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Serves: 6
Prep time: 45 mins
Total time:
Recipe by Roopa Gulati and photograph by Dan Jones
Recipe by Sainsbury's magazine
This chicken biryani recipe from food writer Roopa Gulati is a family-friendly version of the classic dish – tender marinated chicken with sweet spices and fluffy basmati rice
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Mains Curries Gluten-free Chicken Indian Rice
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
656Kcal
Fat
22gr
Saturates
6gr
Carbs
58gr
Sugars
12gr
Fibre
6gr
Protein
31gr
Salt
0.3gr
Sainsbury's magazine
Our team of trained chefs and skilled food writers love cooking up everything from innovative seasonal recipes or clever shortcuts, to step-by-step guides and classic recipes for friends and readers alike.
See more of Sainsbury's magazine’s recipes
Sainsbury's magazine
Our team of trained chefs and skilled food writers love cooking up everything from innovative seasonal recipes or clever shortcuts, to step-by-step guides and classic recipes for friends and readers alike.
See more of Sainsbury's magazine’s recipes
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Ingredients
- 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
- 6 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 350g basmati rice
- juice of 1 lime
For the marinade
- 2 x 170g pots Greek yogurt
- 6 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 75g root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 large handfuls of coriander, finely chopped
- 1½ tsp ground cardamom (the seeds from about 20 cardamom pods ground in a spice grinder or using a pestle and mortar)
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp cloves, ground (see above), or left whole (see Kitchen Secret)
- 2 green chillies, split lengthways, deseeded
Step by step
Get ahead
Marinate the chicken up to a day ahead, cover and chill.
- For the marinade, whisk the yogurt with the garlic, ginger, coriander, ground cardamom, cinnamon and ground cloves (or stir in whole cloves with the green chillies), or process everything using a liquidiser or stick blender. Stir in the green chilli halves.
- Using a sharp knife, slash each chicken thigh 2-3 times and add to the spiced yogurt. Mix well, cover with clingfilm and marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Heat the oil in a sturdy casserole and fry the sliced onions for 30 minutes, stirring often, until well browned. Scoop out half the onions and set aside to scatter over the biryani before it goes in the oven.
If you don't grind the cloves, look out for and discard them when serving.
- Cut the chicken into large chunks and add to the casserole with the spiced yogurt and stir until the yogurt comes to a simmer. Cover with a well-fitting lid and transfer to the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the yogurty juices have thickened.
- Meanwhile, rinse the basmati rice and soak in cold water for 20 minutes.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drain the soaked rice and tip it into the water. Bring back to the boil, then simmer for a further 2 minutes to parboil it, then drain the rice in a sieve.
- Take the casserole out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Remove half the chicken from the casserole to a plate. Sprinkle half the parboiled rice over the chicken in the casserole, season, then cover with the remaining chicken, season again and finish with a top layer of rice.
- Dot with the reserved onions and squeeze over the lime. Cover with damp baking paper, then with foil and put the lid on. Return the casserole to the oven for 30 minutes until the rice is cooked, the biryani will then happily keep warm, out of the oven, for 20-30 minutes.
- Serve the biryani with the courgettes with tomato, the roasted garlic raita and the pickle on the side.
