Hey fellow foodies, this wonderful chicken biryani dish is one of my all time favourites which I have been making for many years. It is an aromatic rice dish which requires preparation but then, the magic happens when it's completely cooked.
If you like rice and chicken, you will absolutely fall in love with this aromatic chicken biryani dish and you will not stop eating even after you are full, how do I know this? Because I am still doing it even after all the years I have been cooking it, well, it's delicious and very tempting.
This is also a dish, that you will find yourself (sampling) every time you go back to the kitchen, assuming you have some biryani left in the pan.
The chicken soup is made naturally from the chicken skin which is then used to cook the rice instead of just normal water and this ads another layer of aroma and flavour which you can't get from chicken broth or any ready-made ingredients
The spices used are all mild which makes this dish aromatic rather than spicy and this is what separates this dish from the many different spicy chicken dishes.
I only use the chicken breasts, thighs and wings, but the original recipe that MAMA used to make uses the whole chicken. I find it easier to do it my way and you're welcome to try different variations to arrive at what you prefer.
Watch the video to learn how to cook the aromatic chicken biryani step by step which shows you how easy it is to make this dish.
Watch how to make the Delicious Aromatic Chicken Biryani
You can also check out the recipe card for the list of ingredients and print it to your computer or copy it to your mobile phone for future use.
Another variation that I use with this dish is to brown the vermicelli with the onions before adding the rice which adds colour to the vermicelli, you can try both methods and decide which one you like better.
The preparation includes cutting the chicken to get it into small pieces for easier cooking. The potatoes are cut into small bite size cubes, the onion is cut into two halves, one half is diced for frying and the other half is sliced for the chicken soup. The garlic and root ginger are finely chopped to fry with the diced onions. The final requirement is to shred the chicken and have it ready to add to the rice.
If you buy the chicken from a local butcher, you can ask them to cut it for you which will save you a few minutes in the preparation.
Start by boiling the chicken, because it will take approximately 45 minutes to cook and then you need to let it cool down for at least 10 minutes before you can start to shred the chicken.
While the chicken is cooling down, you can start boiling the potatoes and you can shred the chicken halfway through, so that the chicken is completely shredded when the potatoes are ready.
You can start to fry the onions and get the rice ready after you add the garden peas to the potatoes, then you can add the shredded chicken, potatoes and peas in a timely fashion.
The rice needs to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes and for best results, the rice should only be covered by the chicken soup, this ensures the rice will cook beautifully with just the correct amount of liquid it needs.
This recipe makes enough chicken biryani for four people and I have always made enough for four people even when there were only 2 of us, that meant we had 2 meals each which has never been left for the next day, always finish all the chicken biryani on the same day it's cooked because it is delicious.
And because it's so tasty, I have often cooked this aromatic chicken biryani during Easter and Christmas holidays as a special treat.
