Chicken Tikka Biryani

AuthorSalmaCategoryDifficultyAdvanced

Chicken Tikka pieces cooked in a delicious biryani masala, layered with basmati rice then finally garnished with whole chillies, coriander and fried onions.

Yields8 Servings
Prep Time1 hrCook Time2 hrs 25 minsTotal Time3 hrs 25 mins

Making the tikka
 5 tbsp Patak's tikka spice marinade
  tsp Salt
 2 tsp Ginger paste/grated
 2 tsp Garlic paste/grated
 2 tsp Cumin powder
 2 tsp Coriander powder
 ¾ tsp Chilli powder
 2 tbsp Lemon juice
 2 tbsp Oil
 2 tbsp Greek style natural yoghurt
  tsp Red food colour (optional)
To Fry The Potatoes
 4 Medium potatoes
 ¼ tsp Tumeric powder
 4 Oil
Masala Base
 3 Large chicken breast
 1 ¼ tbsp Oil
 4 tbsp Ghee-clarified butter
 3 Medium onions
 ¼ tsp Salt
 3 Bayleaves
 3 sticks Cinnamon
 2 Cardamom pods
 1 tsp Whole cumin seeds (optional)
 3 Small tomatoes
 1 Packet Shan's Special Bombay biryani seasoning 60g/any brand of your choice.
 4 tbsp Fresh coriander
 ¾ cup Greek style natural yoghurt
To Cook Rice
 4 cups Tilda pure original basmati rice/Basmati rice
 ½ tbsp Salt
 ½ tsp Whole cumin seeds (optional)
 7 cups Cold tap water
Layering The Rice
 2 Fried Large onions
 6 tbsp Fresh coriander
 8 Whole green chillies
 Ghee-as required
 Food colours
 Aluminium foil

Making The Tikka
1

Clean the chicken, cut in medium sized cubes, wash fully and drain. Place the chicken in a clean bowl. Add all the ingredients listed under making the tikka on the ingredients list.

Mix this in.

2

Put them on skewers. Warm the oven first then bake on gas mark 6 or 200c on fan-assisted oven.

If you do not have any skewers, you can still evenly lay them out and bake in the oven tray.

As a guide this cooking process will take about 20-30 minutes- be careful to not over cook the pieces. Make sure to turn the skewers/pieces around half way during the cooking time.

3

At the end of the cooking time, it should be like this. Take them out and keep aside, do not leave them in the oven or it will become too dry from the heat.

Frying The Potatoes
4

Peel four medium potatoes and cut them in pieces like the picture, wash and drain fully.

5

In a pan add the oil, as a guide 3-4 tbs- just enough to lightly fry them on both sides.

When the oil is hot, add in 1/4 teaspoons of tumeric powder.

6

Mix the powder in a bit and add in the potatoes. Mix this in, mainly fry on high heat, stir at times and turn the pieces around so it fries evenly.

Do adjust the heat if required.

7

At the end it should be like this.

8

Once the potatoes are done, take them out and keep aside.

Masala Base
9

In a medium size pot add 1 & 1/4 Tbs Oil and 4 Tbs of ghee, you can adjust any of these to your choice.

10

Put the gas up and let the ghee melt. Add 3 bayleaves, 3 cinnamon sticks, 2 cardamom pods and 1 tsp of whole cumin seeds.

Fry this on high heat by stirring for a few minutes.

If you do not have all these spices, don't worry it will be fine giving it a miss.

11

Add 3 sliced medium onions and salt to taste. Keep in mind, the biryani masala and the rice will also have salt in it.

As a guide add 1/4-1/3 Teaspoons of salt.

Mix this in and cook on high heat for a few minutes, then put the heat down in between medium to low heat and cook until the onions are soft. Make sure to stir often.

12

Onions should looks like this or similar.

13

Add in the spice mix of your choice, I used Shan's special Bombay biryani seasoning mix.

This is quite spicy, so if you like the biryani to be milder then do not add all of it, as a guide just over half of the packet.

14

Put the gas on medium heat and mix it in.

15

Once you have mixed it in, put the gas down and let this cook for 10-12 minutes.

16

Add in the tikka pieces. Mix and cook this covered for 8-10 minutes on low heat. Keep an eye and make sure to stir at times.

17

Add in the potatoes and mix it in.

18

Cook uncovered for 5-6 minutes, if the potatoes still seem hard then cook covered until it softens but not mashed. Make sure to stir at times.

19

Once potatoes are done, add in the yoghurt.

20

Mix this in and cook on low heat for about 4 minutes.

21

Add in the tomatoes.

22

Add in fresh coriander and whole chillies. Mix these in and cook for a further few minutes and turn the heat off.

23

Wash 4 cups of rice with cold water until the water is clear and then soak in cold water for half an hour only.

24

In a big pot add 7 cups of cold water.

Add the rice in, 3/4 tsp of Salt and 1/2 Tsp of cumin seeds.

Bring this to boil on high heat and cook the rice. Cook until the rice grain can be broken into 2-3 parts. Once done, drain the rice fully in a colander.

The texture of the rice might be different to mine depending on the brand you're using.

Layering
25

You can fry 2 large onions until golden to garnish the rice with. To do this, slice two onions, cook in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes and then use a tissue to dab away all the excess water.

In a deep pan add enough oil to deep fry the onions, make sure the oil is very hot. Then use a metal sieve which is suitable for hot oil, place the onion in batches in the sieve and place it down in the oil. Deep fry until it's golden and give the sieve a shake in between. Once done drain them in a kitchen tissue on a plate.

To layer, you can do it in a pot or oven dish. I did it in two different baking trays and baked it in the oven until the rice was fully cooked.

If you want you can just do it in a big pot and cook the biryani on the cooker.

For the dish/pot you're using, grease the bottom all over with ghee.

26

After greasing the tray/pot, add a good amount of rice and make sure to keep some for the final layer. If you're using two different trays or pots then make sure the ingredients are enough for both.

My advice is that making biryani in one big pot is much easier (and you will have less dishes to wash at the end!).

27

Add food colours of your choice- I've used three different colours.

Add a few ghee drops all over and then add some fried onions on top (not pictured).

28

Add the layer of meat.

Keep in mind to keep enough if you're using another tray.

29

Add the rice again, food colour and ghee drops.

Keep in mind if you're making another tray to keep some for that.

30

Finally garnish with fried onions, green chilies (optional) and coriander.

Cover the trays with aluminium foil and cook in the oven until the rice is fully cooked. As a guide cook for 20-25 minutes.

If you're cooking the biryani in a pot, then cover the top with aluminium foil and place the lid on top. Put the gas on, cook on high heat for about 2-4 minutes and then put the gas right down and cook until the rice is fully done. As a guide this should be about 20-25 minutes.

31

Once done, let the rice rest for 10-15 minutes. Before serving give this a good mix.

Serve hot with raita or biryani curry sauce. Enjoy!

32

Ingredients

Making the tikka
 5 tbsp Patak's tikka spice marinade
  tsp Salt
 2 tsp Ginger paste/grated
 2 tsp Garlic paste/grated
 2 tsp Cumin powder
 2 tsp Coriander powder
 ¾ tsp Chilli powder
 2 tbsp Lemon juice
 2 tbsp Oil
 2 tbsp Greek style natural yoghurt
  tsp Red food colour (optional)
To Fry The Potatoes
 4 Medium potatoes
 ¼ tsp Tumeric powder
 4 Oil
Masala Base
 3 Large chicken breast
 1 ¼ tbsp Oil
 4 tbsp Ghee-clarified butter
 3 Medium onions
 ¼ tsp Salt
 3 Bayleaves
 3 sticks Cinnamon
 2 Cardamom pods
 1 tsp Whole cumin seeds (optional)
 3 Small tomatoes
 1 Packet Shan's Special Bombay biryani seasoning 60g/any brand of your choice.
 4 tbsp Fresh coriander
 ¾ cup Greek style natural yoghurt
To Cook Rice
 4 cups Tilda pure original basmati rice/Basmati rice
 ½ tbsp Salt
 ½ tsp Whole cumin seeds (optional)
 7 cups Cold tap water
Layering The Rice
 2 Fried Large onions
 6 tbsp Fresh coriander
 8 Whole green chillies
 Ghee-as required
 Food colours
 Aluminium foil

Directions

Making The Tikka
1

Clean the chicken, cut in medium sized cubes, wash fully and drain. Place the chicken in a clean bowl. Add all the ingredients listed under making the tikka on the ingredients list.

Mix this in.

2

Put them on skewers. Warm the oven first then bake on gas mark 6 or 200c on fan-assisted oven.

If you do not have any skewers, you can still evenly lay them out and bake in the oven tray.

As a guide this cooking process will take about 20-30 minutes- be careful to not over cook the pieces. Make sure to turn the skewers/pieces around half way during the cooking time.

3

At the end of the cooking time, it should be like this. Take them out and keep aside, do not leave them in the oven or it will become too dry from the heat.

Frying The Potatoes
4

Peel four medium potatoes and cut them in pieces like the picture, wash and drain fully.

5

In a pan add the oil, as a guide 3-4 tbs- just enough to lightly fry them on both sides.

When the oil is hot, add in 1/4 teaspoons of tumeric powder.

6

Mix the powder in a bit and add in the potatoes. Mix this in, mainly fry on high heat, stir at times and turn the pieces around so it fries evenly.

Do adjust the heat if required.

7

At the end it should be like this.

8

Once the potatoes are done, take them out and keep aside.

Masala Base
9

In a medium size pot add 1 & 1/4 Tbs Oil and 4 Tbs of ghee, you can adjust any of these to your choice.

10

Put the gas up and let the ghee melt. Add 3 bayleaves, 3 cinnamon sticks, 2 cardamom pods and 1 tsp of whole cumin seeds.

Fry this on high heat by stirring for a few minutes.

If you do not have all these spices, don't worry it will be fine giving it a miss.

11

Add 3 sliced medium onions and salt to taste. Keep in mind, the biryani masala and the rice will also have salt in it.

As a guide add 1/4-1/3 Teaspoons of salt.

Mix this in and cook on high heat for a few minutes, then put the heat down in between medium to low heat and cook until the onions are soft. Make sure to stir often.

12

Onions should looks like this or similar.

13

Add in the spice mix of your choice, I used Shan's special Bombay biryani seasoning mix.

This is quite spicy, so if you like the biryani to be milder then do not add all of it, as a guide just over half of the packet.

14

Put the gas on medium heat and mix it in.

15

Once you have mixed it in, put the gas down and let this cook for 10-12 minutes.

16

Add in the tikka pieces. Mix and cook this covered for 8-10 minutes on low heat. Keep an eye and make sure to stir at times.

17

Add in the potatoes and mix it in.

18

Cook uncovered for 5-6 minutes, if the potatoes still seem hard then cook covered until it softens but not mashed. Make sure to stir at times.

19

Once potatoes are done, add in the yoghurt.

20

Mix this in and cook on low heat for about 4 minutes.

21

Add in the tomatoes.

22

Add in fresh coriander and whole chillies. Mix these in and cook for a further few minutes and turn the heat off.

23

Wash 4 cups of rice with cold water until the water is clear and then soak in cold water for half an hour only.

24

In a big pot add 7 cups of cold water.

Add the rice in, 3/4 tsp of Salt and 1/2 Tsp of cumin seeds.

Bring this to boil on high heat and cook the rice. Cook until the rice grain can be broken into 2-3 parts. Once done, drain the rice fully in a colander.

The texture of the rice might be different to mine depending on the brand you're using.

Layering
25

You can fry 2 large onions until golden to garnish the rice with. To do this, slice two onions, cook in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes and then use a tissue to dab away all the excess water.

In a deep pan add enough oil to deep fry the onions, make sure the oil is very hot. Then use a metal sieve which is suitable for hot oil, place the onion in batches in the sieve and place it down in the oil. Deep fry until it's golden and give the sieve a shake in between. Once done drain them in a kitchen tissue on a plate.

To layer, you can do it in a pot or oven dish. I did it in two different baking trays and baked it in the oven until the rice was fully cooked.

If you want you can just do it in a big pot and cook the biryani on the cooker.

For the dish/pot you're using, grease the bottom all over with ghee.

26

After greasing the tray/pot, add a good amount of rice and make sure to keep some for the final layer. If you're using two different trays or pots then make sure the ingredients are enough for both.

My advice is that making biryani in one big pot is much easier (and you will have less dishes to wash at the end!).

27

Add food colours of your choice- I've used three different colours.

Add a few ghee drops all over and then add some fried onions on top (not pictured).

28

Add the layer of meat.

Keep in mind to keep enough if you're using another tray.

29

Add the rice again, food colour and ghee drops.

Keep in mind if you're making another tray to keep some for that.

30

Finally garnish with fried onions, green chilies (optional) and coriander.

Cover the trays with aluminium foil and cook in the oven until the rice is fully cooked. As a guide cook for 20-25 minutes.

If you're cooking the biryani in a pot, then cover the top with aluminium foil and place the lid on top. Put the gas on, cook on high heat for about 2-4 minutes and then put the gas right down and cook until the rice is fully done. As a guide this should be about 20-25 minutes.

31

Once done, let the rice rest for 10-15 minutes. Before serving give this a good mix.

Serve hot with raita or biryani curry sauce. Enjoy!

32

Chicken Tikka Biryani
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3 Comments

  1. Sara Bull 5 July 2020 at 19:43

    Beautiful food from a beautiful person

    Reply
  2. Ishrat 12 November 2020 at 09:55

    Lovely recipes..just wow..well explained

    Reply
    1. Salma 21 January 2021 at 07:54

      Thank you so much.

      Reply

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