24/10/2026
Festive Chicken Biryani recipe 🪔
Diwali is about family and food🥳and nothing like Biryani to celebrate this occasion.
This recipe is also in my cookbook, No Worries, Just Chicken Curries.
Prep: Over 1 hour | Cook: 45 mins | Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
Biryani masala: 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp each cumin and fennel seeds, 5 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, 1 star anise, 1-inch cinnamon, 4 cloves, ½ tsp peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 1 blade mace, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp turmeric and optional Kashmiri chilli powder.
Chicken: 500g chicken, 60g yoghurt, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, juice of 1 lemon and 1 tbsp biryani masala.
Rice: 400g Tilda Pure Basmati Rice, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, bay leaf and cinnamon.
For the curry: 5 tbsp oil, 1 tsp butter, 2 onions (chopped), 1 onion (sliced), 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, 3 tomatoes, 1 tsp garam masala, optional chillies, salt, food colouring, coriander and mint.
METHOD
1. Grind the biryani masala spices, then mix in the turmeric and chilli powder.
2. Marinate chicken with yoghurt, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and 1 tbsp masala for 1 hour.
3. Fry the sliced onion until caramelised. Cook the rice with whole spices until just tender, then drain.
4. Fry chopped onions until golden. Add ginger-garlic paste, 1 tbsp biryani masala and tomatoes. Cook until soft and the oil separates.
5. Add chicken, optional chilli and salt. Cover and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until cooked through.
6. Layer chicken and rice with garam masala, caramelised onions, coriander and mint. Add food colouring and finish with herbs.
7. Cover and cook on low for 5–10 minutes. Rest briefly before serving.
Serve hot with raita and fresh salad.
Happy Diwali! 🪔
😍
