Biryani is my favourite meal. I have made biryani over hundreds of times over the past ten years or so. I have tried many different ways, customised a lot and finally I have come up with a perfect recipe that gives juicy chicken, well textured rice, and irresistible flavour.
It’s a one pot biryani recipe which keeps it a little easier. I know, making biryani is a little overwhelming or even intimidating in experience.
A lot of recipes use too much oil/ghee or too much rice and very little chicken. In this recipe, I have tried to balance all that with a healthy ratio of protein, carbs, and fat.
Reasons to like this chicken drumstick biryani
A complete meal
Biryani is something you can enjoy on its own. The fact that you don’t need to make another dish eases the mental pressure. Maybe it’s for that reason, I find making biryani a therapeutic experience.
With the correct macro, this is a healthy meal and can help you to lose weight or gain muscle if you manage your portion correctly.
Tasty and juicy chicken
I make lamb biryani as well sometimes for a change of taste but there’s something different in chicken biryani. The combination of the chicken and rice makes the flavour that nothing can beat.
After making the biryani with different chicken parts, I found the drumsticks are the best for this. That large chunks of meat in the drumsticks stay moist and juicy.
I find the drumsticks also make the meal very attractive. The well roasted chicken piece surrounded with the shiny rice texture is so appealing.
Less cutting
Apart from slicing the onion and chopping some herbs, there isn’t any cutting involved in this recipe.
Keep the drumsticks whole, but pore some holes around using a small knife so the seasoning can go inside.
Protein and calories
This amazing meal has really good 40g of protein and around 600 calories per serve. Additionally, about 68g of carbs and 18g of fat.
It’s almost a perfect macro that most of the athletes/bodybuilders follow. I follow this ratio whether I’m trying to lose fat or gain muscle but adjusting the portion size. Meaning, eating a little more when trying to gain muscle, and a little less when trying to lose weight.
Ingredient notes
Rice
I have used sella basmati rice for this recipe. I recommend this rice as it doesn’t easily break. The golden colour of this rice also looks great in the eyes.
Sella rice also has a number of health benefits because of its fiber content. It also tastes great as the rice stays intact and doesn’t become too soft.
When soaking the rice, it’s important to use the same amount of water. Please discard any water left after rinsing the rice to make this accurate.
Chicken drumsticks
In some places, drumstick is called leg piece. I wonder why 😛 . When choosing the drumsticks, get the medium sized pieces if you can. They get cooked well and don’t easily become dry.
Drumsticks are a quality protein source. Take the skin off to lower the saturated fat content. Doing so will increase the protein amount per calories as well.
Spices
There are no hard rules when it comes to spices. Some people like them more, some prefer to keep the biryani more naturally flavoured.
Measurement of the spices in this recipe is for mild flavour. Feel free to adjust as per your preference.
Storage
Chicken biryani tastes even better the next day. Store it in the fridge in a container and you can enjoy for a couple of days.
When reheating, please do that conventionally in a pan. For some reason, microwave makes the chicken not so tasty.
Recipe
One Pot Chicken Drumstick Biryani
Ingredients
Marinating chicken
- 1½ kg chicken drumsticks
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Frying onion
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 piece onion large
Soaking rice
- 2 cup rice
- 2 cup warm water
- 8 piece cardamom pods
- 2 piece cinnamon stick
- 8 piece cloves
- 1 piece star anise
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oil
Topping
- 1 tbsp ghee or butter
- ½ cup coriander and mint leaves
- ½ tsp saffron powder
Video
Instructions
- Rinse the rice well and soak with same amount of warm water. Toss in all the whole spices. Then cover it and let it soak for 30 minutes.2 cup rice, 2 cup warm water, 8 piece cardamom pods, 2 piece cinnamon stick, 8 piece cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp oil, 1 piece star anise
- Mash the ginger and garlic in a pestle.2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- Finely chop the onion. Heat up a large pot and put oil. Add in the onion and fry until golden brown.1 piece onion, 2 tbsp oil
- Then take the onion out and put aside in a bowl.
- Take the pot away from heat. After it cooled down, put yogurt, spices, and half of the fried onion. Then, mix well.1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp garam masala, ½ cup greek yogurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, ½ tbsp salt
- Add in the chicken drumsticks. Mix well and cover all the chicken. Spread them to make sure the bottom is all covered.1½ kg chicken drumsticks
- On the second layer, add in all the soaked rice and any remaining water. Spread evenly.
- On the top layer, spread rest of the fried onion and the herbs.½ cup coriander and mint leaves
- Finally, add ghee or butter. Also, sprinkle saffron powder for the colour.1 tbsp ghee or butter, ½ tsp saffron powder
- Cover with foil and put the lid on. Cook on high heat for 15 minutes. Then lower the heat to medium for 10 minutes. At last, cook on low heat for 15 minutes. That's 40 minutes in total.
- After that, turn the heat off and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, take the lid off and mix the biryani gently. Serve warm and enjoy.
