.

Ingredients

To make Pakistani biryani recipe chicken, we need the following items:

• Chicken
  • I prefer boneless chicken for making biryani as it takes less time to cook, a time-saving hack!!
  • For this recipe, I have taken chicken breast.
• Rice
  • Use long-grain Basmati rice.
  • Long grain Basmati rice is the best for making biryani as they come out with perfect, non-sticky fluffy rice grains after cooking.
• Shan Biryani masala
  • It is a must-have biryani ingredient for flavour-rich biryani.
  • This masala is too spicy, so use it carefully.
  • You can get this masala at any Asian grocery store.
  • You are free to use any biryani masala. I always use this and am highly dependent on this masala as biryani comes out perfect every time I cook.
• Ginger garlic paste
  • Use fresh if you have time. Otherwise, store-bought also works well.
  • I make it by grinding fresh ginger (2 inches) and garlic (8-10 cloves) in a mixer using one tablespoon of water.
• Yogurt
  • I use full-fat yogurt. Feel free to use any.
  • It helps in marination, so don't skip this.
• Onions
  • Chop thin, long slices and separate them for frying.
  • Use half of the fried onions for making biryani and half for garnish.
• Tomatoes
  • Use fresh and red ones to give brilliant colour to the biryani.
  • I blend them to make a paste.
• Spices
  • Salt, cinnamon, bay leaf, black & green cardamoms, star anise, cloves, kewra water.
• Cilantro
  • Optional - few for garnish.

How to make Pakistani chicken biryani?

For the full recipe, check out the video below.

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Let's dive in ....

Step-1 Marinate chicken

• Clean and cut the chicken into pieces of the size you like. You can either buy pre-cut pieces of a whole chicken.
  
• Combine chicken, freshly prepared ginger-garlic paste, Bombay biryani masala, and yogurt in a mixing bowl.
  
• Mix well to incorporate all the spices.
  
• Cover and allow it to marinate for 2 hours or overnight (keeping it in the fridge.) You are free to do whatever best suits you.

Step- 2 Cook rice

• Soak basmati rice for at least 30 minutes.
  
• In a wok, add water, salt, spices (cinnamon, bay leaf, black cardamoms, star anise, cloves, green cardamoms), kewra water, and drained rice (previously soaked).
  
• Cover with a lid and cook rice at least 75%.
  
• Drain and keep the rice aside. (images below)

Step-3 Fry onions

• Chop onions into thin slices.
  
• Fry them in medium hot oil until turning golden brown.
  
• Spread on a paper towel. Be sure to keep each onion slice separated to make them crispy. (images below)

Step- 4 Chicken Biryani Assembly (pics below)

1. To the same pan where onions were fried, remove excess oil and pour marinated chicken into the remaining oil. Cook chicken for 7-8 minutes so that all the spices in the marinade gets blended into the oil.
   
2. When chicken gets slightly tender, add tomato puree and cook it till 75% is done.
   
3. Add fried onions, saute for 3-5 minutes.
   
4. When oil is released, spread evenly parboiled rice over the chicken.
   
5. Add fried onions on top of the rice layer.
   
6. Cover with a lid. Place the pan on a griddle (Tawa) on low heat for 12-15 minutes or till you get the desired cooked biryani.

• After 15 minutes, please turn off the stove and keep it under steam for 5-10 minutes.
  
• Give a good mix with a spatula to mix the rice and chicken well.
  
• Garnish with fried onions and freshly chopped cilantro leaves on the top.
  
• Serve hot and enjoy Bombay chicken biryani!!

Storage suggestions

You can store this chicken biryani in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container. Be sure to heat it properly before serving.

How to avoid chicken biryani getting wet?

Biryani gets wet when there is a lot of moisture left after cooking. If you find your cooked chicken biryani is wet, consider the following points to overcome this:

• Marinate the chicken in yogurt and spices before cooking. In this way, it oozes out most of its moisture into the marinade instead of the biryani.
  
• Cook the marinated chicken 75% before adding rice.
  
• Drain the parboiled rice before layering for biryani.
  
• Please do not add water unless it is required while making biryani.

How to avoid biryani getting stuck at the bottom?

It is the most common problem we face when we make it for the first time. To avoid biryani sticking at the bottom, you can consider the following:

1. Don't skimp on using oil. Always use a generous amount while preparing biryani.
   
2. Use a thick bottom vessel.
   
3. If you find the partially cooked chicken is dry, consider adding a small amount of water.
   
4. Add fried onions to the chicken and the biryani as well.
   
5. After adding rice, cook it on low heat.

What are some common mistakes when making chicken biryani?

1. The most common mistake we all might face while preparing a biryani is not generously doing labour, as it is a time-consuming delicacy. So please do not compromise on time, as each step plays a crucial role in the overall biryani outcome.
   
2. Biryani masala is the most crucial step in the biryani. If you use it too much, biryani will be too spicy to handle, and if it is not enough, you can miss the richness of the biryani. Use enough amount of masala to coat the chicken while marinating.
   
3. If not using the right quality of rice. Always use long-grain, aged basmati rice for fluffy, non-sticky rice grains.
   
4. Boiling rice to the full extent makes biryani sticky. Remember, cook it to 75% and cook the rest of the rice with the partially cooked chicken.
   
5. Chicken is not cooked well before adding parboiled rice.
   
6. Too much water in the chicken while adding parboiled rice. It may cause sticky, wet biryani.
   
7. The chicken is too dry while adding parboiled rice. It may cause dry biryani that can stick at the bottom.
   
8. Adding too much oil that it is overflowing may ruin the biryani.
   
9. Cooking biryani on high heat may burn the biryani.
   
10. Onion slices are thickly chopped. It will not crisp after frying. Make sure to cut thin slices of onions.
    
11. Over-fried onion slices. Fry onions till golden brown. Overfrying will impart a bitter taste to the biryani.
    
12. Please remember biryani is a rich and costly preparation so, please do not compromise on the quality of the ingredients as ingredients are the base of a delicious biryani.

For best results, I suggest you follow a detailed recipe the first few times until you learn the ingredients and techniques.

Tips n suggestions

1. Please do not compromise on the time and ingredients for making biryani.
   
2. Soak rice for at least half an hour before cooking.
   
3. Marinate chicken for at least 2 hours.
   
4. Always try to use fresh ginger-garlic paste. It takes the dish to the next level.
   
5. If you have saffron, make use of it. It gives a brilliant color to the biryani.
   
6. This recipe is mildly spicy. For spicier, you can add chili powder and more biryani masala.
   
7. Add salt carefully as the biryani masala already contains it.
   
8. You can also add nuts. Be sure to saute them before adding in biryani.
   
9. Fry onions in a large batch as you need a lot for garnishing before serving.
   
10. Make sure to separate fried onion slices from each other to keep them crispy.
    
11. Always cook biryani on low heat after layering.
    
12. Please don't add water unless you feel the cooked chicken is dry.
    
13. Avoid over-frying onions as this can make biryani bitter.

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Recipe