Sindhi Chicken Biryani

Sindhi Chicken Biryani

Perfectly layered rice with tender and spicy chicken, mint, lemon and coriander – this Sindhi chicken biryani is beautifully aromatic and full of flavour.

There are different versions and types of Biryani around like Bombay Biryani, Hyderabadi Biryani , Dehli Biryani and list can go on. This Biryani recipe is Sindhi style which is hot and spicy. Personally this is my favourite version of biryani. The best thing about Biryani is that its a feast in itself and there is no need for anything elaborate to go along. And it makes for the best left overs !!

Sindhi Chicken Biryani recipe

What is Sindhi Biryani ?

Well all Biryanis are not the same. The difference in cooking technique and ingredients, create distinct taste for each type. Sindhi Biryani originates from Southern Pakistan ( Sindh Province). Sindhi Biryani is an aromatic Biryani which differs in many ways from other Biryanis. It is spicy and tangy. It uses lots of tomatoes and dried plums as apposed to Hyderabadi Biryani which has no tomatoes. Also, potatoes are a must have in Sindhi Biryani.

Ingredients for Sindhi Chicken Biryani

The recipe for Biryani looks daunting with a long list of ingredients ,but if you follow the recipe step by step, it is not difficult at all. The ingredients required for Sindhi Chicken Biryani are:

Rice – the best choice of rice for Biryani is Basmati rice as they are considered to be premium quality rice. They are long grain and have distinct aroma. The rice grains remain separate and fluffy. Basmati rice require less water for cooking. Jasmine rice are the second best option.

Meat– Biryani can made with any meat, chicken( with bone or boneless), beef, mutton and even seafood ( fish or prawn). Chicken Biryani is by far the most popular. I have used chicken with bones.

Potatoes – are a must in Sindhi style biryani.

Spices – Biryani gets all its aroma and taste from spices used. Different type of chillies ( powder, whole, dried) each give their own distinctive taste. To make it easy the spices can be broken down into two parts. The whole spices like Cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper corns and star anise are used to make rice fragrant.

Red chilli Powder, Turmeric, crushed chilli, Cumin seeds, whole red dried chilli, coriander powder and garam masala add flavour to chicken.

Yoghurt – the yoghurt is plain, Greek yoghurt is best option. It gives creamy texture and thickens the gravy.

Tomatoes – fresh tomatoes thinly chopped

Dried Plums or Prunes – are an essential for Sindhi biryani. They give this sweet and tangy flavour and contributes to aroma of Biryani.

Lemon, Mint, Coriander – give a beautiful flavour and aroma to Biryani.

Sindhi Chicken Biryani

HOW To Make Sindhi Biryani

There are 3 steps in making biryani. I’m going to break it down step by step to make it easy to follow

Prepare Meat Curry – Fry the onions until they are light golden. You can take a little bit out for garnishing on the top later. Add chicken along with garlic ginger paste and fry until chicken changes colour. Add all the spices followed by the yoghurt. Cook until water from the yoghurt evaporates and oil starts to separate. Lastly add potatoes, tomatoes and green chillies. Cover and cook until tomatoes break down completely. The gravy should be thick not watery.

Parboil Rice – Biryani requires rice to parboiled. The rice will continue to cook when they are layered up with the gravy. Boil water along with aromatic spices ( cardamom, bay leaves, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon) and salt. The rice should be boiled until they are 80% cooked. The easy way to check is break apart a grain of rice. You will be able to see that the outer layer of the rice is cooked and the inner part is still undone.

Layering – This is where all the magic happens and flavours get infused into the rice. Layer parboiled rice in a pot, followed by meat gravy. Sprinkle some coriander, mint, chillies and lemon slices. There can be 2-3 layers depending on the quantity. The top layer would be rice. drizzle some yellow food colour and saffron. Cover and cook on really low heat.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST BIRYANI

  • Use fresh garlic and ginger. It definitely lifts the taste and aroma.
  • Its very essential not to fully cook the rice as this will result in gluggy and clumped up rice.
  • The meat based curry should not be watery. It should be thick and dry, this helps it coats the rice well.
  • Allow yoghurt to be at room temperature. It prevents it from curdling. The yoghurt splits on high temperature, resulting in a grainy texture of the gravy.
  • After layering rice and chicken, cover the pot tightly and keep it on very low flame. Avoid opening it in between as it results in the pot losing heat. This can make the rice stiff and they will remain uncooked.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH BIRYANI ?

The best thing about Biryani is its a complete meal in it self, all you need is Mint Yoghurt and some fresh salad on the side. Biryani pairs well with Chapli Kebabs or Gola Kebabs. If you prefer curry try Palak Paneer or Meatball (Kofte) Curry

CAN BIRYANI BE MADE AHEAD OR FROZEN?

Yes, Biryani can be made ahead. You can prepare the meat gravy in advance and can be refrigerated or frozen. Just reheat it and add little water. The rice have to be freshly boiled, left over rice wont work well.

You can freeze biryani too. Just thaw it and heat it in the microwave.

Try out this Chicken Biryani recipe and let me know if you like it !

Other Rice Recipes to Try

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani

Chicken Pulao

AFGHANI PULAO

Sindhi Chicken Biryani

Sindhi Chicken Biryani

Easy to follow step by step guide to make authentic Chicken Biryani. Perfectly layered with rice, tender chicken and the distinct biryani aroma .
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine Pakistani

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Cups Rice See Notes
  • 1 kg Chicken cut into small pieces
  • 2 Large Onions
  • 1 tbsp Garlic
  • 1 tbsp Ginger
  • 3 Medium Tomatoes
  • 2 Medium Potatoes
  • 2 cups Yoghurt
  • 1 cup Cooking Oil
  • 2 Green Chillies See Notes
  • 1 cup Coriander/Cilantro
  • 1 cup Mint Leaves
  • Lemon Sliced
  • 1 tbsp Yellow Food Colour

Spices for Rice

  • 2 Bayleaves
  • 1 tbsp Black Peppercorns
  • 1 tsp Cloves
  • 1 Star Anise
  • 2 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 4 Green Cardamom
  • 1 tbsp Salt

Spices for Chicken

  • 1 tbsp Salt
  • 2 tbsp Red Chilli Powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
  • tsp Coriander Powder
  • 1 tbsp Garam Masala
  • 2 Dried Whole Chilli
  • 1 tsp Crushed Red Chilies
  • 3-4 Prunes

Instructions
 

  • Begin with soaking the rice. Rinse them with water and soak them for atleast 15 – 20 mins.
  • In a pot heat oil and fry onions untill golden brown. You can take out some for garnishing later and set them aside on paper towel. Add chicken along with ginger and garlic. Fry for few minutes untill it changes colour.
  • Add all the spices listed for chicken. And fry the chicken for 2 minutes.
  • Pour in the yoghurt and cook untill water evaporates and oil starts to separate.
  • Add chopped tomatoes and green chillies. Cover and cook on low heat for around 20 minutes or untill there is no water remaining and the gravy is thickened. If it seems watery, turn the heat up and cook for few minutes.
  • While chicken is cooking, in a sperate pot add 8-10 cups of water. Add all the spices listed for rice. Cover and bring the water to boil.
  • Drain the water from soaked rice and add them to boiling water. Cook untill rice are 80% done and then drain the water.
  • Take a bigger pot that's big enough for holding rice and chicken. Layer it with rice, followed by half of the chicken. Sprinkle with mint, coriander, Green chilli and lemon slices. Repeat with one more layer of rice and chicken. Last layer would be rice. Drizzle yellow colour.
  • Cover and cook on low heat for 10 – 15 minutes or untill rice are cooked. Serve immediately with salad and mint yoghurt.

Notes

Rice – the best choice of rice for Biryani is Basmati rice as they are considered to be premium quality rice. They are long grain and have distinct aroma. The rice grains remain separate and fluffy. Also Basmati requires less water for cooking and they have a shorter cooking time as compared to the other types of rice. Jasmine rice are the second best option.
Green Chilli – If you don’t want to much spice, use very mild green chilli. Also you can use lesser than mentioned quantity.


2 thoughts on “Sindhi Chicken Biryani”

  • 5 stars
    Tried this out, it is definitely a recipe to keep. I used little bit less chillies than mentioned . The Biryani was so aromatic and flavoursome.

    • Thanks Amy, glad you like the recipe. Definitely its good to adjust chillies according to your taste.

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