Rice Cooker Chicken Biriyani with Saffron Cream
- Total Time
- About 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1cup plain yogurt, preferably whole milk
- 1½teaspoons coriander powder
- 1teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1teaspoon mild chile powder
- ½teaspoon cumin powder
- 1onion cut into chunks
- 12-inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled
- 3garlic cloves, peeled
- 1fresh green chile pepper such as jalapeño or Serrano, stemmed
- 3tablespoons canola oil or ghee (clarified butter)
- 1½cups basmati rice, rinsed
- 6cloves
- 6cardamom pods
- 1cinnamon stick
- 3cups chicken broth (use low-sodium if canned) mixed with ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1teaspoon salt
- Pinch saffron threads mixed with 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3tablespoons chopped cilantro, more for garnish
- 3tablespoons chopped mint
- 1lime
- Oil for frying
- 1onion, thinly sliced
- Big handful cashews
- Big handful raisins
For Biriyani
For Optional Garnishes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
906 calories; 60 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 34 grams monounsaturated fat; 16 grams polyunsaturated fat; 85 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 535 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Cut chicken into bite-size chunks: 6 to 8 pieces from each thigh. In a bowl, mix yogurt and powdered spices. Add chicken, mix well to coat, and set aside.
- Step 2
In a food processor, purée onion, ginger, garlic and chili pepper together. Set aside.
- Step 3
In a rice cooker, heat oil in cooking bowl on ''cook.'' When hot, add onion paste and cook, uncovered, until some liquid has evaporated and paste begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Step 4
Add rice and whole spices and stir well. Smooth top and arrange marinated chicken pieces over surface.
- Step 5
Gently pour in broth and salt. Cover and let cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes depending on cooker.
- Step 6
When done (or when cooker switches to "warm" function), add saffron cream and mix, making sure to scrape and scoop up bottom layer of rice. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and mint on top and re-cover. Let steam 5 minutes more.
- Step 7
If making garnishes, heat 1 inch oil in a pot until rippling. Add onion and cook, separating rings, until golden brown. Lift out and drain. Add cashews and raisins to same oil and cook until cashews are golden brown. Lift out and drain.
- Step 8
Just before serving, squeeze lime over biriyani and mix very well, fluffing lightly. Scoop onto serving platter and garnish with chopped cilantro and fried onions, cashews and raisins.
Tip
- Lacking a rice cooker, biriyani can also be made in a heavy round pot with at least a 3-quart capacity. After adding broth in Step 5, raise heat to bring mixture to a simmer, then immediately reduce heat to very low. For Step 6, turn heat off.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
KEJR
My Zojirushi rice cooker timed out as soon as I added the chicken, and would not restart until cooled. Must be a safety feature. Had to transfer everything to a Dutch oven and things went downhill from there. If you think your rice cooker may have the same feature, I recommend cooking the paste in a separate pot, then adding to the bottom of the rice cooker and following the remaining steps as outlined. Wait to turn the cooker on until everything's in there.
Eric
can you cook this in an Instant Pot pressure cooker?
Iris
I did it in the Instant pot but only used 2 cups of stock. Turned out great!
Dana
I made this successfully in the Instant Pot. Use the saute setting through step 3. Then add the rice and whole spices. Put the chicken on top. Use only 2 and 1/4 cups of broth (I omitted the tsp of salt). Use the manual setting and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Let naturally release for 3 minutes. Then quick release the pressure. Stir in the saffron cream, mint, and cilantro. It was perfect.
lynn rogers
I'd say the head notes for this particular spin on iryani, a contemporary adaptation by a Pakistani restaurant owner, explains much about this recipe that makes it make sense. Not obvious by my name but I'm old school southern Italian/Arab-Moroccan lineage; as all food cultures globalize we see many wild riffs on tradition. Like..."Mexican lasagne", "avocado pesto hummus" and MUCH more. That is the real deal... So, rice-cooker biriyani? Yes! Bring it on!
ngsarathy
I made this in an instant pot as follows: 1. 4 mins low pressure 2. QPR, add saffron 3. Lid back on in sealed position, the pressure thingum will pop back up with the residual steam. Leave it alone until it drops again. Marinated the chicken as instructed, but overnight, and used watered down greek yoghurt. For me, it was a top 3 biryani recipe, on par with Melissa Clark’s pressure cooker version with shrimp. And I don’t even like chicken. Long marination is important, imho.
B. Tracy Madison
Authentic is an imaginary concept. In south Asia there are numerous variations of this yummy street-food stew, from Kerala to Hyderabad. Cook correctly? Seriously. This is a stew. Spice it up or down, use fish or meat or foul. Just cook it all with the rice. Voila, biriyani.
Helen
My rice cooker timed out as soon as I added the chicken, and would not restart until cooled. I recommend cooking the paste in a separate pot, then adding to the bottom of the rice cooker and following the remaining steps as outlined. Wait to turn the cooker on until everything's in there.
Can also be made in heavy round pot w/at least 3-quart capacity. After adding broth in Step 5, raise heat to bring mixture to a simmer, then immediately reduce heat to very low. For Step 6, turn heat off.
Karen G
Do not make this in the Instant Pot on 'rice' setting--it came out with the texture of baby food. Lovely flavor, but Instant Pot is not interchangeable with other rice cookers here.
Joy
Why oh why didn't I listen to earlier commenters? This recipe doesn't work. I made the recipe as written but it turned out extremely... gloopey. Flavor was fine, but I definitely will not be making it again.
petey tonei
Horrendous!
This is something else -- please don't appropriate the word "biryani" for this dish.
Karen G
Oh, dear. Never make this in a rice cooker. I did not submit any stars because that would be unfair to the recipe. Next time, I'll use a proper pot. Rice cooker yielded mucilaginous stuff I could have used as drywall spackle.
Theresa SF Bay Area
Fantastic. I have a very simple rice cooker and it went to warm as soon as the oil heated up, so that method was out of the question. I am wondering what kind of rice cookers this is possible in, since so many comments say theirs turned off also. Anyhow, transferred all to a pot on the stove it turned out fine. Thanks to everyone for the liquid warning. Served with a tomato, onion, and mint raita.
Tony Rebensdorf Hicks
I made this in my crock pot. I browned everything on top of the stove, and added according to instructions to the crock pot. I then cooked it for about an hour and a half before turning down to hold warm in order to serve for a potluck. I couldn’t resist browning the rice, which is traditional; at least according to how I was taught previously.
Hannah
I’ve not made this recipe but one commenter mentioned that biryani is a stew.. unless there’s another biryani I'm not aware of regular biryani is not a stew at all, it’s a layered rice dish. But this recipe does sound very wet and stew like from the reviews.
Linda T
I cooked mine on the stove and it got a little dry. Next time I will use 4 cups of chicken broth. And watch the heat more carefully and decrease the cook time on my electric stove!
area runner
I love this recipe! I brown my onions in a skillet first-then toss in the rice, put it in the rice cooker with the marinated chicken. Delicious!! Small note on sautéing the onions-I add a dash of baking soda to the onions to accelerate the browning. So so good!!!
area runner
Successfully made this last night. I read the comments and modify the method as I knew my rice cooker wouldn’t manage as written. In short: i sauted my onions/garlic/ginger separately. Added a pinch of baking soda to accelerate the browning. Used chicken base that I fortified with the bones from thighs and heated in a separate pan. After that I layered everything in my rice cooker and let it cook. My rice was done perfectly and chicken was cooked. Best of all it tasted fantastic!
Josephine
Not a biryani recipe. A disappointing time consuming rice gruel recipe.
lindag
Made this in rice cooker. It was the WORST dish I have ever made/tasted. Followed recipe step by step. Doesn’t look anything like photo, and as one reviewer said, wallpaper paste might taste better.
Tony Adams
Attempted this last night with an InstantPot and brown rice and plant based "chicken". (White rice, like white flour is poison as far as I'm concerned.) It was a disaster, but my family loved it and are still raving about it. Next time I will cook the rice separately. I get great brown rice from the Instantpot but there is just too much going on here I think to get the rice texture correct. I will also add the "chokers" (cardamom pods) with a tea-ball/infuser.
mimi
To all Instant pot lovers, thank you for your comments. Will prepare this as per your directions.
Jennifer
Does anyone know if substituting refined coconut oil for the canola oil would work?
Linda T
I used coconut oil but it has a higher “smoke” point so watch the onions carefully. Sadly, some of mine burned.
Neuroscience Professor
I made this last night in a dutch oven and it was wonderful! Rinse the rice before cooking if you don't want gooey rice. We used golden raisins and unsalted cashews (both browned in oil) for garnish and they gave texture and a bit of sweetness. Absolutely delicious!
Diane
I made it in a Dutch oven based on the tip at the end of the recipe and it was indeed a goopy mess as others have noted. Not quite sure why because liquid amount is right for the rice amount, so I am thinking that the marinade on the chicken was the culprit.
Bethany
The flavor was wonderful, but the texture was a bit gloopy. Still, everyone had seconds as the taste was so good. I used a Dutch oven as I don’t have a rice cooker. Maybe I need to cut time off?
Julian
This felt like it was drastically undersalted, and I'm not sure whether that's because I used Diamond kosher salt (which is not anywhere near as dense as table salt), because salt is only added at one step (perhaps there ought to be salt either rubbed on the chicken or in that marinade), or because I didn't use garnishes. When I make this again, I'll add salt in the marinade step, and perhaps also try upping the salt when I add the broth.
Dana
I made this successfully in the Instant Pot. Use the saute setting through step 3. Then add the rice and whole spices. Put the chicken on top. Use only 2 and 1/4 cups of broth (I omitted the tsp of salt). Use the manual setting and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Let naturally release for 3 minutes. Then quick release the pressure. Stir in the saffron cream, mint, and cilantro. It was perfect.
ngsarathy
I made this in an instant pot as follows: 1. 4 mins low pressure 2. QPR, add saffron 3. Lid back on in sealed position, the pressure thingum will pop back up with the residual steam. Leave it alone until it drops again. Marinated the chicken as instructed, but overnight, and used watered down greek yoghurt. For me, it was a top 3 biryani recipe, on par with Melissa Clark’s pressure cooker version with shrimp. And I don’t even like chicken. Long marination is important, imho.
ngsarathy
May I add to my above comment, for all rice dishes in an instant pot, I use soaked, rinsed rice. Then I use just enough liquid to submerge the rice. For this recipe, I added the raw chicken pieces on top of the rice as instructed, then started the pressure cook function.
Private notes are only visible to you.
Advertisement
