Katchi Biryani
Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 23 Steps 10
Ingredients
Marinade
- 4 large onions, finely sliced and fried in ghee or butter
- 2 cups yoghurt
- 3 green chiles, chopped
- 1 bunch mint leaves, chopped
- 2 Tbsp ghee or butter
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Salt, to taste
- 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 lbs chicken
Rice
- Black cardamom pods
- Black cumin seeds (kala zeera)
- Whole black peppercorns
- Salt, to taste
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 2 ¾ cups uncooked rice
Assembly
- 8 Tbsp butter, in 4 pieces
- Lemon juice
- 1 pinch of saffron or a few drops yellow food coloring
- Milk
- 2 green chillies, whole
- 1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped
- Fried onions
- Garam masala powder
Steps
- Combine fried onions, yoghurt, chopped green peppers, chopped mint leaves, ghee, garam masala powder, salt and ginger garlic paste. Add chicken pieces. Marinate at least 4–5 hours.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add cardamom, black cumin, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, salt and oil. When water boils, mix in rice.
- Cook rice until tender but not completely cooked. Drain.
- Add a very thin layer of rice to the bottom of the pot. Add marinated chicken on top. Top with remaining drained rice.
- Combine saffron and milk. Place one butter chunk in each quadrant of the pot. Pour lemon juice and saffron milk over the rice. Stick whole chiles in the rice.
- Add chopped coriander leaves, fried onions and a sprinkle of garam masala.
- Cover pot completely with foil so no steam escapes. Cook over high heat about 10 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium. Cook about 30–35 minutes, rotating the pot every 10 minutes.
- Check meat and rice are fully cooked.
- Serve.
Notes from the original
- You can substitute lamb or goat for the chicken—in this case, marinate for 12 hours.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Katchi Biryani” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-07-13, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.