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    Home » Recipes » Main Dish

    Chicken Biryani Rice

    By Lily・Published: Jun 25, 2020・Updated: Mar 25, 2025・Post may have affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Chicken biryani rice is made with fragrant basmati rice, curry leaf, spices, ginger, garlic, marinated tender chicken, fresh mint, cilantro, toasted cashews, and golden raisins.

    the best chicken biryani rice recipe

    This is not categorized as a Mediterranean or Middle Eastern recipe, but it's too good to not share (kind of like this Bengali chicken curry). If you are looking for a way to try new spices and flavors and love chicken and rice, this recipe is for you, my friend!

    Chicken Biryani

    Biryani is popular across South Asia. There are many different variations, depending on the region. My Sri Lankan friend, Sophia, gave me this Indian chicken biryani recipe that was passed through the Indian side of her family. She supervised me making it a few times, and I detail step by step instructions below. If I can make it, so can you!

    chicken biryani rice in a clear bowl

    Ingredients Notes

    Chicken biryani rice has a lot of ingredients and spices. I will break down the spices into three categories: chicken marinade, biryani rice, and biryani rice toppings.

    Chicken Marinade

    • Chicken: Use skinless chicken breast or a whole chicken cut up without the skin. Boneless skinless chicken breast is also an option.
    • Yogurt: Use plain yogurt, either fat-free or full-fat.

    Rice Ingredient Notes

    whole spices for Indian chicken biryani rice
    • Basmati rice: Basmati rice is the preferred rice for this dish. Sona masoori rice is a second preference.
    • Fresh curry leaf: This ingredient is hard to find at a local grocery store. I highly recommend using this ingredient if you can find it. Dried curry leaf is an appropriate substitute.
    • Star anise: This spice has a licorice taste and adds a lot of flavor to the rice. This ingredient needs to be whole as well. If it's ground, it will add too much flavor, which will overpower the rest of the dish.

    What Is Curry Leaf?

    Fresh curry leaf is an herb that is different from curry powder. Curry leaf is very aromatic and adds a lot of flavor. When cooking with curry leaves, remove the leaves individually from the stem.

    curry leaf on the table

    How To Make Indian Chicken Biryani Rice

    Chicken biryani rice is split into three stages: marinating the chicken, making the rice, and making the rice toppings. I've broken these three stages into more detail in the next sections.

    Marinate the Chicken

    Remove the skin from the chicken, if there is any. Cut the chicken into 2" (5 cm) sections. Squeeze some fresh lemon and salt on the chicken. Let sit while preparing the biryani marinade.

    chicken biryani marinade ingredients in a bowl

    Add the yogurt, garam masala powder, biryani powder, chili powder, and turmeric powder in a bowl.

    chicken biryani marinade

    Mix everything. It will look a little bit like spicy mustard.

    chicken marinating with biryani marinade

    Add the biryani marinade to the chicken and mix well. Let the chicken marinate for a minimum of 15 minutes.

    basmati rice up close

    Soak the basmati rice grains for 10 minutes while the chicken is marinating.

    Make The Biryani Rice

    Prepare the ingredients. Slice the red onion. Slice the chili peppers down the middle. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Remove the peel from the ginger and cut it into similar-sized pieces as the garlic.

    garlic and ginger mashed with a mortar and pestle

    Mash the garlic and fresh ginger with a mortar and pestle until pulverized. A ginger garlic paste will form.

    cooking the spices and red onion in ghee

    Add the ghee and coconut oil to a large pot on medium-high heat. Once it's hot, add the cinnamon stick, curry leaf, red onion, cardamom pods, star anise, and bay leaf.

    adding the marinated biryani chicken to the spices

    Add the mashed garlic and ginger paste once the red onion softens. Then, add the sliced green chilies, marinated chicken pieces, and chopped tomatoes. Mix well. Turn the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes.

    adding the basmati rice

    Add the soaked basmati rice.

    adding water to the basmati rice

    Pour in the water (or stock). Mix everything. Turn the heat on high to get the rice to a boil. Once the rice starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium.

    the chicken biryani rice done cooking

    Once the water is level with the rice, stir the rice with two turns. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes on very low heat or until the rice is tender.

    Prepare the Toppings

    Roast the cashews and golden raisins in a pan in the oven at 400 ℉ (205 ℃) for 5 minutes. Alternatively, roast in a pan on the stovetop in a frying pan on medium heat until the color changes.

    cashews and golden raisins on a pan to be toasted
    toasted cashews and golden raisins

    Slice the white onion into circles. Deep fry in oil or pan-fry in olive oil until golden brown. Remove the fried onions using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate.

    chopped cilantro and chopped mint

    Chop the mint and cilantro (coriander leaves).

    adding chopped cilantro and chopped mint to the biryani rice

    Mix the fresh herbs into the fluffy rice. Top the rice with toasted cashews, golden raisins, and caramelized onions.

    Indian chicken biryani rice recipe

    Serve the cooked rice as a complete meal alongside a yogurt salad or bowl of homemade yogurt.

    Tips and Tricks

    • Two types of chicken work best for this recipe: a whole chicken cut up into pieces with the bone (remove the skin) and using chicken breast chunks without the skin and bone.
    • Marinate the chicken. The chicken can be marinated while soaking the rice and preparing the biryani rice ingredients.
    • Use ghee. If you don't have ghee on hand, you can use butter. The taste will not be the same, but it will still be close enough.
    • Use long-grain rice(like basmati rice). Basmati rice is the best for this recipe, with sona masoori as a close second!
    spicy chicken biryani rice

    Substitutions and Variations

    • Use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast.
    • Make this instant pot chicken biryani by cooking the rice in a pressure cooker.
    • Turn up the spice by adding more red chili powder or green chilis.

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    📋 Recipe

    close up of chicken biryani rice

    Chicken Biryani Rice

    Author: Lily
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Indian
    Prep: 20 minutes mins
    Cook: 40 minutes mins
    Total: 1 hour hr
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Rate Email
    Servings 12
    Here's the best Indian chicken biryani rice recipe that is approachable and delicious! Made with golden raisins, cashews, basmati rice, marinated chicken, chopped mint, and cilantro, what's not to love!

    Ingredients
     
    US Customary - Metric

    Chicken & Marinade

    • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or substitute double the weight with bone-in chicken (skin removed)
    • 1 cup plain yogurt
    • ½ tablespoon turmeric powder
    • 1 ½ tablespoon ground garam masala powder
    • 2 tablespoon ground biryani masala powder
    • ½ tablespoon kashmiri chili powder or other spicy chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground paprika

    Biryani Rice

    • 4 cups basmati rice
    • 6 cups water
    • 5 garlic cloves
    • 3 tablespoon fresh ginger
    • 8 cardamom pods
    • 4 star of anise
    • ½ cinnamon stick
    • 3 whole fresh chili
    • 4 tablespoon ghee
    • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
    • 2 medium red onion
    • 3 small tomato or 2 medium tomatoes
    • 10 fresh curry leaves
    • 4 bay leaves

    Biryani Rice Toppings

    • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro coriander
    • 1 cup chopped fresh mint **optional
    • 40 cashews
    • ¼ cup of golden raisins
    • 1 white onion fried

    Instructions

    Marinate the Chicken

    • Cut the chicken into desired pieces. Add lemon and salt to the chicken.
    • In a separate bowl, add 1 cup of yogurt, turmeric powder, ground garam masala powder, ground biryani masala powder, chili powder, and paprika. Mix all of the ingredients together.
    • Add the yogurt biryani marinade to the chicken and mix well. Let the chicken rest for a minimum of 15 minutes.

    Make the Biryani Rice

    • Soak the basmati rice in water for 10 minutes.
    • On medium heat. Add oil and ghee to the pan. Add the whole cardamom, cinnamon stick, curry leaf, bay leaf, star of anise, and sliced red onion.
    • Mash the garlic and ginger paste with a mortar and pestle. Once the onion starts to get golden brown, add the crushed garlic and ginger. Add chili peppers that are sliced down the center.
    • Add the chicken and chopped tomatoes. Continue to cook on medium for 10 minutes covered.
    • Add basmati rice and 6 cups of water on high heat uncovered. Mix well. Once the rice starts to boil, then turn to medium.
    • Once the water goes below the rice, mix slowly 2 turns, then cover the rice and turn to low heat. Rice is cooked once tender (after about 15 minutes).

    Make the Biryani Rice Toppings

    • Slice the white onion. In a separate pot, fry the white onion in vegetable oil to a golden brown color. Alternatively, pan fry the onion in some olive oil.
    • Wash and remove the mint and cilantro leaves. Chop the mint and cilantro.
    • Toast the cashews in a dry pan on medium heat.
    • On top of the biryani, add the fried onion, toasted cashews, golden raisins, chopped cilantro, and chopped mint.

    Notes

    1. The nutrition facts are using 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast.
    2. Storage: Store chicken biryani in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2 cups | Calories: 473 kcal | Carbohydrates: 69 g | Protein: 22 g | Fat: 13 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 34 mg | Sodium: 55 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 6 g

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    About Lily

    Howdy! My name is Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks to the fridge, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 7 votes (1 rating without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Ubaid

      July 19, 2023 at 9:40 am

      5 stars
      Thanks for the recipe.
      You can make biryani in 1 hour? This is amazing.

      What do you think of using Sella rice for biryani?

      With love from

      Reply
      • Lily

        July 19, 2023 at 10:05 am

        Hi Ubaid, thanks for the comment. You can use sella rice or basmati rice for this recipe. I just don't recommend using a short grain rice because it gets sticky.

        Reply
    2. Kelsey S.

      May 27, 2022 at 6:12 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve never made Biryani before. I have eaten plenty of it from Indian Restaurants. I work with a lot of Indian & Pakastani people, not to mention my husband is Guyanese. (I’m American Caucasian). I’ve ALWAYS love to eat from other cultures, I find the flavors AMAZING compared to what I grew up with. I just finished making it today and took it to work for the boys, they couldn’t stop eating! I was so proud I pulled it off & I’m so grateful for this recipe. I love good spicy so I think the only thing I’ll change next time is added more pepper. Thank you so much. My only Biryani recipe I’ll ever make again!

      Reply
      • Lily

        May 27, 2022 at 6:38 pm

        Thank you Kelsey for the comment, it’s comments like these that inspire my desire to share recipes!! This biryani recipe is actually given to me by my fried Sophia. It’s a little intimidating the first time, but so so worth it.

        Reply
    3. Biana

      June 13, 2021 at 8:18 am

      5 stars
      I like Chicken Biryani, but have never made it myself. Thank you for sharing the step by step instructions, looking forward to making it.

      Reply
      • Lily

        June 13, 2021 at 8:38 am

        Oh yea it's super easy once you give it a go! Hope you like it.

        Reply
    4. Petro

      June 13, 2021 at 6:19 am

      Sounds and looks incredibly delicious! I've always wanted to give this recipe a try, thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Lily

        June 13, 2021 at 8:39 am

        Hope you like it, thanks for the comment!

        Reply
    5. Jac

      June 13, 2021 at 3:14 am

      5 stars
      Love all the spices and flavours in this recipe. And the delicious textures of cashews and raisins, Never tried mint on top of a rice dish before and it was surprisingly tasty. We all enjoyed it with naan breads 🙂

      Reply
      • Lily

        June 13, 2021 at 8:40 am

        So glad you liked the recipe!

        Reply
    6. Amanda

      June 07, 2021 at 7:58 am

      5 stars
      This turned out so good! The fresh mint, cardamom and ginger added such a wonderful flavor.

      Reply
      • Lily

        June 13, 2021 at 8:38 am

        So glad you liked it!

        Reply
    7. Lauren Vavala Harris

      June 01, 2021 at 6:47 pm

      5 stars
      This is one of my husbands favorite recipes! Saving this so I can make it for him soon - looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Lily

        June 13, 2021 at 8:44 am

        Thanks so much for the comment and hope he enjoys it!

        Reply

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    lily at the matbakh

    I'm Lily

    I'm an American Lebanese living in Texas. My kitchen, or matbakh, is a hodgepodge of recipes from the U.S. and Mediterranean region.

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