Chicken Biryani

Indian chicken biryani is a magical thing. It’s party food. And there’s a reason. Everybody loves it. It’s just really tasty stuff.

If you have ever made biryani you know what I’m talking about. It’s the moment you crack it open. The aromas reach out of the pot and grab you. You take that first bite. And you know you’ve made something special.

Traditional biryani is a labour of love. It’s real work. Worth it. So worth it. But it takes time. And it’s tricky. So it isn’t easy to get your fix.

The hardest thing is the rice. Biryani calls for rice that’s 70 percent cooked. Then you take raw chicken. Toss it in. Finish cooking the rice and hope the chicken cooks. Not trivial. Doable. But not trivial.

It works. But there’s an easier way. Restaurant style.

Restaurants aren’t making biryani for 100 at once and hoping you’ll come in and ask for it. They make it to order. Like everything else in an Indian restaurant. And this is how.

Chicken biryani restaurant style

This isn’t stir fried rice. There are a few recipes out there that tell you to stir fry a bunch of stuff. Toss in some pre-cooked basmati. Mix it up. And call it done. This isn’t one of those.

You could simplify it. You could pre-cook the chicken completely. And then just heat your chicken biryani through. But that wouldn’t get the magic. The infusion of flavours into the rice.

I bet that’s what a lot of restaurants do. Just go as fast as they can. But that’s not how I roll. I want it all. I want the taste. The depth of flavour. And I want it fast. Maybe not quite as fast as in a restaurant. But close.

Flavour the rice

Biryani is about rice. That’s kind of obvious. But it’s about rice that’s infused with flavour. It’s the combination that make the magic.

So plain white basmati isn’t going to cut it. It needs spicing up. That’s not hard. Just a few extra ingredients.

And salt. Please salt your rice. It’s just not going to work if you don’t. This is not the place to watch your sodium.

Nothing to this step really. Just toss the seasoning into the pot. And cook. Easy. But really important. So don’t skip this step.

Chicken biryani gets a boost from chicken stock

I’m going to guess this one is not Indian restaurant standard. It might be somewhere. Probably should be. But I haven’t seen anyone do it. So I’m going to say this one is a glebekitchen special.

The magic in a biryani comes from cooking the chicken in a sealed pot. It’s like pressure cooking chicken flavour into the rice. 15 minutes and half cooked chicken isn’t going to cut it.

So it has to come from somewhere. And that somewhere is chicken stock. Not 100 percent chicken stock though. Just enough to get things going in the right direction.

Cook the chicken

Traditional chicken biryani has seared chicken that hasn’t nearly been cooked through. That works because the rice can stand a nice long cook. That’s why it’s parboiled.

Restaurant style doesn’t take as long. So the chicken has to be almost cooked when it all goes together. Not a big deal. Just an adjustment in the approach.

The time it takes to sear big pieces of bone in chicken isn’t a lot less than the time it takes to cook bite size pieces of chicken thigh. So roughly even from a timing perspective.

And you have the benefit of seriously tasty chicken. So it’s a win-win.

Experienced Indian cooks will notice I leave the yoghurt out of this recipe. That’s not an oversight. I’ve tried this with yoghurt. I wanted to love it. I really did. But it doesn’t work. It blunts the flavour too much. And glebekitchen is all about flavour.

Bake your chicken biryani

This is probably the biggest difference between a classic biryani and the restaurant version. Bake your biryani. Toss it in the oven and close the door.

Classic biryani is cooked on the stove. Or over a fire. Making it for 100 takes a big fire. Super cool videos on YouTube about that. But building a fire is a little too imprecise for a restaurant. Unless you’re an absolute master like Francis Mallmann I guess.

Restaurants need repeatability. Predictability. It needs to work. Every. Single. Time.

And they don’t have a hundred burners on their stovetops. But they do have ovens. And you can stack a lot of single servings of biryani in an oven.

Makes sense to me. I use the oven whenever I need consistent, even heat. And consistent even heat works well here.

Make this recipe your own

I worked hard to come up with this recipe. I ate a lot of biryani. A lot. Luckily I like it so it wasn’t too much of a hardship.

In the end I have a technique. That I can use to mix things up. Lamb. Hyderabadi style. Whatever I want.

And you can do it too. I don’t like raisins in my biryani. If you do, toss some in. Want it spicier? A bit of green chili with the cumin seed will fix you up. Richer? Add some ghee to the pot before you put it in the oven.

Whatever you want. Go for it. Make it your own chicken biryani. But make it. Just make it.

chicken biryani – indian restaurant style

Ingredients

The rice

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup chicken stock – low or no sodium. Bouillon cubes are not chicken stock.
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 2 inch cinnamon bark also known as cassia
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Biryani spice mix

• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp kasoor methi also known as dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp kasmiri chili powder
• 1/2 tsp amchoor powder dried mango powder

The chicken

• 5 tbsp neutral oil I use canola
• 1 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless and cut into three or four pieces per thigh
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup shallots thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
• the biryani spice mix
• 1 tbsp tomato paste diluted with 4 tbsp water

The chicken biryani

• the seasoned rice from above
• the cooked chicken along with all the tasty sauce
• 1 tbsp fried shallot plus more to garnish (see notes if you want to make them yourself)
• a few strands of saffron diluted in a couple tablespoons of warm water
• cilantro and fried shallots to garnish

Instructions

• Before you get started set your oven on to 350F.

Make the rice

• Want perfect rice every time? Get a rice cooker. I don’t like one trick kitchen appliances as a rule but I love my rice cooker. Something to think about…
• If you do have a rice cooker use it. Just combine the rice ingredients and proceed as you normally do. While the rice is cooking cook the chicken.
• If you don’t have a rice cooker this is an easy way to make basmati. You can pre-soak, rinse or whatever you want but this works pretty well as written. Blasphemy. I know. But it works. I did this for years until I got a decent rice cooker.
• Pick a saucepan with a fairly tight fitting lid that’s not way too big. Combine the water, chicken stock, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt and the rice in your chosen saucepan.
• Bring to a simmer over medium heat uncovered. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Set a timer. Seriously. While this is going on make the chicken (see below).
• When the timer goes off after 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let stand an additional 5 minutes. Uncover. Remove the whole spices. They should be just sitting on top. Fluff gently and replace the cover to keep the rice warm.

Make the chicken

• Make the biryani spice mix. Just combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Dilute the tomato paste. Slice your shallots. Have everything at hand.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until they start to brown. They will brown some more in the next couple steps.
• Add the cumin seed. Cook for about 30 seconds.
• Add the garlic ginger paste. Stir it into the oil and cook until it stops sputtering. Watch it. Don’t let it burn.
• Turn the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and the 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to thoroughly combine the oil in the pan with the spices. Cook for about 30 seconds. Really watch it. There should be enough oil in the pan. If the spices start to stick turn down the heat and add a bit more oil.
• Add the diluted tomato paste, stir and turn the heat up to medium. Cook about a minute.
• Add the chicken and cook, stirring regularly until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 150F. You want it mostly cooked. It will finish cooking in the assembled biryani.

Assemble the chicken biryani

• Use a pot that’s about 9-10 inches in diameter. Make sure it has a pretty tight fitting lid.
• Put a little more than half the rice in the pot and spread it out in an even layer. Top with the chicken mixture. Add the rest of the rice. Top with the fried shallots/onions (see note if you are making them yourself). Drizzle the saffron water mixture overtop.
• Cover the pot with tinfoil and then the lid. The tinfoil adds a little extra seal. It’s not quite as good as the dough seal in a traditional biryani but it will work well enough.
• Transfer the chicken biryani to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• After the biryani has baked for 15 minutes remove it from the oven and place it on the stove. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• To serve transfer the contents to a platter. It will get a bit messy. That’s OK. The mix will look good, especially once you garnish it. It should look just like the pictures because that’s exactly what I did.
• Garnish with more fried shallots and a bit of cilantro. Dig in and enjoy.

Notes

Nutrition

chicken biryani - indian restaurant style

Ingredients

The rice

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup chicken stock - low or no sodium. Bouillon cubes are not chicken stock.
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 5 cloves
• 2 inch cinnamon bark also known as cassia
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Biryani spice mix

• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp kasoor methi also known as dried fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp kasmiri chili powder
• 1/2 tsp amchoor powder dried mango powder

The chicken

• 5 tbsp neutral oil I use canola
• 1 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless and cut into three or four pieces per thigh
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup shallots thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
• the biryani spice mix
• 1 tbsp tomato paste diluted with 4 tbsp water

The chicken biryani

• the seasoned rice from above
• the cooked chicken along with all the tasty sauce
• 1 tbsp fried shallot plus more to garnish (see notes if you want to make them yourself)
• a few strands of saffron diluted in a couple tablespoons of warm water
• cilantro and fried shallots to garnish

Instructions

• Before you get started set your oven on to 350F.

Make the rice

• Want perfect rice every time? Get a rice cooker. I don’t like one trick kitchen appliances as a rule but I love my rice cooker. Something to think about…
• If you do have a rice cooker use it. Just combine the rice ingredients and proceed as you normally do. While the rice is cooking cook the chicken.
• If you don’t have a rice cooker this is an easy way to make basmati. You can pre-soak, rinse or whatever you want but this works pretty well as written. Blasphemy. I know. But it works. I did this for years until I got a decent rice cooker.
• Pick a saucepan with a fairly tight fitting lid that’s not way too big. Combine the water, chicken stock, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt and the rice in your chosen saucepan.
• Bring to a simmer over medium heat uncovered. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Set a timer. Seriously. While this is going on make the chicken (see below).
• When the timer goes off after 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let stand an additional 5 minutes. Uncover. Remove the whole spices. They should be just sitting on top. Fluff gently and replace the cover to keep the rice warm.

Make the chicken

• Make the biryani spice mix. Just combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Dilute the tomato paste. Slice your shallots. Have everything at hand.
• Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until they start to brown. They will brown some more in the next couple steps.
• Add the cumin seed. Cook for about 30 seconds.
• Add the garlic ginger paste. Stir it into the oil and cook until it stops sputtering. Watch it. Don’t let it burn.
• Turn the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix and the 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to thoroughly combine the oil in the pan with the spices. Cook for about 30 seconds. Really watch it. There should be enough oil in the pan. If the spices start to stick turn down the heat and add a bit more oil.
• Add the diluted tomato paste, stir and turn the heat up to medium. Cook about a minute.
• Add the chicken and cook, stirring regularly until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 150F. You want it mostly cooked. It will finish cooking in the assembled biryani.

Assemble the chicken biryani

• Use a pot that’s about 9-10 inches in diameter. Make sure it has a pretty tight fitting lid.
• Put a little more than half the rice in the pot and spread it out in an even layer. Top with the chicken mixture. Add the rest of the rice. Top with the fried shallots/onions (see note if you are making them yourself). Drizzle the saffron water mixture overtop.
• Cover the pot with tinfoil and then the lid. The tinfoil adds a little extra seal. It’s not quite as good as the dough seal in a traditional biryani but it will work well enough.
• Transfer the chicken biryani to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• After the biryani has baked for 15 minutes remove it from the oven and place it on the stove. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• To serve transfer the contents to a platter. It will get a bit messy. That’s OK. The mix will look good, especially once you garnish it. It should look just like the pictures because that’s exactly what I did.
• Garnish with more fried shallots and a bit of cilantro. Dig in and enjoy.

Notes

Nutrition

Easy pad thai. That’s three words that make me smile. This is the classic noodle stir fry that everybody loves. Famous for a reason. It’s absolutely delicious.

There’s no reason you can’t make it yourself. It’s a snap to make. Comes together in no time. Perfect for weeknight dinners.

This is street style cooking. High heat. Everything ready to go. Just bang it out. Like you were working a stall in Bangkok. Simplified ingredients. Same technique.

Full disclosure. This post is a re-tread. I have been playing with this recipe since I originally published it. This is the new and improved version. Expect it to change again in a couple years.

I’ve been making this easy pad thai forever

There was a time before Internet. Hard to believe. But true. The dark ages.

Back then, you had to figure things out the hard way. PBS. Cookbooks. Word of mouth. Wasn’t so easy.

I learned how to cook this dish in the only cooking class I ever took. Taught by a Thai woman who I would credit for this recipe. Except I have no idea what her name was.

The recipe has drifted a fair bit over the years. But I still have my original notes. So I know it’s really her recipe. With some of my technique on top. Some tweaks. Easy pad thai glebekitchen style.

This is weeknight cooking

I make a more complicated version. Dried shrimp. Palm sugar syrup. Salted radish. Blazing high heat. More in line with traditional recipes.

I make all sorts of Thai noodle dishes. I’m a rice noodle addict. My name is Romain and I have a problem.

But I keep coming back to this one. When I want something fast. It’s fast, happy food for me.

This is pad thai for when you don’t feel like going the distance. No dried shrimp, no salted radish, no palm sugar and no marinated tofu. Simple. But so tasty.

Don’t fear the fish sauce

A word on fish sauce. There is no substitute. Seriously. If you eat at Thai or Vietnamese restaurants, you eat fish sauce. You may not know it. But you do.

Soy sauce is not a substitute. Soy sauce will destroy this dish. Kill it. Like “This is about the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth” bad. Just. Don’t. Do. It.

Luckily, you can find fish sauce at a big grocery store. It’s not exotic any more.

Probably worth hitting a decent Asian grocer though. For a better fish sauce brand. Pay the extra three dollars. There’s a lot of variability. Google “fish sauce review”. You’ll see.

If you like Thai or Vietnamese it’s worth getting good fish sauce. It’s the backbone of these cuisines. I have three different types on the go right now.

Fish sauce doesn’t go in the fridge. So it’s not so bad. My soy sauce collection on the other hand…

The sauce is the thing

It’s a simple thing. Mix a few ingredients together. Done. But the sauce is what makes this dish what it is.

Tamarind paste is the key. It has this complex, slightly sour taste. Not like anything else.

Worth it for this dish alone. But so good in so many recipes. Tamarind and Indian. Tamarind and Thai. Latin. Cocktails. Just get some. You won’t be sorry.

You can play with this recipe. Probably should play with this recipe. Modify it to your taste. Add tofu or scramble an egg. Leave out the chicken.

Whatever you want. Just don’t mess with the sauce.

Don’t boil your noodles for pad thai

I cannot stress this enough. Soak your rice noodles in hot water. This is critical. Critical. Did I mention this was important?

Keep boiling water away from rice noodles any time you are stir frying them. Boiling water makes mushy noodles. Unless you nail the timing. And mushy noodles makes terrible pad thai. Simple as that.

Soak your noodles in hot water for 30-45 minutes. Just do it. You will be bitterly disappointed if you don’t. You want them pliable. A bit toothy. Think 85 percent of the way there. They will finish cooking in the wok.

One thing to note. All rice noodles are not created equal. I can’t say I understand. But I do know all brands do not soften at the same rate. So you are going to need to figure this out for yourself. Annoying. I know. Sorry. I can’t help you here.

Serve with lime wedges, chopped peanuts, cilantro and vinegar soaked chilies on the side. Maybe some extra bean sprouts. Let everyone customize to taste.

Don’t try to make more than two servings at a time

Stir frying doesn’t scale. Never does. And that’s especially true here. Unless you have a jet engine for a burner. And a wok the size of a car. Then maybe it might work. If you live.

You need to maintain some sort of balance. Heat. The ability to move things around in the wok. And volume. Up the volume and the others go down.

And that’s going to disappoint. For sure. Truth be told this recipe works even better if you cut it in half. Cook one portion at a time. That’s real street cooking.

Easy pad thai any time you want it

This is easy pad thai. For Tuesday night. For any night. Easy. Any day. Every day.

Next time you feel like picking up the phone to order in make this instead. You won’t be sorry.

easy pad thai

Ingredients

Pad thai sauce

• 4 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp tamarind paste – not tamarind concentrate – that is way too strong.
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp sambal oelek
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

Easy pad thai

• 8 oz rice noodles (ban pho) – about 1/2 a package
• 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 8 oz chicken thighs boneless, skinless (or one large chicken breast)
• 6 shrimp (optional). 31-40 per lb works well here.
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3-4 garlic chives chopped
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 2 Tbsp peanuts chopped
• 1 Tbsp cilantro

To serve

• lime wedges
• cilantro
• vinegar soaked chilies – see notes
• chopped peanuts

Instructions

Do your prep

• Soak the rice noodles in fairly hot water for 30-45 minutes. They will turn white but still be quite firm. You want them a little toothy. Not hard. Just toothy. Pliable. 85 percent of the way there. Start checking them after about 20 minutes. This is important.
• While the noodles are soaking, do your prep. Chop your vegetables. Cut the chicken into 3/4 inch cubes. Peel your shrimp if using.
• Chop your peanuts. I like a mini food processor. You don’t want to make peanut butter but you don’t want huge pieces of peanut either. If you don’t have a mini food processor chop by hand. It takes a while but you’ll get there.
• Combine the fish sauce, brown sugar, tomato paste, tamarind and sambal oelek. Stir to combine. This is your pad Thai sauce.

Make the pad thai

• This goes fast. Be ready. Have everything at hand. Heat a well seasoned wok or large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add the oil.
• When the oil starts to shimmer, add the chicken and cook for two minutes. Add the shrimp. Cook until the chicken is just done and the shrimp are opaque – about 3-5 minutes total. Probably closer to 3 than 5 but I don’t know how hot your stove is…
• Turn the heat way down. If you’re cooking on electric just slide it off the burner. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds. You don’t want the garlic to burn. It gets bitter. That’s no good.
• Crank the heat to max. Mix in the noodles. Stir to coat the noodles with oil. Cook about 45-60 seconds, stirring constantly. Be careful not to break the noodle strands. At this point you want the noodles just done right. Try one to see.
• Add the pad thai sauce and stir. Get it all evenly coloured. Remove from heat.
• Mix in the garlic chives, cilantro and bean sprouts and chopped peanuts.
• Serve, topped with chopped peanuts.
• Pass the lime wedges, sambal oelek, cilantro and chopped peanuts to allow people to tweak to their individual tastes.

Notes

Nutrition