Biryani rice recipe or biryani chawal - a mild flavored, aromatic rice dish usually served at Indian restaurants.
Procedure of making it is somewhat similar to my jeera rice recipe. Only difference is that Jeera rice has more flavor of Cumin seed in it. While Biryani rice has balanced flavor of whole spices in it with garnish or fried onions.
I have seen at some places that they add saffron in it. I have not added here. But if you want to then mix pinch of crushed saffron in tablespoon of warm milk and add it when you add water.
Addition of fried onions and nuts takes the whole dish to the new level. So please do not skip this.
Check out other rice dishes
Methi rice // Peas pulao // Corn pulao // Carrot rice
How to make biryani rice recipe (Step by Step Photos):
1) Wash the rice under running cold water till water runs clear. Soak into enough warm water for at least 20 minutes.
2) Drain water and keep into colander to dry out for about 15 minutes.
3) Heat the oil or ghee in a pan on medium heat. One hot add whole spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf) and fry till you get nice aroma of them.
4) Then add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
5) Add chopped onions, green chilies and salt.
6) Fry till onions get translucent.
7) Add soaked, drained rice and cook for a minute.
8) Add water and let it come to a boil.
9) Once starts boiling cover the pan and LOWER the heat to lowest possible. Cook for 17-18 minutes without opening the lid.
10) After 17 minutes turn the heat off, still do not open the lid. keep it covered and rest for at least 10 minutes. Let the rice grains firm up.
11) While rice is resting, heat the 2 teaspoons of oil in a small pan. First fry cashews and almonds till light brown, remove it to a bowl.
12) Then in the remaining oil fry sliced onions till it becomes brown.
13) Now open the cover, fluff up with fork.
14) Garnish with nuts and fried onions.
Serving suggestion: serve with any shorba gravy, salan recipes or dal like dal tadka, dal fry or dal makhani. It can be served with any gravy dish like paneer butter masala, palak paneer, mushroom masala.
Recipe Card
biryani rice recipe
Ingredients
For biryani rice recipe:
- 1 cup Long grain rice or basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons Oil or Ghee
- 4 Green cardamoms
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 3 Cloves
- 4-5 Black peppercorns
- 1 Bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ½ cup Red onion finely chopped
- 2 Green chilies slit
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups Water
For fried onions:
- 2 teaspoons Oil
- ½ cup Red onion sliced
- 5-6 Cashew nuts halved
- 4-5 Almonds
Instructions
Preparation:
- Wash the rice under running cold water till water runs clear.
- Soak into enough warm water for at least 20 minutes.
- Drain water and keep into colander to dry out for about 15 minutes.
Making biryani rice recipe:
- Heat the oil or ghee in a pan on medium heat. One hot add whole spices and fry till you get nice aroma of them.
- Then add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
- Add chopped onions, green chilies and salt.
- Fry till onions get translucent.
- Add soaked, drained rice and cook for a minute.
- Add water and let it come to a boil.
- Once starts boiling cover the pan and lower the heat to lowest possible. Cook for 17-18 minutes without opening the lid.
- After 17 minutes turn the heat off, still do not open the lid, keep it covered and rest for at least 10 minutes.
Making fried onion:
- heat the 2 teaspoons of oil in a small pan.
- First fry cashews and almonds till light brown, remove it to a bowl.
- Then fry sliced onions till it becomes brown.
- Now open the cover for rice, fluff up with fork.
- Garnish with nuts and fried onions.
Patrick Reynolds
Hi Kanan - love this site, you taught me how to cook the basmati rice of my dreams! And this recipe is very nice as well to make "fancy" rice 🙂
I am puzzling over something and I hope you can help me. All your recipes for rice use one cup of rice to start, and in the past I've tried to make double the amount (2 cups of rice to start) and it always comes out soggy and sticky. How much water should I use for 2 cups of rice, and how long should I leave it cook for, to make sure it comes out as perfect as when I do it with one cup?
Thank you for your help!
Kanan
Glad that it was helpful.
For cooking rice. The rice:water ratio should be 1:2. Meaning for every cup of rice, we need 2 cups of water. So for 2 cups of rice, use 4 cups of water.
Cooking time will be the same 17-18 minutes.
But if making really big batch, Let's say if making 4-5 cups of rice, then 1:2 ratio will not work. For that really big batch we need less amount of water.
Sujana Londhe
For your next recipe, can you make a vegetable biryani or hyderabadi biryani?
Kanan
sure I will