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Chicken Biryani

Name: Chicken Biryani
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 500 g chicken, in pieces; 300 g basmati rice; 150 g yoghurt; 2 onions, fried; 1 tsp each ginger-garlic; 1 tsp biryani masala; Saffron in milk; Handful mint, coriander; Ghee

Marinate the chicken at least 30 minutes or the spices never reach the bone; overnight is better..

By Dana Reyes

Published 23 Sep 2026 · Tested 2 times · 0 comments

Chicken Biryani — Rest it sealed so the steam finishes the rice in the spices.

25 min

Prep time

45 min

Cook time

Serves

4.7

NEW

A project dish that earns its place

Marinate the chicken at least 30 minutes or the spices never reach the bone; overnight is better.

Par-cook the rice to 70% so it finishes in the steam without turning to mush.

We tested sealing with dough and with foil. Foil is easier and holds the steam just as well.

Instructions

About 80 min from start to finish

Marinate the chicken in yoghurt, ginger-garlic and masala 30 minutes.

Par-boil the rice to 70%; drain.

Fry the marinated chicken until sealed; layer with rice, fried onion, herbs and saffron milk.

Seal the pot, steam on low 25 minutes, then rest 10.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

No saffron

A pinch of turmeric in the milk keeps the colour.

Faster

Use boneless chicken and cut the steam to 18 minutes.

Questions we get a lot

Why seal it?

Trapped steam is what cooks the rice through in the spice.

Dry rice?

You par-boiled too long; next time pull it earlier.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.