A nod to the classic South Asian layered rice dish biryani, this flavorful dish gets finished in the oven rather than on the stovetop. This ensures even heating, which acts as an insurance policy against burning. Save the leftover onion oil – it’s very fragrant and flavorful and can be used in other sauces.
| Level: | Advanced |
| Total: | 3 hr 30 min |
| Active: | 3 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk yogurt
- Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (see Cook’s Note)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 1/2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 8 whole cloves
- 7 green cardamom pods
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 large pinches saffron
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
- 5 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup mint leaves
Instructions
- Whisk together the yogurt, 3 tablespoons salt, chili powder and turmeric in a large bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Let sit at room temperature until ready to use, up to 1 hour. (Alternatively, the chicken can be marinated for up to 2 days covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.)
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 350 degrees F. Fry half of the onions, stirring frequently for even cooking, until deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer them to a paper-towel lined baking sheet to drain. Season with salt and let cool. Let the oil come back up to temperature and repeat with the remaining onions. Reserve the oil.
- Wash, rinse and drain the rice in a bowl full of cold water until the water is almost clear, about 5 times. Bring the rice, 1/4 cup salt, 4 of the cloves, 3 of the cardamom pods, 1 of the bay leaves, the peppercorns and 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Cook for exactly 5 minutes. (The rice will not be completely cooked; it will continue to cook in the oven. Do not cook longer or the rice will get mushy.) Drain and transfer the rice and spices to a medium bowl.
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.
- Stir together the saffron and milk in a small bowl until combined.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of the reserved onion oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cumin seeds and the remaining 4 cloves, 4 cardamom pods and 2 bay leaves. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spices are very fragrant and beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until very fragrant and beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the garlic and ginger from the bottom of the pan, until the tomatoes start to break down and most of the liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil and scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and layer on top of the tomatoes. Then sprinkle half the fried onions on top of the chicken. Top with the rice and spices and then drizzle the saffron milk over the rice. Cover the pan and bake until the liquid evaporates, the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Let sit covered for 10 minutes, then transfer the biryani to a large serving platter. Top with the remaining fried onions, cilantro and mint leaves.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 768 |
| Total Fat | 50 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 46 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 138 mg |
| Sodium | 809 mg |
Reviews
not just crazy salt content but the directions are very poorly written. Does no one curate these? Is there copy edit?
Not good at all. Way too salty and the chicken was nowhere near done in 40 minutes. Cooking for so much extra time caused the rice to be very mushy.
Terrible recipe. I was wise enough to see that 1/4 cup of salt was too much but even with that, the flavor was so so. Not good, Food Network!
I wish I read the reviews before making The dish came out way too salty. I’m so bummed. Waste of good saffron 🙁
Horrible. Way too much salt. There are better recipes out there.
Tastes disgusting
Next time I think I’ll drop the tomatoes. Too tomatoey. Has potential though.
I made this recipe AFTER reading the reviews on it being too salty. I adjusted the salt and it turned out PERFECT! Instead of 3 tbsp of salt in the marinade use only 2tsp. I did ZERO salt in the rice. I did add a tsp of salt in with the tomatoes. It was such a good recipe with the salt adjustments.
This recipe was wonderful and got rave reviews. However I recommend using far less salt than the recipe calls for. I used less than half the amount indicated and everyone who ate it said they couldn’t imagine it saltier.
Really delicious! I added broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and carrots to the pot which added some crunch and flavor. I ended up using less rice than it called for and the remaining liquid made it more of a soup and the broth was delicious. I would definitely recommend and I would make this again. I would add a bit more spiciness next time. I served it with a yogurt and lime dip.