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Authentic chettinad chicken biryani recipe with freshly grounded chettinad biryani masala marinated along with the tender chicken, cooked to the perfection with aromatic herbs and basmati rice.

 

Chettinad Chicken Biryani

Chettinad Chicken biryani is also known as chettinad kozhi( biryani) biryani and it is very famous in the state of Tamilnadu, India.  The biryani is made with basmati rice or jerraka samba rice, aromatic chettinad spices, chicken pieces, yogurt, ghee and herbs. The key ingredient to make the authentic chettinad biryani is the biryani masala. I have already shared the recipes for chettinad egg biryani and chettinad mushroom biryani where the biryani masala is same for both the biryanis. But here its little different, we are adding the fennel seeds to our chettinad biryani masala. Fennel seeds are good for digestion and it’s been mainly added to most of the chettinad non-vegetarian recipes.

Chettinad Cuisine

As most of you guys know I am from Chettinad (Karaikudi) southern part of India, I have learnt so many interesting recipes from my mom, grandma and aunt’s and it’s always difficult for me to cook without the touch of chettinad in my recipes. Chettinad cuisine offers a huge variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Already I have shared few of my favorite recipes from chettinad cuisine like paal kozhukattai, paal paniyaram, mushroom biryani, chettinad egg biryani, etc.,

Why this chettinad chicken biryani is the best?

This is one of the BEST aromatic and flavorful biryani recipe with freshly grounded biryani masala , loaded with herbs and perfectly cooked chicken along with the beautiful basmati rice. The best thing about this recipe is you can cook this chicken biryani using one pot or pressure cooker or instant pot. All the three versions are available in this post.

How to select the best chicken for chicken biryani

For the best chicken flavors select either chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks to make the flavorful chicken biryani. Avoid boneless chicken parts and chicken breasts since they might turn dry when cooked. Today I have used chicken drumsticks, two whole chicken drumsticks and six big chunks of drumstick pieces to make this chettinad chicken biryani.

The key ingredient – Chettinad Biryani Masala

Biryani masala is the important ingredient to make a perfect Chettinad chicken biryani recipe, the biryani flavor varies from state to state, Chettinad biryani masala is something I love and make it frequently.

The ingredients to make chettinad biryani masala are:

• • Cinnamon stick
  • Green cardamom pods
  • Cumin seeds
  • Black peppercorns
  • Fennel seeds
  • Star anise
  • Cloves
  • Mace blade
  • Black cardamom
  • Stone flower dagad phool/kalpasi

Dry roast the above mentioned ingredients in low flame until you get nice aroma. Once cooled, grind them to semi coarse powder. Store the extra biryani masala powder in an air tight container for future use. But I highly recommend to grind the fresh masala every time, nothing beats the smell of freshly grounded biryani masala!

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Ingredients to make chettinad chicken biryani

The main ingredients to make delicious chettinad chicken biryani recipe are basmati rice, chicken, Indian spices, Chettinad biryani masala, yogurt, etc.

Rice: As mentioned you can either use basmati rice or jeeraka samba rice for the recipe. I have used basmati rice for making this chicken biryani recipe. The rice and water ratio to cook is 1:2 on stove top method, 1:1.75 for pressure cooker method and 1:1.5 for Instant pot method.

Chicken: Country chicken (naatu kozhi) works the best for the recipe since it has lots of amazing flavors. In the recipe organic chicken used.

Ghee: Biryani is incomplete without ghee (clarified butter) . My personal preference is to mix equal parts of  ghee and oil to the biryanis. If you want to make extra richer, add only ghee to the biryani recipe.

Indian spices: Turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chili powder are used.

Coconut milk: For chettinad chicken biryani thick coconut milk diluted in water is used to cook the rice along with the chicken. The flavors will be entirely different from the other biryani varieties you have ever tried!

Ginger & garlic paste: Grind 1 inch ginger with 10 cloves to a smooth paste. We will be using the half of it for marinating the chicken pieces and other half while making the chicken biryani.

Chettinad biryani masala: On a low flame dry roasts the mentioned whole spices and makes it to a coarse powder to use it to our chicken biryani.

Herbs: Mint and cilantro are the two important herbs needed for a perfect flavorful biryani recipe. You will be needing handful of chopped herbs for the recipe.

Yogurt: Curd/yogurt is used to marinate chicken, it tenderizes the meat and helps to cook faster and also it gives slightly tangy flavor to our biryani recipe.

Marinating chicken for Chettinad chicken biryani

For most of the biryani recipes like Hyderabad biryani, Kolkata biryani, Chettinad biryani marinating the meat is very important. The more time the chicken marinates the more flavorful the biryani will be. So don’t skip this step at any cause.

Here are the ingredients to marinate the chicken pieces

• Chicken
• Yogurt
• Salt
• Turmeric powder
• Red chili powder
• Chettinad biryani masala
• Oil
• Lemon juice
• Ginger and garlic paste

In a medium size bowl add the chicken pieces (I did a slight cut on the chicken pieces for easy marination) and other marinating ingredients and mix it well. Make sure you coat the marination all over the chicken pieces. Let the chicken pieces rest for at least an hour.

How to make chettinad chicken biryani (Stove-top method)

Let’s see how to make this flavorful one pot chettinad chicken biryani recipe with step by step pictures and clear instructions.

Wash and rinse the basmati rice until the water is clear. Soak the rice for 30 minutes and start making the biryani.

Heat a heavy bottom casserole pot or Dutch oven; add oil and ghee (clarified butter)

Once the ghee is melted add the bay leaf and silted green chili (the green chili I have used is spicy so if you are using less spicy chilies add 3-4 of them)

Add the sliced red onions on sauté them until crispy. Add the freshly grounded ginger and garlic paste.

Once the raw smell of the ginger and garlic paste is gone add the sliced tomatoes. Cook them until the tomato turns mushy. Use a small tomato for the recipe.

Now add the marinated chicken pieces along with the remaining marination if there is any left. Cook for 5- 6 minutes.

Once the chicken pieces have cooked for almost 5 minutes, add the spice powders (turmeric powder, red chili powder, chettinad biryani masala) and salt and sauté for a minute in a low flame.

Add the chopped mint and cilantro leaves and sauté for 2-3 minutes and cook until the oil oozes out.

It’s the time to add the soaked basmati rice followed by coconut milk (thick) and water. Check for salt in this stage; add some more chopped mint and cilantro.

Close the lid and cook on medium flame until the water is absorbed.

Rest the pot for 15 minutes and then serve the flavorful chettinad chicken biryani with raita and enjoy!

 Chettinad Chicken Biryani Recipe – Pressure cooker method

1. Marinate the chicken along with the ingredients mentioned on “To marinate chicken” section for at least 1 hour. Rinse and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile make the biryani masala by dry roasting and grinding the ingredients mentioned under “For making Chettinad biryani masala” section.
3. Heat a pressure cooker; add oil and ghee to it, then add the bay leaves and green chili.
4. Add the thinly sliced onions and cook until the onions caramelize. Later add the freshly grounded ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw flavor goes.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes until it turns mushy followed by chopped mint and coriander leaves.
6. After 2 minutes add the marinated chicken and give it a mix and add the spice powders, turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala.
7. Once the raw smell is gone, cook until the oil oozes out from chicken. Add the soaked basmati rice along with coconut milk and water and salt to cook the biryani.
8. Close the pressure cooker with weight on. Cook on a medium flame for 2 whistles.
9. Switch off the flame once done and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove the extra pressure if any.
10. The aromatic spicy Chettinad chicken biryani is ready and it can be served with yogurt/raitha.

Chettinad Chicken Biryani Recipe – Instant Pot Method

1. Marinate the chicken along with the ingredients mentioned on “To marinate chicken” section for at least 1 hour. Rinse and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile make the biryani masala by dry roasting and grinding the ingredients mentioned under “For making Chettinad biryani masala” section.
3. In Instant pot, press “SAUTE” mode; add oil and ghee to it,then add the bay leaves and green chili.
4. Add the thinly sliced onions and cook until the onions caramelize.
5. Later add the freshly grounded ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw flavor goes. Add the chopped tomatoes until it turns mushy followed by chopped mint and coriander leaves.
6. After 2 minutes add the marinated chicken and give it a mix and add the spice powders, turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala.
7. Once the raw smell is gone, cook until the oil oozes out from chicken. Add the soaked basmati rice along with coconut milk and water and salt to cook the biryani.
8. Close the Instant pot lid, Press “CANCEL” and select “MANUAL” for 4 minutes. Make sure the valve is in “SEALING” position.
9. Once done let it rest for 10 minutes. And then release the remaining pressure if any.
10. The aromatic spicy Chettinad chicken biryani is ready and it can be served with yogurt/raitha.

If you tried this Chettinad chicken biryani recipe let me know how it turned. Take a picture and tag me @veg2nonveg_kitchen on Instagram with the hashtag #veg2nonvegkitchen. I would love to see your creation.

Chettinad Chicken Biryani Recipe

Authentic chettinad chicken biryani recipe with freshly ground chettinad biryani masala, basmati rice, chicken and herbs from the scratch with step by step photos. All the version stove-top , pressure cooker and Instant pot method explained in detail.

4.25 from 4 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chettinad, Indian

Keyword: Chettinad chicken biryani, Chicken biryani recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Marination Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 3 people

Calories: 750kcal

Equipment

• Dutch Oven

Ingredients

For making Chettinad biryani masala

• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 2 Green cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Black peppercorns
• 2 Star anise
• 4 Cloves
• 1 Mace blade
• 1 Black cardamom
• 1 Stone flower dagad phool/kalpasi

To marinate chicken

• 1 pound Chicken
• ½ cup Yogurt
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon Red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon Chettinad biryani masala
• 2 tablespoons Oil
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Ginger and garlic paste

For making chettinad chicken biryani

• 1.5 cup Basmati rice soaked in water for 30 minutes
• 2.5 cups water
• ½ cup coconut milk
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons Oil
• 2 tablespoons Ghee clarified butter
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 Star anise
• 1 Green chili
• 1 cup Red onion thinly sliced
• 1 medium sized Tomato thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Ginger and garlic paste
• ¼ cup Mint leaves chopped
• ¼ cup Coriander leaves /cilantro chopped
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon Red chili powder
• 2 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 2 teaspoon Chettinad biryani masala

Instructions

• Clean the chicken pieces and transfer it to a medium sized bowl.
• Marinate the chicken along with the ingredients mentioned on “To marinate chicken” section for at least 1 hour.
• Rinse and soak the basmati rice for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile make the biryani masala by dry roasting and grinding the ingredients mentioned under “For making Chettinad biryani masala” section.
• Heat a casserole pot or a Dutch oven ; add oil and ghee to it.
• Then add the bay leaves and green chili.
• Add the thinly sliced onions and cook until the onions caramelize.
• Later add the freshly grounded ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw flavor goes.
• Add the chopped tomatoes until it turns mushy followed by chopped mint and coriander leaves.
• After 2 minutes add the marinated chicken and give it a mix and add the spice powders, turmeric powder, red chili powder, biryani masala.
• Once the raw smell is gone cook until the oil oozes out from chicken.
• Add the soaked basmati rice along with coconut milk and water and salt to cook the biryani.
• Cook on a medium flame with the lid closed until all the water is absorbed.
• Switch off the flame once done and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• The aromatic spicy Chettinad chicken biryani is ready and it can be served with yogurt/raitha.

Notes

• For Instant pot Chettinad chicken biryani: If you are making this chicken biryani in Instant pot then cook on “Sauté” mode till adding chicken and after adding the rice change it to “Manual” mode and cook it for 4 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes.
• For pressure cooker chettinad chicken biryani: If you are making this chicken biryani in pressure cooker follow the same procedure and cook the biryani for 2 whistles. Release the pressure after 20 minutes if there is any.

Nutrition

Serving: 3g | Calories: 750kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 23.2g | Fat: 34.4g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 1648mg | Potassium: 928mg | Fiber: 14.2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 0IU | Vitamin C: 0mg | Calcium: 261mg | Iron: 9mg

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