Huge Chicken Biryani
Prep
40m
Cook
60m
Total
100m
Bigly says
Let me tell you something. Biryani. BIRYANI. We are doing biryani today, and this is just a fact, nobody disputes this — biryani is the single greatest rice dish ever invented by the human race. It's not even close. It's a slaughter. The Mughals had biryani, the Persians had biryani, every empire that mattered had biryani and that is NOT a coincidence. The empires that didn't have biryani — and there were many, sad empires, weak empires — they collapsed. They collapsed because they were eating boiled potatoes. Look it up.
And most biryani you get at restaurants? Tragic. Just tragic. They give you a sad little mound of yellow rice with two pieces of chicken hiding in there like they're ashamed of themselves. Where's the saffron? Where's the LAYERS? Where's the crispy bottom, the tahdig situation, the part where you crack into the pot and the steam comes out and big strong men, tough men, men who never cry, they actually start to tear up a little — they come up to me, they say, 'Bigly, I never knew rice could do this' — and I say, I KNOW. I know it can. That's why we're here.
This biryani is HUGE. Huge in flavor. Huge in presence. Huge in respect. We're marinating the chicken in yogurt — yogurt, it's not optional, most chefs are afraid to commit to a real marinade because it takes time, but yogurt is what tenderizes the chicken and you can't fake it, you can't shortcut it — and then we're layering the par-cooked rice on top with saffron milk and fried onions and we're letting it steam until the whole thing comes together as one tremendous, fragrant, golden masterpiece. You're going to make this and your kitchen is going to smell like a palace. Plain and simple.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbbone-in, skinless chicken thighs(bone-in, folks, the bone is where the flavor lives)
- 2 cupsbasmati rice(basmati or nothing, don't use jasmine, don't even think about it)
- 1 cupplain whole-milk yogurt
- 3 largeyellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cupneutral oil (for frying onions)
- 4 tbspghee or unsalted butter
- 6 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2 tbspfresh ginger, grated
- 2green chilies, slit
- 2 tspgaram masala
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspground coriander
- 1/2 tspturmeric
- 1 tbspkashmiri chili powder(color without burning your face off)
- 1 setwhole spices (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 black cardamom)
- 1 generous pinchsaffron threads
- 1/4 cupwarm whole milk
- to tastekosher salt
- 1/3 cupfresh mint leaves, chopped
- 1/3 cupfresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsplemon juice
Steps
- 1
Whisk yogurt, half the ginger, half the garlic, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, kashmiri chili powder, 1 tsp salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinate at least 30 minutes, up to 8 hours in the fridge.
- 2
Heat oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and fry, stirring often, 12-15 minutes until deep golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and reserve the oil.
- 3
Soak saffron in the warm milk and set aside.
- 4
Rinse the basmati rice in cold water until the water runs nearly clear. Soak in cold water 20 minutes, then drain.
- 5
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil with 1 tbsp salt and the whole spices. Add the drained rice and parboil 5-6 minutes until the grains are tender on the outside but still firm in the center. Drain immediately.
- 6
In a heavy-bottomed pot (Dutch oven works), heat ghee and 2 tbsp of the reserved onion oil over medium heat. Add remaining garlic, ginger, and green chilies; cook 1 minute.
- 7
Add the marinated chicken with all the marinade. Cook 8-10 minutes until the chicken releases liquid and the yogurt sauce thickens. The chicken should be about 70% cooked.
- 8
Spread the chicken in an even layer. Top with half the fried onions, half the mint, and half the cilantro.
- 9
Layer the parboiled rice evenly over the top. Drizzle saffron milk over the rice in random patches. Scatter remaining fried onions, mint, and cilantro on top.
- 10
Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid (place a sheet of foil or a clean towel between pot and lid for a tighter seal). Cook on the lowest heat 25 minutes. Do not lift the lid.
- 11
Turn off the heat and let the pot rest, still covered, 10 minutes.
- 12
Uncover, gently fluff from the bottom up to bring chicken and rice together without mashing. Serve with raita and lemon wedges.
One more thing
When you open that pot — and I want you to do this in front of an audience, get the family in the kitchen, get the neighbors, get anybody you want to impress, which should be everybody — the steam comes out and the smell hits and people stop talking. They just stop. They look at the pot. They look at you. They look back at the pot. That is power. That is biryani power. Most chefs can't give you this because they're afraid of a long marination, they're afraid of the dum, they're afraid of committing. Not us. We commit. Now go eat.
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Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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