Chicken Biryani (Low Spice, Less Oil), Step by Step, Simple and Easy Recipe

If you have been craving a chicken biryani that goes low on oil and spices, you have found the perfect place for the recipe.

Chicken Biryani is an Indian dish that combines masala roasted chicken and rice to make the perfect one-pot meal. The dish is often cooked with high spices in restaurants and dhabas, which created this myth that Biryani means high spice dish.

At Recipe.org.in, I have perfected the art of low spice(masala) and low oil chicken biryani that you can eat guilt free. The ingredients and the recipe is listed below.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For chicken biryani that serves 2 people.

1. Chicken on bone – 250 grams
2. Rice – 150 grams
3. Garam Masala (preferably homemade with no chillies)
4. Onion 2-3
5. Curd – 2-3 tablespoon
6. Kashmiri Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
7. Cumin (Jeera) powder – 1 teaspoon
8. Coriander (Dhania) Powder – 1 teaspoon
9. Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon
10. Mint leaves (for garnishing and masala)
11. Salt – according to taste

Marinate the Chicken

Note: Marinate(verb) is the process of soaking chicken in spices while Marinade(noun) is the thing that we get after the process.

For the Chicken Biryani marinate

1. Wash the chicken to get rid of blood, stray bone pieces and any undesired substance like feathers.
2. Add salt and turmeric, mix well.
3. Next add the following spices in 2-3 tablespoons of curd.
   • 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) powder.
   • 1 teaspoon coriander(dhania) powder
   • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder (optional, skip for those who need zero spice level)
   • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
     • if you don’t want to use readymade paste, mix 1 inch ginger with 1 whole garlic pod and thrash them in a mortar or grind them.
   • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
   • 1 teaspoon mint leaves paste (very important for that restaurant taste)
   • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
4. Add chopped coriander and one chopped green chilli. It will not make the dish spicy due to curd.
5. Mix the spices well and apply on chicken.
6. Let it rest for at least 1.5 hours, but do not marinate beyond 4 hours in the open.

Note: Chicken Biryani marinate yields best taste when kept aside for 2 hours outside the fridge, followed by 4 hours inside the fridge.

This same marinate can also be used for Chicken Chilli and Chicken Pakoda. Restaurants typically do not have separate marinate for each recipe. For Chicken Chilli or Pakoda, just add 1 teaspoon of chaat masala.

Preparing the Rice

The difference in which fancy restaurant and your homemade biryani is the way rice is boiled. Restaurant style Biryani rice is often boiled with a small muslin cloth pouch of spices or with raw spices directly put into the water, like in the picture shown above.

Fragrance in the Rice

This fragrant water lends a unique mild hint of spices in the rice. You can enhance the flavor with a few drops of Kewra Water (be careful, use only 4-5 drops) or with Rose Water.

Additionally, you can also use deep fried golden onion and chopped mint leaves when the rice is about to finish for an additional layer of taste.

A more royal way of preparing Biryani is with a few strands of crushed Saffron which adds a layer of unique fragrance. While using saffron, do not use the above fragrances or it will spoil the rice. You can add a few cashews and raisins at the end while using saffron.

The process of preparing the rice is noted below.

1. Boil water in a pot.
2. Add the following spices.
   • Half teaspoon black cumin (shah or syah jeera), don’t confuse with nigella (kalonji)
   • One clove (laung)
   • Two whole pepper kernels (kali mirch)
   • One Cardamom (ilaichi)
   • Rose Petals (optional)
   • Bay leaf (optional)
3. Let the water come to a rolling boil as shown in the video below.
4. Cook the rice until it is 80% cooked. Check with spoon or spatula by pressing it against a hard surface.

Cooking the Chicken

1. Add some oil into a pan or a Aluminium pressure cooker.
2. Add Syah Jeera (royal cumin) or normal cumin and let it crackle.
3. Add one bay leaf.
4. Add a few slices of chopped onion and let it roast for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the paste created with few mint leaves, 2 medium sized onions, one garlic pod and one inch ginger.
   • Alternatively you can use one tablespoon of ginger garlic paste with the onion paste.
6. Cook the paste till it gets stuck to the bottom of the pan.
7. Add the marinated chicken.
8. Cook for 10 minutes and then add the rice on top as a layer.
9. Sprinkle some leftover rice water (50 ml approx) on the top to prevent the dish from burning.
10. Add food colour (optional).
11. Add a few mint leaves or coriander leaves.
12. Cook in a closed pot on lowest flame for 10 minutes.
13. Turn off the flame and let it sit for another 15 minutes.

After leaving the rice for 15 minutes, open the lid and let the gases escape. Wait for 2 minutes to let excess water evaporate.

Serve in a wide plate.

Layering and Topping

• For the layering part in the above process, spread the chicken evenly at the bottom of the pan.
• Add 20-30 ml rice water to prevent the chicken from being dry.
• Mix the chicken well and let it cook for 20 seconds.
• Add rice on top by evenly spreading on the chicken. This is necessary for the rice to cook and absorb chicken taste.

For topping, you can select from the following.

• Mint leaves
• Golden fried onion
• Saffron Water
• Fried Cashew and Nuts
• Coriander leaves

Serving and Garnishing

Serve the Chicken Biryani on a plate with raita for a refreshing meal.

Optional Garnishing:

1. Mint leaves
2. Slices of onion
3. 1 Teaspoon Ghee
4. Golden Brown fried onion

Frequently Asked Questions