Let’s start at the top. What is biryani?
Biryani is an Indian rice based dish made with spices and a protein such as chicken or lamb.
There are at least seven different versions of biryani from Pakistan to New Delhi, but the most famous is from Hyderabad. I am originally from Hyderabad and I take my biryani very seriously.
It is a labor intensive dish to prepare, which is why I was so motivated to learn how to make crock pot biryani.
I first heard of making biryani in the crock pot from Anupy Singla, author of The Indian Slow Cooker. Lentils, chickpeas are all great, but biryani in the slow cooker? Now, that is revolutionary!
The following is an adapted version. The original was made with lamb, I used chicken. She recommends a shorter cooking time for rice, I cooked mine a bit longer. She didn’t add any spices to the rice, I threw in a couple.
Is this dump and dash? No. Is it authentic? YES!
Open your senses to the aroma of turmeric, cloves and ginger bringing a bit of the East to the West.
Cut up one whole chicken and add all the spices. Marinate overnight. You can marinate for a shorter time, but you really want all those flavors infused into the chicken.
Pour some oil on the bottom of the crock pot. Spread the sliced onions. After mixing the chicken with yogurt place in one layer on top of the onions. Squeeze them in! They will shrink in cooking.
Tricky, tricky oh soooo tricky!
This is what makes or breaks biryani..the rice! I cooked mine until it was almost 70% done. The original recipe recommends 50%, but I think that’s just not enough. Push one piece of rice between your fingers, it should have a tiny hard piece on the end left and than you know it’s ready!
Using a slotted spoon remove the rice and cover the top of the chicken completely. It will seal all the chicken and spices underneath. I used this 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Stovetop Slow Cooker.
Mix it a couple times while the rice is cooking with the chicken. Serving in rustic bowl is optional.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 4 inch piece of ginger, grated
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
- 2-4 green chilies, stems removed
- 2 Tablespoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 3 medium yellow onions peeled and sliced very thinly in strips
- 4 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron strands, soaked in 2 Tablespoons milk (optional)
Instructions
- Mix together ginger, garlic, green chilies, garam masala, red chili powder, turmeric, teaspoon of salt, cilantro and mint. Add the chicken and mix to coat. Marinate at least two hours in refrigerator or overnight.
- After marinating, add the yogurt to the lamb and mix well.
- Turn the slow cooker on low. Add onions, 2 tablespoons of the oil and the marinated chicken to the slow cooker. Cook for 3 hours.
- On the stove top, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the rice and teaspoon of salt and turn the heat to low. Allow the rice to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, at which point most of the water will have evaporated, check the rice for almost 70% done. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the rice to the slow cooker. Discard any water remaining in the pot. Level the rice in the slow cooker with the back of a spoon. Drizzle the rice with the remaining oil and the saffron/milk mixture, if desired.
- Cook for 1 hour, fluffing the rice once or twice and bringing the sauce from the bottom to the top.
- Serve with yugurt or raita.
5 Dollars for 40 Worth at Rite Aid 2/10-2/16
Hi! I'm Isra, aka The Frugalette. I took my family from fancy to frugal in 3 years, with 3 kids and 1 income, oh and found the meaning of life too! To read more about my fancy life gone frugal, 
I’m always looking for a new crock pot recipe to try and this sounds amazing! I love anything with fresh ginger. Thanks for sharing. Yum!
I love fresh ginger too Candice! It’s not a hard dish to make, but does have some steps involved.
I don’t think I have ever heard of this dish. I love chicken and anything I can cook in my slow cooker, I REALLY love. Thanks for sharing! I might try this soon!
Dawn
I’d love to know how you like it! This recipe is very spicy, if you don’t like heat I would cut it down a bit.
Oh my Isra! You just brought back so many memories!!! I’ve been looking for this recipes ever since I moved to OH, but could never remember the name of the dish! Thank you so much!
Oh that’s great Maria! Enjoy!
Ah you know how we British love our curries! I use my crock pot a lot but always cook the rice separately. I will be trying your method next time.
I haven’t heard of Biryani before…sounds pretty yummy. I absolutely love using my slow cooker, so I will have to try this out. Thanks!
This looks delicious! How would you make it vegetarian? Maybe change out the chicken for tofu or chickpeas? Hmmm…
I had no idea what this was, but you did a great job explaining it! I’m allergic to chicken, but this is a recipe I would definitely like to try using the lamb option.
Thanks, so much I’m going to make this next week!
This looks really good. I love trying new ethnic dishes.
The Beary Community is a small Muslim Community from Dakshina Kannada with a very distinctive cuisine. The biryani is a ubiquitous feature of the Beary feast and no major celebration is complete without it- from Eid to weddings. The lesser known Beary biryani is famous along the west coast as it is light, less spicy and is easy to digest. Beef, chicken, mutton, fish and prawns are the usual meat used for the Beary Biryani. Though Mutton is the first choice meat. The basmati rice is cooked separately and flavored with ghee and spices like star anise, cinnamon, cardamon and cloves. The meat is cooked separately with onions, garlic, ginger, fresh coriander leaves. When the gravy thickens, the rice and the meat are layered, topped with caramelized onions, fresh mint leaves, roasted cashew nuts and sprinkled with ghee and saffron water. The Biryani is then steamed. This cooking process ensures that the rice in the biryani is fluffy and light without requiring too much ghee or oils while the meaty juices are incorporated into the rice. Beary biryani is served with chicken kebabs and raita. It tastes best when left to sit for a few hours or overnight.
Thank you for sharing (and explaining) this. I like new things, but need descriptions to understand what I’m getting myself into. This sounds good!
I love detailed explanations as well, especially cooking new dishes.
Never heard of Biryani, but this looks and sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
I love Indian food but have been too intimidated to make it. I think I can do this!
Indian food has a lot of spices, but once you know which ones, it’s not that hard.
I’ve never heard of Biryani before but I love rice dishes & if I can do it in the crock pot, I’m game!
If you like rice and spicy, you might want to try this!
I hadn’t ever heard of Birayani either, but it certainly does look delicious! Hubby would love it!
I haven’t had biryani in some time. I would be scared to death to ever make any rice dish in the slow cooker. I didn’t even realize you could! I really love your recipe and maybe, oh maybe I will be brave enough to try it some time. Thanks for sharing
I totally know what you mean. I was so ready for a major fail. This is actually the second time I made it in the crock pot, the first time, the rice was way undercooked. But this time, I pre-cooked it a little more and mixed it a couple times while it was cooking, and it came out really good!