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Chicken Tikka Biryani

Chicken Tikka Biryani is a traditional Indian recipe for a biryani made with previously cooked tikka-spiced chicken. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Chicken Tikka Biryani.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

90 minutes

Total Time:

105 minutes

Additional Time:

(+6 hours marinating)

Serves:

6

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : CurrySpice RecipesChicken RecipesIndian Recipes


This is a combination of two classic Indian dishes: chicken tikka and biryani. This is not the usual meat biryani. Here the chicken is spiced and cooked separately from the rice dish and the barbecued chicken is then served on top of the rice.

Ingredients:

For the Chicken tikka:
Simply follow this site’s Chicken Tikka recipe to prepare these.

For the Masala:
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
2 large onions, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp minced ginger (ginger paste)
1 tsp minced garlic (garlic paste)
1 tsp ground cumin (cumin powder)
1 tsp ground coriander (coriander powder)
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder (Kashmiri chilli)
20g (1 cup) coriander (cilantro) leaves
30g (1 cup) mint leaves
120ml (1/2 cup) yoghurt
5 saffron threads infused in 60ml (1/4 cup) warm milk
Salt to taste

For the Chicken tikka biryani:
400g (2 cups) basmati rice
2 tbsp oil
3 bay leaves (Indian bay for preference)
2 tbsp lemon juice
Water
Salt to taste
10g (1/2 cup) chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
15g (1/2 cup) chopped mint leaves
Fried cashew nuts and raisins, to garnish

Method:

For the Chicken tikka: Prepare the chicken tikka kebabs exactly according to this site’s chicken tikka recipe.

For the Chicken tikka biryani: Begin by preparing the biryani masala. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and tomatoes. Fry for 3-4 minutes or until the onions start to brown. Add ginger paste and garlic paste and continue frying for another 2-3 minutes or until aromatic.

Now add the ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala and red chilli powder. Continue frying for 1 minute then add the coriander (cilantro) leaves, mint leaves and yogurt. Stir well to combine and cook for a further 2 minutes. Separate the chicken tikkas from the skewers and add them to the masala along with the saffron-infused milk (reserve about half a dozen). Season to taste with salt and stir to combine. Allow the ingredients to teat through then remove from heat and set aside.

To cook the rice for the biryani, soak rice in plenty of water for 20 minutes. Drain in a fine-meshed sieve then place over a bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan, wok or karahi over medium-high heat. Add the bay leaves and fry for few seconds then stir-in the rice. Continue frying for 2 minutes before adding the lemon juice. Now pour in just enough water to cover and season with salt then stir to mix. At this point increase the heat to high, bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently, covered, for about 5 minutes or until rice is half cooked then drain in a sieve.

To layer the biryani, pour some of the masala into the base of a heat-proof casserole or heavy-bottomed pan, followed by a layer of rice and a sprinkling of coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves. Add add another layer of masala, rice and herbs. Repeat the layering process until the masala, rice and herbs are finished. Garnish with fried nuts and raisins and the reserved chicken.

You can finish cooking on the hob, but I prefer covering the dish with a tight-fitting lid, transferring to an oven pre-heated to 180C and baking for 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.

Serve straight from the pan, garnished with wedges of lemon or lime and accompanied by raita.

As an alternative you can cook the biryani without the chicken then spoon the rice onto plates and sit a skewer on top.