5‑Step Pakistani Chicken Biryani Rich, Spicy & Easy Recipe

Chicken Biryani sounds fancy, right? Like something you only get at restaurants. But here’s the thing—it’s not. It’s just rice, chicken, some spices, and patience. That’s literally it.

The reason it seems hard is because nobody explains it properly. You’re gonna see like 47 steps and a million ingredients and think “nah, I’m ordering takeout.” But actually? Most of those steps are just waiting around. The actual cooking part is maybe 20 minutes of actual work.

I’m gonna walk you through it in a way that makes sense. No weird names for things. No fancy French technique. Just what to do, why you’re doing it, and when you can finally eat.

Why Chicken Biryani Is Actually Easier Than You Think

People make this sound complicated because they want to sound smart about it. The truth is simple: chicken gets seasoned and soft from sitting in yogurt. Onions get crispy and delicious. Rice cooks partly by itself, then finishes in steam from everything else. Each thing does its job, and together it’s biryani.

You’re literally just layering stuff and then letting it cook. That’s the whole secret.

What You Actually Need

THE CHICKEN & RICE

• 1 kg chicken – Get whatever’s available. Thighs are better than breast because they don’t dry out, but honestly any cut works. Some people use a mix of thighs and drumsticks. If you’re using full pieces, just cut them into medium chunks. Not tiny, not huge. Medium.
• 3 cups basmati rice – This is important. Get actual basmati, not regular long-grain rice. Basmati has this specific kind of texture and flavor that matters for biryani. Premium basmati is better than cheap basmati—you can see the difference when it cooks. Look for Pakistani or Indian basmati at any grocery store or desi shop. It should say “basmati” on the bag.
• 1 cup plain yogurt – Full-fat yogurt works best. The thick kind, not the watery kind. If you only have thin yogurt, that’s okay but the marinade won’t stick as well. Some people use Greek yogurt which is thicker. That works too.

FOR THE MARINADE & FLAVOR

• 3 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste – You can buy this ready-made at any desi store or grocery store in the international section. Or you can make it by blending ginger and garlic together. Either way works. Don’t skip this—it’s what makes the chicken taste right.
• 4 or 5 green chilies – These are fresh, hot peppers. They’re usually pretty cheap. If you can’t find the exact ones, any long green chili works. You can also use serrano peppers if green chilies aren’t available. Just slice them. If you don’t like spicy food, use fewer. If you want it spicy, use more or don’t remove the seeds.
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander – This is cilantro basically. Buy a bunch, chop it up, use what you need. Fresh is essential here. Don’t use dried.
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint – Same deal. Fresh mint from the produce section. Chop it up. This makes a huge difference in the final taste.
• 3 bay leaves – These are just leaves. You can find them in the spice aisle or buy a whole bunch and use them for other stuff too. They add a subtle flavor.
• 2 black cardamom – These are bigger, darker cardamom pods. Different from the green ones. They smell kind of smoky. Buy them from a spice shop or grocery store. Not expensive.
• 4 or 5 green cardamom pods – The regular, smaller, green ones. They smell sweet and kind of like nothing else. Just open them up when you buy them to check they’re not stale or empty inside.
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds – These are small, brownish seeds that smell kind of warm and earthy. You use them whole, not ground.
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds – Similar size to cumin, but round and different color. Different flavor too. These taste more floral.
• 4 or 5 cloves – You know what cloves look like, right? Little nail-shaped things. They’re strong and warm-tasting. Don’t use ground cloves.
• About 1 inch of cinnamon stick – Break off a piece of a cinnamon stick. Don’t use ground cinnamon. The stick has more flavor and it’s better for this.
• 1 teaspoon black pepper – Either whole peppercorns or ground black pepper. Either works but whole peppercorns give better flavor.
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder – This is the yellow powder. It gives biryani a slight golden color and an earthy taste.
• Half teaspoon red chili powder – This is different from cayenne. It’s milder and more about flavor than heat. Pakistani chili powder specifically is good if you can find it, but regular red chili powder works too.

THE FAT & SALT & WATER

• 3 or 4 tablespoons ghee – This is clarified butter and honestly this is where the money goes in terms of flavor. You can get it at any grocery store or make it yourself. Ghee tastes rich and makes biryani taste like actual biryani. If you can’t find ghee, butter works but use less because it has more water. Oil works too but doesn’t taste the same.
• Salt – Use table salt or kosher salt. You’ll need it at different stages. Just have some ready.
• Water – Obviously you need water to boil rice and make steam. Just tap water is fine.

THE EXTRAS & TOPPINGS

• 4 potatoes – Get medium-sized potatoes. Red potatoes, white potatoes, doesn’t really matter. Slice them thin—like quarter inch thick. Thin potatoes cook faster and get crispy on the edges which is nice.
• 1 big onion – One large onion, sliced into rings. This is what you’re gonna fry till crispy. Use a yellow or white onion, not red onion. Red onion is different and doesn’t crisp the same way.
• Fried onions – Buy a bag of fried onions from any store. These are pre-made crispy onions in a packet. Used for garnish on top. Makes the biryani look good and adds crunch.
• Lemon – Optional but nice. For squeezing on top at the end.

THAT’S IT

That’s everything. Not actually that many ingredients, right? Most of them are spices which you might already have. The actual protein and base (chicken and rice) are like two things. Everything else is just making it taste good.

The Actual Cooking

First: Get Your Rice Soaking

Dump your rice in a bowl. Cover it with water. Wait 30 minutes. That’s it. Go do something else. Check your phone. Make tea. This step matters because the rice grains are gonna cook way better if they’ve been sitting in water first. They’ll be fluffy instead of weird and clumpy.

Second: Marinate Your Chicken

This is where the chicken becomes tender and actually tasty. Mix yogurt with ginger-garlic, throw in green chilies, add your coriander and mint, add the red chili powder and turmeric, add salt. Stir it all together. Dump your chicken in there. Move it around with your hands or a spoon till every piece is covered in this mixture.

Now leave it alone. 20 minutes minimum, but honestly if you leave it for an hour it’s gonna taste even better. The yogurt soaks into the chicken and makes it soft. This is the difference between rubbery biryani and actually good biryani.

Third: Brown Your Onions

Heat ghee in your pot. When it’s hot, add onion slices. Don’t do anything fancy. Just let them cook. Stir them sometimes so they don’t burn on one side. Keep cooking till they turn from white to golden to actually brown and crispy. This takes like 8 to 10 minutes and yeah it’s boring but honestly this is the most important part of the whole thing. These onions are what makes biryani taste right.

When they’re done and crispy, take out half of them and put them on a plate. They’re for the top later. Leave the rest in the pot.

Fourth: The Layering Part (Don’t Overthink It)

Put your sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pot.

Put the chicken on top. Sprinkle some of those crispy onions you made. Add some fresh herbs. Just sprinkle them around.

Now boil water in another pot. Add salt to it, add both types of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaves, pepper.

Let it get all fragrant and spicy smelling. When it’s boiling, throw in your soaked rice. Cook it till it’s no longer completely hard but still has some crunch to it. This is like 70% cooked basically. Pour it into a strainer and let the water drain out.

Spread this partly-cooked rice over everything in your main pot. Put the extra onions on top. Add more herbs if you want.

Fifth: The Cover-Up and Cook

Tear off a piece of foil and cover your pot completely. Wrap it tight around the edges so steam can’t escape. Now put the lid on top of the foil. This traps all the steam inside which is how the rice finishes cooking.

Turn your stove to high heat. Wait 3 or 4 minutes. You’re waiting for steam to build up inside. Once you feel like there’s steam happening, turn the heat down to low. Leave it alone. Don’t open it. Don’t check on it. For 40 to 45 minutes, just let it sit there and do its thing.

After 45 minutes, turn off the heat. Let it rest for 5 minutes without opening it. This gives everything time to settle and makes it easier to fluff without breaking rice.

Now you can open it. Take off the lid and foil. What you’re gonna see is perfect rice, chicken that falls apart, potatoes cooked through, everything smelling amazing and tasting like spices and ghee.

Use a fork and gently break it all up. Be careful—you don’t want to squish everything. Top it with those extra crispy onions. Add fresh coriander and mint. Squeeze some lemon on it if you want. Done.

The Stuff You Actually Need to Know

Ghee changes everything. Oil works fine in a pinch but ghee makes biryani taste like actual biryani. If you can get it, use it. It’s not expensive and honestly you’ll taste the difference.

The 70% rice thing is real. Don’t cook it all the way first. Don’t leave it half cooked. 70% is the sweet spot. It finishes perfectly in the steam. If you cook it completely first, you get mush. If you don’t cook it enough, you get hard rice. 70% every time.

Your boiling water needs to taste like something. When you boil that water for rice, it should taste salty. Not like ocean water but like seasoned broth. This seasons the rice from the inside. Skip this and your rice tastes boring.

Low heat on the final stage is not optional. High heat burns the bottom. You’ll get that burnt rice smell which isn’t fun. Low heat lets everything cook evenly and gently. Just turn it down and leave it.

Fresh herbs actually matter. Dried mint and dried coriander taste like nothing compared to fresh. If you can’t get fresh, use less. Don’t just dump in dried stuff thinking it’s the same.

Better rice tastes better. Cheap basmati gets sticky and clumpy. Decent basmati stays separate and fluffy. You can see the difference. Just get the better rice.

Don’t keep opening the lid. Every time you open it, steam escapes and things take longer. Just leave it alone for 45 minutes.

5‑Step Pakistani Chicken Biryani Rich, Spicy & Easy Recipe

Cook authentic Pakistani chicken biryani in 5 easy steps! Juicy chicken, aromatic basmati rice, and classic dum spices for a rich, homemade flavor

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Pakistani

Servings 4 people

Calories 850 kcal

Equipment

• Heavy pot with a lid
• bowl
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Fork
• Aluminum foil
• Strainer

Ingredients

  

• 1 kg chicken any cuts
• 3 cups basmati rice
• 1 cup yogurt
• 4 potatoes sliced
• 1 large onion sliced
• 3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 4 –5 green chilies sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander
• 2 tbsp fresh mint
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 black cardamom
• 4 –5 green cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 4 –5 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 –4 tbsp ghee salt
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• water
• fried onions for topping
• lemon optional

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Soak rice for 30 minutes. Mix yogurt with ginger-garlic, chilies, herbs, spices, salt. Add chicken, coat well, let sit 20+ minutes.
• 2. Heat ghee in pot, fry onion slices until brown and crispy (8–10 minutes). Remove half, set aside.
• 3. Boil water with salt and spices. Add soaked rice, cook until 70% done. Drain completely.
• 4. In pot: layer potatoes, then chicken, then crispy onions and herbs, then partially-cooked rice. Top with remaining onions and herbs.
• 5. Cover with foil then lid. High heat for 3–4 minutes until steam builds. Turn to low heat, cook 40–45 minutes. Rest 5 minutes. Fluff gently with fork.

Notes

• Ghee tastes better – Use it if you have it. Changes the whole thing.
• 70% cooked rice is the magic number – Not more, not less.
• Seasoned water matters – Make the boiling water taste salty so rice gets flavor inside.
• Low heat for the dum stage – High heat burns everything.
• Fresh herbs only – Dried ones don’t work here.
• Don’t open the lid – Seriously. Every time you do, steam escapes.
• Better the next day – Tastes even better after sitting overnight in the fridge.
• Make raita on the side – The cooling yogurt sauce is basically necessary.

NUTRITION (Per Serving):
Calories: 850–900
Protein: 35g
Carbs: 95g
Fat: 28g
Fiber: 2g

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That’s it. That’s biryani. Once you make it once, you’ll make it again. Because there’s nothing better than homemade biryani.

 

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How to Actually Eat This Thing

Biryani is basically a complete meal by itself. But some stuff on the side makes it way better.

Make raita. It’s just yogurt mixed with diced cucumber, diced tomato, onion, a pinch of cumin powder, and salt. That’s it. Eat it alongside biryani. It cools your mouth down and tastes fresh. This is basically essential.

Make a simple salad. Just sliced onions with lemon and salt. Or cucumber and tomato with salt and lemon. Something basic to cut through the richness.

Get some warm naan or roti. Just having something to eat alongside it makes the whole thing feel more complete.

For plating, don’t stress. Put the rice on a plate. Make sure some chicken shows through. Top with crispy onions. Maybe some fresh cilantro. Maybe half a boiled egg. Maybe some cashews. But honestly good biryani doesn’t need much. It’s pretty on its own.

Other Pakistani Food You Should Make

Raita – Yogurt with cucumber, tomato, onion, cumin, salt. That’s literally it. Sounds simple because it is. Tastes amazing.

Chicken Karahi – Chicken with tomatoes, peppers, and spices cooked in this thick sauce. Spicy. Done in like 30 minutes. Eat with naan.

Aloo Bhujia – Potatoes fried till crispy, mixed with mustard seeds, turmeric, green chilies, curry leaves. Takes 15 minutes. Tastes incredible.

Seekh Kebab – Ground chicken mixed with onions, cilantro, ginger-garlic, and spices. Shaped on skewers and grilled or fried. Crispy outside, juicy inside. Eat as appetizers.

Shahi Tukra – Fried bread soaked in sweet milk, topped with thick milk (rabri), dry fruits, pistachios. It’s a dessert. It’s rich. It’s exactly what you want after biryani.