Go Back
Print
5 from 1 vote

Kolkata style Chicken Biryani

Kolkata style Chicken Biryani is the medley of slowly cooked chicken with varieties of spices along with fried potatoes, boiled eggs and fragrant basmati rice
Prep Time4 hrs
Active Time1 hr 30 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Bengali Recipes, Biryani Recipes, Chicken Biryani, Chicken Recipes
Yield: 3 people
Author: Amrita

Equipment

  • Heavy Bottom Pan

Materials

Biryani Spices or Biryani Masala

  • 8 nos Cloves
  • 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
  • 4 nos Green Cardamom
  • ¾ teaspoon Caraway Seeds or Shah Jeera
  • 8 nos Whole Black Peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon Nutmeg or Jaiphal, grated or powder
  • 3 petals Mace or Javitri
  • 3-4 no Cubeb or Kabab Chini
  • 1 no Black Cardamom
  • 1 no Bay Leaf

For Cooking Biryani Rice

  • 2 cups Long grain rice (Basmati rice)
  • 2 nos Green Cardamom
  • 4 nos Cloves
  • 4 nos Whole Black Peppercorn
  • 1-2 no Star Anise
  • 1 petal Mace
  • 3-4 nos Cubeb
  • 1 no Bay Leaf
  • ½ inch Cinnamon

For Marinating Chicken

  • 500 gms Chicken (Preferably Bone pieces, Leg and Thigh pieces)
  • ½ cup Thick Yogurt
  • 2 -3 teaspoon Ginger Paste
  • 1½ teaspoon Garlic Paste
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
  • ⅓ teaspoon Turmeric Powder (optional)
  • 1½ teaspoon Biryani Masala Powder
  • 2 teaspoon Refined Oil

Other Ingredients

  • 1 large Onion, Sliced
  • 2 cups Onion, finely chopped
  • 2-3 medium Potato, cut into halves
  • 3 nos Boiled Eggs
  • 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Sugar
  • ¼ cup Warm Milk
  • a pinch Saffron
  • ½ cup Refined Oil
  • ¼ cup Clarified Butter or Ghee
  • few drops Food Color (Saffron) optional
  • few drops Meetha Attar (a special fragrance for Mughlai cuisine)
  • few drops Kewra Water

Instructions

Biryani Spices or Biryani Masala

  • Take a pan and dry roast the ingredients given for making Biryani masala for few minutes.
  • Allow them to cool and grind them in a blender to make the spice mixture, Biryani Masala Powder.

Marinating Chicken Pieces

  • Wash and clean the chicken pieces. Drain the water well, if required pat them using kitchen towel paper.
  • Now take the chicken pieces in a bowl and add all the ingredients given under marinating chicken section.
  • After marinating the chicken pieces properly, keep it aside for 4-5 hours preferably. If not at least for an hour.

Cooking Rice for Biryani

  • Wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes.
  • Later drain the water and cook the the rice (adding water) along with the whole spices given under the tab 'For Cooking Biryani Rice'.
  • When the rice is cooked 75 to 80% , then drain the water.
  • Spread the rice in plates to cool down.
  • Sprinkle little salt all over the rice.

Cooking Chicken for Biryani

  • Heat oil in a pan and add sliced onions.
  • Add little salt and sugar into it and fry till they are brown and crisp.
  • Now take them out from the oil and keep them on an absorbent paper.
  • In the remaining oil, add potatoes and cook them with little bit of salt and turmeric powder.
  • Take them out and keep aside.
  • Now add ghee in the same pan and add the finely chopped onions.
  • Once they are translucent add marinated chicken pieces.
  • Add coriander powder and salt and cook the chicken pieces.
  • Cover it with a lid and cook in high flame first 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Later reduce the flame and slow cook the chicken pieces by covering with lid and in between stirring.
  • Once the chicken pieces are cooked, keep them aside.

Assembling of Biryani

  • Soak Saffron in warm milk for 10 minutes. The milk will turn light yellow color. You can also add few drops of food color in the milk.
  • Take large pot and grease it with ghee.
  • Now add place one third of the cooked chicken in the bottom and then spread a layer of rice, fried onions (beresta), few potato halves and boiled egg.
  • Add little saffron milk in this layer.
  • On top of this layer, add similar layer by adding cooked chicken, fried onions, rice, potatoes, boiled egg and saffron milk.
  • Finally on the top layer add kewra water and meetha attar.
  • Now close the lid of the pot with a lid and seal the edges with wheat flour dough.
  • Cook on high flame for 2 mins. Remove the pot from the stove.
  • Now place an iron skillet on gas stove and keep the biryani pot on it.
  • Keep the gas on low flame and allow to heat it for 10 minutes or so.
  • Turn off the heat and give a standing time of 10 minutes.
  • Next unseal the edges and serve hot kolkata style chicken biryani with raita.