{"title":"How to Make Chicken Biryani (Hyderabadi Style)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/cooking/how-to-make-chicken-biryani","category":{"slug":"cooking","name":"Cooking"},"creator":{"name":"Andy Cooks","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNkn5PNeSqbQTAR5RP-L-Q","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XlMguO9r-M"},"tldr":"Hyderabadi chicken biryani step by step. Crispy fried onions, an overnight yogurt marinade, par-boiled basmati and a dough-sealed pot for the dum.","totalDurationSeconds":913,"difficulty":"advanced","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Start the Crispy Onions","text":"Slice three large red onions as thin as you can manage and get 200ml of peanut oil up to a medium high heat. Add the onions in batches.Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and the onions stew instead of frying. Batches take longer and are the difference between crisp and soggy."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Lift Them Out Golden","text":"Take the onions out with a spider strainer once they are deep golden, and spread them on paper to drain. They crisp further as they cool.A third of them goes into the chicken marinade. The rest is the garnish, and it is worth being strict about that split because they disappear fast."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Marinate the Chicken","text":"Into a large pot go the chicken thighs, a third of the crispy onions, four tablespoons of yogurt, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, ginger and garlic paste, a cinnamon stick, eight cardamom pods, a sliced green chilli, cumin seeds, cloves and a teaspoon of salt.Mix it through with your hands so every piece is coated, then leave it. Four hours minimum, and up to twenty-four."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Rinse and Soak the Rice","text":"Rinse a kilo of aged basmati twice, until the water pouring off is noticeably clearer, then leave it to soak for forty minutes.Rinsing takes off loose surface starch so the grains stay separate. Soaking lets them absorb water gently, which stops the tips shattering when they hit the boil."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Get the Chicken Going","text":"Put the marinated chicken over heat and let it start cooking down. The yogurt loosens, the spices bloom and the base thickens into a rich gravy.Stir occasionally so nothing catches on the bottom. This layer is what flavours all the rice above it, and a scorched base ruins the whole pot."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Layer the Rice on Top","text":"Par-boil the soaked rice in a big pot of salted water until it is roughly two thirds done, drain it, and spread it over the chicken in an even layer.Do not stir it in. The whole point is two distinct layers, with the rice steaming above the chicken rather than boiling in it."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Seal the Pot With Dough","text":"Roll a rope of simple flour and water dough and press it around the rim, then set the lid on so the dough squeezes into the gap.That seal traps every bit of steam inside. It is what dum means, and it is why the rice ends up perfumed all the way through rather than just at the bottom."},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: Garnish and Serve","text":"Break the seal, spoon the biryani onto a platter and lift from the bottom so the chicken comes up through the rice.Scatter over the crispy onions you held back, plus torn mint and coriander. Serve straight away while the steam is still coming off it."}],"recipe":{"servings":"Serves 6 to 8","prepMinutes":45,"cookMinutes":60,"cuisine":"Indian","ingredients":[{"name":"red onions","notes":"sliced thin","amount":"3 large"},{"name":"peanut oil","notes":"for frying the onions","amount":"200 ml"},{"name":"chicken thighs","notes":"skin off","amount":"1 kg"},{"name":"yogurt","amount":"4 tbsp"},{"name":"chilli powder","amount":"1 tsp"},{"name":"ground turmeric","amount":"1/2 tsp"},{"name":"garam masala","amount":"1 tsp"},{"name":"ginger paste","amount":"3 tsp"},{"name":"garlic paste","amount":"1 tsp"},{"name":"lemon","amount":"juice of 1"},{"name":"green chillies","amount":"2"},{"name":"cinnamon sticks","amount":"2"},{"name":"cardamom pods","amount":"12"},{"name":"cumin seeds","amount":"2 tsp"},{"name":"cloves","amount":"6"},{"name":"mint","amount":"1 bunch"},{"name":"coriander","amount":"1 bunch"},{"name":"aged basmati rice","amount":"1 kg"},{"name":"salt","amount":"to taste"}]},"lastUpdated":"2026-08-21T15:43:19.665Z","published":"2026-08-21T15:43:14.765Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}