Kolkata Chicken Biryani (Bengali Biryani)

Kolkata Chicken Biryani with step-by-step photos and a video recipe. Kolkata Biryani (or Bengali Biryani) is a flavorful rice dish made with rice, Indian spices, meat (chicken or lamb meat), and potatoes. This biryani has evolved from Lucknow style biryani or Awadhi biryani. The presence of potatoes in Kolkata biryani along with meat and egg ('dim' in Bengali) makes it unique.

This Bengali chicken biryani has all the delectable flavors of Awadhi cuisine. Yet, the presence of potatoes in this biryani makes it unique. Bengali people love potatoes and add them to most of their dishes.

Compared to Hyderabadi Biryani or Mutton Biryani, Kolkata biryani is mild in spices but full of flavors. You can serve it with burani raita, onion slices, and lemon wedge.

About this recipe

In this recipe post, I am sharing how to make Kolkata-style chicken biryani. It is also known as Bengali biryani or Kolkata Murgh Biryani.

The credit for the origin of Kolkata biryani goes to Awadh's last Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. He was exiled in 1856 (by the British Government) to the Kolkata suburb of Metiabruz.

When he arrived in Kolkata, the potato was an exotic vegetable in India. He encouraged their chefs to try this new ingredient. One of the chefs added potatoes while making Awadhi biryani.

Wajid Ali Shah liked the biryani so much that it became a tradition to add potatoes to the biryani. Even today, the popular restaurants in Kolkata serve biryani with potatoes in it.

Though preparing this biryani dish is a time-consuming task but all the hard work is paid off when your family loves the meal.

You may also like these other popular biryani recipes from this website

• Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani
• Mutton Biryani
• Egg biryani in Pressure Cooker
• Chicken biryani in Pressure Cooker
• Chicken Tikka Biryani
• Shrimp Biryani

Why You Need This Recipe

• Easy step-by-step instructions with a recipe video.
• This recipe is easy to customize. Check out the ingredient list below for alternative ingredients. You can add or skip the ingredients as per your taste.
• Make ahead recipe - You can cook it in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days. Reheat until piping hot in the microwave and serve.
• Homemade Kolkata Biryani Masala - You can use store-bought Kolkata biryani masala too. Here, in this recipe post, I have shared how to make Kolkata biryani masala at home.
• Easy Dum cooking method - Dum cooking enhances the flavor of biryani. You can seal the biryani pot with dough or aluminum foil. I have included an easy method of dum cooking in this recipe that doesn’t require dough or aluminum foil.
• Balanced flavor - This biryani recipe is not too spicy. You can adjust the spices as per your taste by increasing or decreasing the biryani masala and red chili powder in the recipe. This is the dish that your whole family can enjoy including the kids.
• Gluten-free

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken – You can use either boneless chicken or chicken with bones. But for the best flavors, I suggest using chicken with bones.
• Rice – Use long-grain, aged basmati rice to make the biryani. It has its own unique aroma & its long grain looks beautiful after cooking.
• Potatoes - This is an important ingredient used in Kolkata biryani. The potatoes soak all the flavors of the biryani yakhni (gravy). It tastes so good that you should give it a try. I have used small size potatoes here. If you are using big size potatoes, cut them in half and then use them.
• Herbs – Coriander leaves & mint leaves. Now, this is completely an optional ingredient. To make authentic Kolkata biryani coriander and mint leaves are not used. You can skip adding them.
• Spice powders – Turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, & cumin powder.
• Curd/Yogurt – Use fresh curd. It tastes sweet.
• Ginger garlic paste         
• Onion – We need onions to make fried onions or birista. If you are using store-bought birista then skip it.
• Lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• Oil - Traditionally, Mustard oil is used to make this biryani. Heat the Mustard oil to the smoking point and then cool it. Now the oil is ready for cooking. You can substitute it with any cooking oil.
• Whole spices –Green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, and Mace. If you do not have black cardamom you can skip it. The rest of the whole spices is important to get the authentic biryani flavors.
• Mace powder and Cardamom powder - Skip if you do not have them.
• Saffron – It is an important ingredient that gives authentic color and flavor. If you do not have it then you can skip it.
• Kewra essence – Gives a nice aroma to the biryani. If you do not have it, skip it.
• Meetha Attar - It gives a beautiful aroma to the biryani. You can easily purchase it online. Or skip it.
• Ghee/clarified butter – It makes the biryani rice nice & moist. Also, the authentic flavor of biryani is incomplete without it. Do not skip it.

For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.

Step by step instructions with photos

Preparations

1. Peel the potatoes. Pressure cook the potatoes for 1 whistle. Let the pressure of the cooker settle down. Remove the potatoes to a plate. Set it aside. (image 1)
2. Soak basmati rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain the water and keep it aside. (image 2)

Making Birista

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan over high heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the onion slices.
3. Fry the onion slices, stirring continuously until it is lightly golden and crisp. Remove and spread it on a plate. (image 3 & 4)

   

4. Remove the excess oil from the pan leaving only ¼ cup of oil. Be careful, it's hot. (image 5)

Frying Potatoes

1. Dab the potatoes with a clean kitchen tissue or clean cloth to dry them.
2. Shallow fry the potatoes until the outer edges are lightly golden. (image 6)
3. Next, lower the heat and sprinkle some salt, red chili powder, and turmeric powder over the potatoes. (image 7)
4. Cook it for 3-4 minutes. Potatoes are ready. Keep it aside. (image 8)

   

Making Kolkata Biryani Masala

• Heat a pan over low-medium heat.
• Roast all the spices listed under biryani masala until aromatic. Remove it to a plate.
• Let it cool down completely. Grind it to a fine powder. Skip this step, if using store-bought biryani masala.

Marinating chicken

1. In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, ginger-garlic paste, curd/yogurt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, prepared biryani masala powder, salt, coriander leaves, mint leaves, half of the fried onions or birista and oil. Marinate and set it aside. (image 9 & 10)

   

Cooking Rice

1. Heat 7 cups of water in a vessel. Add bay leaf, cloves, green cardamoms, salt, and ghee to it. (image 11)
2. Bring the water to a boil.
3. With the help of a small strainer remove the whole spices and bay leaf. (image 12)
4. Add the basmati rice and cook until the water comes to a boil again. (image 13)
5. Check the rice. If it splits when you press it between your finger and thumb then it is ready. It means they have a slight bite in them & not completely cooked. It should not be soft and mushy when you press it. (image 14)
6. Reserve ½ cup of cooking water from rice. Drain the rice in a colander. Keep it aside. (image 15)

   

Cooking Chicken

1. Heat a heavy bottom pan/kadhai over medium heat. Add ½ cup of oil. I have used the same oil that we used earlier to fry the onions.
2. When the oil is hot, add black cardamom, mace, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamoms, and cloves. Stir-fry it for 10 seconds. (image 16)
3. Add onions and stir fry until lightly golden. (image 17)
4. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook it for a minute.
5. Next, add the marinated chicken. Stir and cook on high heat for 5-7 minutes. (image 18)
6. The oil will release from the sides (image 19).
7. Now cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
8. Meanwhile, we will prepare milk and biryani masala mixture - In a small bowl combine cream (or you can add khoya), milk, water (reserved from cooking rice), and biryani masala powder. Set it aside. (image 20)

   

9. Next, check the chicken whether is cooked. Biryani gravy is ready.

Assembling and layering Kolkata chicken biryani

1. Here, I am layering the biryani in the same Kadhai/pan.
2. Turn the heat to the lowest. Add the fried potato to the biryani gravy and combine. (image 22)
3. Add lemon juice, kewra water, and Meetha attar. (image 23)
4. Layer the rice over the biryani gravy. Spread it evenly. (image 24)

   

5. Pour the saffron soaked in water and the milk and biryani masala mixture (prepared above in step 7 of making the biryani gravy).
6. Next, add Kewra water, Meetha attar, the rest of the fried onions or birista and ghee (image 25). Cover with a lid.

Dum cooking the Kolkata biryani

1. You can seal the biryani pot with dough or aluminum foil.
2. Or another easy method is to place some weight over the lid. It will tightly close the lid and steam will not escape.
3. For that, cover the biryani pot with a plate. The plate will act as a lid. Make sure the plate fits very well on the pot.
4. Place another big vessel filled with water over it. It will add some weight to the plate. The lid will close tightly and steam will not escape. (image 26)
5. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. (image 27)
6. Keep the biryani aside for 5 minutes.
7. Kolkata chicken biryani is ready to serve. (image 28)

   

Tips to make Perfect Kolkata Biryani

• Use a thick bottom pan for making biryani.
• While frying the onions for making barista, do not put too much onion in the oil. It will reduce the temperature of the oil. Also, make sure the oil is hot before you add onions. Otherwise, the onion slices will not be crispy.
• After frying the onions, do not stack the onions one on another. Spread it evenly on a plate.
• Mustard oil is used to cook Kolkata chicken biryani. If you are using mustard oil, heat the Mustard oil to the smoking point and then cool it. Now the oil is ready for cooking.
• If you do not have Mustard oil then you can make the biryani in any regular cooking oil.
• While cooking the potatoes in the pressure cooker, make sure that the potatoes are not completely cooked. If it is completely cooked then while dum cooking the biryani, potatoes will become mushy and spoil the biryani.
• I have used small potatoes that cook faster. But if you are using potatoes that are bigger in size or take longer to cook then cut them in half and use it. Otherwise, the potatoes will remain uncooked from the inside.
• Before frying the potatoes in hot oil, dab them with a cloth to dry them. If the potatoes are wet then there are chances that when you put them in hot oil the oil may spill out over you.
• Make use of fresh curd. Do not use lemon juice if using sour curd.
• Be careful while adding Meetha attar or kewra water. Start with adding Meetha attar, only 2-3 drops mixed in 1-2 teaspoon of water. If needed then only add more. Sometimes, adding more than that can spoil your biryani as it may completely overpower its flavor.

FAQs

Storage Suggestions

1. Let the biryani come to room temperature. You can store the leftover biryani in an airtight container in the freezer. It stays good for 2 weeks.
2. When needed just thaw it. Take it out in a microwave-safe bowl/plate. Sprinkle some water over it & reheat it in the microwave.
3. Store biryani in small portions & take out the quantity that you are ready to consume. Reheat only that portion.
4. Do not reheat the biryani again & again. Biryani will lose its flavors, texture & aroma.
5. Use the leftover biryani within 2 days, if stored in the refrigerator.
6. Do not store biryani at room temperature for more than 5 hours.

Variations that you can try

• You can use the same recipe to make Kolkata Mutton Biryani. However, the only difference will be the cooking time. The cooking time of mutton will be more compared to chicken. You can pressure cook the mutton and then use it to make biryani.

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

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Kolkata Chicken Biryani (Bengali Biryani)

Kolkata Chicken Biryani with step-by-step photos and a video recipe. Kolkata Biryani (or Bengali Biryani) is a flavorful rice dish made with rice, Indian spices, meat (chicken or lamb meat), and potatoes. This biryani has evolved from Lucknow style biryani or Awadhi biryani. The presence of potatoes in Kolkata biryani along with meat and egg ('dim' in Bengali) makes it unique.

Course Main

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 560kcal

Author Preeti

Equipment

• Heavy bottom pan/Kadhai

Ingredients

For the birista

• 2 onions medium size, sliced
• oil to deep fry.

To fry the potatoes

• 4 medium size potatoes
• salt to taste
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder lal mirch powder
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder haldi powder

To marinate the chicken

• 700 gram chicken cut into medium size pieces
• 2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste adrak lahsun ka paste
• ¼ cup curd/yogurt
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder haldi powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder lal mirch powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder dhaniya powder
• 1.5 teaspoon biryani masala powder (recipe is given in the post) (or use store-bought masala)
• ¼ teaspoon mace powder javitri powder
• ½ teaspoon cardamom powder elaichi powder
• ½ cup chopped corinader leaves dhaniya patta
• ¼ cup chopped mint leaves pudina patta
• ½ of the fried onions
• 4 teaspoon oil oil reserved after frying the onions
• salt to taste.

For the rice

• 700 gram basmati rice aged, long grain basmati rice
• 7 cups of water
• 1 bay leaf tej patta
• 4 cloves laung
• 4 green cardamoms choti elaici
• salt to taste
• 2 teaspoon ghee clarified butter

For biryani gravy

• ½ cup of oil
• 1 black cardamom badi elaichi
• 1 Mace Javitri
• 1- inch cinnamon dalchini
• 1 bay leaf tej patta
• 4 green cardamoms choti elaichi
• 5 cloves laung
• 2 onions sliced
• 2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste adrak lahsun ka paste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice nibu ka ras

For layering the biryani

• ¼ cup cream or you can add khoya
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ cup water reserved from cooking basmati rice
• 1.5 teaspoon biryani masala powder
• ½ teaspoon Kewra water
• 3-4 drops Meetha attar
• A pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tablespoon water.
• 2 teaspoon Ghee

For making Kolkata Biryani Masala

• 8 green cardamoms
• 1 black cardamom
• 12 white peppercorns
• 10 cloves
• 2-inch cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Kabab Chini or allspice
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds or shahi jeera
• 1 mace or javitri
• ⅛ piece of Nutmeg

Instructions

Preparations:

• Peel the potatoes. Pressure cook the potatoes for 1 whistle. Let the pressure of the cooker settle down. Remove the potatoes to a plate. Set it aside.
• Soak basmati rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain the water and keep it aside.

Making Birista

• Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Add the onion slices. Deep fry the onion slices, stirring continuously until it is light golden on the sides. Remove and spread it on a plate.
• Remove the excess oil from the pan leaving only ¼ cup of oil. Be careful, it's hot.

To fry the Potatoes

• Dab the potatoes with a clean kitchen tissue or clean cloth to dry them.
• Shallow fry the potatoes until the outer edges are light golden.
• Next, lower the heat and sprinkle some salt, red chili powder and turmeric powder over the potatoes.
• Cook it for 3-4 minutes. Potatoes are ready. Keep it aside.

Making Kolkata Biryani Masala

• Heat a pan over low-medium heat.
• Roast all the spices listed under biryani masala until aromatic. Remove it to a plate.
• Let all the roasted ingredients cool down to room temperature.
• Grind it to a fine powder. Kolkata biryani masala is ready.

Marinating Chicken

• In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, ginger-garlic paste, curd/yogurt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, biryani masala powder, salt, javitri powder, cardamom powder, coriander leaves, mint leaves, half of the fried onions or birista and oil. Marinate and set it aside.

Cooking Rice

• Heat 7 cups of water in a vessel. Add bay leaf, cloves, green cardamoms, salt and ghee to it.
• Bring the water to a boil.
• With the help of a small strainer remove the whole spices and bay leaf.
• Add the basmati rice and cook until the water comes to a boil again.
• Check the rice. If it splits when you press it between your finger and thumb then it is ready. It means they have a slight bite in them & not completely cooked. It should not be soft and mushy.
• Reserve ½ cup of cooking water from the vessel. Drain the rice to a colander. Keep it aside.

Cooking Chicken

• Heat a heavy bottom pan/kadhai over medium heat. Add ½ cup of oil. I have used the same oil used to fry the onions.
• When the oil is hot, add black cardamom, mace, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamoms and cloves. Stir-fry it for 10 seconds.
• Add onions and stir fry until light golden.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and cook it for a minute.
• Next, add the marinated chicken. Stir and cook on high heat for 5-7 minutes.
• The oil will release from the sides. Now cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
• Meanwhile, we will prepare milk and biryani masala mixture - In a small bowl combine cream (or you can add khoya), milk, water (reserved from cooking rice), and biryani masala powder. Set it aside.
• Check whether the chicken is cooked. Biryani gravy is ready.

Assembling and Layering Kolkata Biryani

• Here, I am layering the biryani in the same Kadhai/pan.
• Turn the heat to the lowest. Add the fried potato to the biryani gravy and combine.
• Add lemon juice, kewra water, and Meetha attar.
• Layer the rice over the biryani gravy. Spread it evenly.
• Pour the saffron soaked in water and the milk and biryani masala mixture (prepared above in step 7 of making the biryani gravy).
• Next, add Kewra water, Meetha attar, rest of the fried onions or birista and ghee. Cover with a lid.

Dum Cooking the biryani

• You can seal the biryani pot with a dough or aluminum foil.
• Or another method is to place some weight over the lid. It will tightly close the lid and steam will not escape.
• For that, cover the biryani pot with a plate. The plate will act as a lid. Make sure the plate fits very well on the pot.
• Place another big vessel filled with water over it. It will add some weight on the plate. Lid will close tightly and steam will not escape.
• Cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Keep the biryani aside for 5 minutes.
• Kolkata biryani is ready to serve.

Video

Notes

• Use a thick bottom pan for making biryani.
• The authentic Kolkata biryani recipe does not have coriander or mint leaves in it. I love them in my biryani so I added it. Skip if you are looking for the traditional flavor.
• While frying the onions for making barista, do not put too much onion in the oil. It will reduce the temperature of the oil. Also, make sure the oil is hot, otherwise, the onion slices will not be crisp.
• After frying the onions, do not stack the onions one on another. Spread it evenly on a plate.
• Kolkata biryani is cooked in Mustard oil. Heat the Mustard oil to the smoking point and then cool it. Now the oil is ready for cooking.
• If you do not have Mustard oil then you can make the biryani in any regular cooking oil.
• Before frying the potatoes in hot oil, dab them with a cloth to dry them. If the potatoes are wet then there are chances that when you put them in hot oil, the oil may spill out.
• While cooking the potatoes in the pressure cooker, make sure that the potatoes are not completely cooked. If it is completely cooked then while dum cooking the biryani, potatoes will become mushy and spoil the biryani.
• I have used small potatoes that cook faster. But if you are using potatoes that are bigger in size or take longer to cook then cut them in half and use it. Otherwise, the potatoes will remain uncooked from the inside.
• Make use of fresh curd. Do not use lemon juice if using sour curd.
• Be careful while adding Meetha attar or kewra water. Start with adding only 2-3 drops of Meetha attar mixed in 2 teaspoon of water. If needed then only add more. Sometimes, adding more than that can spoil your biryani as it may completely overpower its flavor.