karachi biryani recipe

Karachi Style Deghi Chicken Biryani – Al Rehman Biryani

Share this...

Karachi style Deghi Chicken Biryani or Al Rehman Biryani is hugely popular and loved Biryani in Karachi. It is a flavorful, traditional Pakistani Chicken Biryani recipe with simple, easy-to-follow instructions and enriches mouthwatering, authentic deghi taste and aroma!

karachi chicken biryani

Table of Content:

  1. What is Al Rehman Biryani
  2. How to make Chicken Biryani-3 Steps
  3. Ingredients you need
  4. Karachi style chicken biryani Recipe
  5. How to do biryani plating
  6. Variations
  7. What to serve with biryani
  8. How to freeze and reheat
  9. Recipe Card
  10. Video
  11. Pro Tips

What Is Al Rehman Biryani or Karachi style Deghi Biryani?

A global dish,Pakistani chicken biryani, which most foreigners try because they have heard a lot about its deliciousness and distinct aroma that tempts them to eat. Karachi seems to be the most popular station for biryani cravers. Biryani is a necessity for Karachiites.

Al Rehman Biryani is among the world’s most popular trending and searched dishes. It’s simple, quick, and delicious. It has its main branch in ‘Kharadar’ area, Karachi. The brains behind this successful venture is Chef Shahid Jutt. It has the special Deghi flavor to it.

Today I will share a simpler version of his recipe and all of the variations and substitutions I made!

How to make Chicken Biryani- 3 Main Steps:

Authentic Pakistani or Karachi style Chicken Biryani is delicious and simple to prepare. And also, you don’t need a ton of hard-to-find spices.

Three main Steps of making Pakistani Chicken Biryani;

  • Making Biryani Masala
  • Parboiling( partial boiling) of Rice
  • Layering and steaming/dum
deghi chicken biryani recipe

Ingredients you Need:

Karachi chicken biryani is intense in spice (and taste!) and is usually prepared with homemade biryani masala or ready-made biryani mix. Various spices and herbs combine to give it the special, spicy deghi flavor.

After much recipe testing, I could confidently post this much-loved and frequently requested recipe. Let’s have a look at a few notes on ingredients;

ingredients for biryani
For Biryani masala layer
layering biryani
Ingredients For center layering
how to make biryani rice
For rice layer

Oil :

In biryani use of oil is recommended instead of ghee. You can use any cooking oil or a mix of oil and ghee in 1:1. Very little oil is used here at the start of this recipe, but more oil will be added in the final dum/steam step.

Ginger garlic paste:

Freshly made ginger garlic is best to remove the raw smell of meat and flavors up the food. Store bought can also be used.

Chicken:

Medium cut chicken with bone is preferred (about 8 pieces of 1 kg chicken), clean and without skin.

Whole spices:

In Biryani, many whole spices are added, I have mentioned the quantity in the recipe, but you can omit or add them according to your availability.

Powder Spices:

You can use either spices from your pantry like red chili powder, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, or simply use ready-made ‘Shan’ spice mix. Your Biryani will taste amazing with either of the options. I have used Shan Biryani mix.

Chicken Cube:

Chefs usually add Chinese Salt in their foods, but I used Maggi Chicken cube because of the unavailability in my area. You can also add chicken powder.

Rice:

I used Long grain Basmati Rice here, but you can also use Sella rice as they both works well. The soaking time is different as sella rice is to be soaked for 3 hours whereas basmati rice only needs half an hour. You can read more details related rice here.

Vegetables:

For the layering of Biryani few vegetables are added. Like sliced tomatoes, chopped coriander, mint leaves, and stem off green chilies.

Fried Onions:

Homemade crispy fried onions brings out the best flavor, but still, whenever you are in a hurry, go with the store bought fried onions.

Dried Plum:

For an amazing tangy and sweet flavor, dried plums ( aloo Bukhara) are added; if it’s not available, you can skip it.

al rehman biryani recipe

Karachi style deghi Chicken Biryani Recipe:

Karachi style deghi Chicken Biryani has a rich flavor, a grand tradition and is usually the star of the show at wedding dinners, Eids, or family gatherings. Chicken Biryani is one of the most commonly asked lunches at my house, religiously at Fridays.

Let’s move towards the recipe and start with an easy step-by-step process.

Step 1 : Making of Biryani Masala:

Start your biryani process by making the biryani masala/curry/korma. First wash your chicken properly and set aside in a strainer. On high flame, add oil, ginger garlic paste, and chicken in a large pot. then add shan Bombay biryani mix , kashmiri red chili powder and chicken cube.

Mix for a minute or two. Now add Whole spices like Cloves, Green Cardamon, Cinnamon sticks and Whole Black Pepper or you can omit or add them according to your availability.

If your family prefers Biryani with potatoes, add potatoes now (cut into chunks), mix well, add two cups of water, and cook covered for 10-15 minutes on low-medium flame or until the potatoes are near to cooked (70% cooked). Then turn off the flame.

how to make biryani korma

Step 2: Parboiling ( partial boiling) of the Rice:

Meanwhile the chicken is cooking; in another large pot, add water and bring it to boil.

Once the water boils up, add salt, rice (pre-soaked for 30 minutes) and oil. Cook the rice for 6 minutes or until it gets half cooked (par boiled), it should have a bite. Then strain the rice.

Don’t let the rice cool off once they are boiled and strained. Use them immediately for steaming (DUM) , make sure your chicken curry is ready before the rice boiling step. Otherwise the rice would begin to curl .

Step 3: Layering and Steaming/Dum:

Meanwhile, the rice is being boiled; in a bowl, add chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions, dried plums, stem-off green chilies and thinly sliced tomatoes and toss them all together well.

Now comes the layering part. Add a layer of all the mixed/tossed ingredients on top of the chicken and increase flame to high. Sprinkle food color (I use Orange-Red), whole spice powder (garam masala), kewra water and biryani essence (optional) on top.

Now put the final layer of the par-boiled rice. Add half cup of oil on top. Cover the lid and cook on high flame for 5 minutes.

Then remove the lid and cook for 5 more minutes on the same high flame. Now turn the flame to lowest and cover the lid properly with foil or cloth for steam (dum) for 5 – 10 minutes.

biryani layering
how to layer biryani
steaming/dum  biryani

How to plate biryani ?

Once Biryani is ready, its time for plating. Deghi Biryani is not supposed to be mixed up once ready. Instead you have to work your way from bottom of the Degh/Pot to the top. Start plating by taking out masala rice from the bottom. Then subsequently, take out white rice, chicken and potato. Be gentle and try not to break the rice.

Also, try to use rice serving spoon, professional skimmer spoon or a plate to mix and serve biryani

Variations of this recipe:

Here is the list of all the changes that i made to the Chef’s recipe; see the columns below for all the alterations and substitutions from the main recipe ;

In My version, I use the following:

Long grain Basmati Rice

Shan special Bombay biryani mix

Potatoes.

Maggie chicken Cube instead of Chinese Salt

Kewra water and Biryani essence.

Combination of red and orange food color.

Sprinkled some food color on top.

Chef Shahid Uses:

Sella Rice.

Homemade spices and salt.

No potatoes

Chinese Salt.

Zafrani kewra

Orange food color (zarday ka rung)

No sprinkle

pakistani chicken biryani

What to serve with Chicken Biryani?

Biryani is a complete dish that can be served with just a raita or Garlic Chutney. Chicken biryani is a meal that contains both carbohydrates and protein, so you’ll only need a vegetable salad.

If you’re hosting a party/ dawat, along with Biryani, you can keep sides like Chicken Bread Rolls or Spicy Cream Cheese Samosas.

And to satisfy everyone’s sweet cravings, you can serve the royal desi dessert Shahi tukray or an english Lotus Biscoff dessert.

How can we make Biryani in advance?

When you plan to make this Biryani for a gathering/dawat, you can do the biryani masala step in advance or a day before and refrigerate it, and then on the main day, just reheat the premade biryani masala and do the rice step , layering and dum step and serve your freshly made Biryani.

chicken biryani photography

How to freeze and reheat biryani?

You can easily freeze your prepared or leftover Biryani in an airtight container or zip-lock bag for up-to 2 weeks. When you are ready to use, just keep it at room temperature for a few hours; once its thawed, shift into a large pot, sprinkle some water over it, and keep it on very low heat until its steaming hot.

Other Dinner recipes you will love

biryani
Print Pin
5 from 9 votes

Karachi Style Deghi Chicken Biryani

Karachi style Deghi Chicken Biryani made simple but authentically. Traditional Pakistani Chicken Biryani recipe with simple steps with true deghi taste and aroma.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian, pakistani, South Asian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Steaming Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Biryani Masala

  • 1/3 cup Oil
  • 2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
  • 1 kg Chicken cut in 8 pieces
  • 2 cups Water
  • 1/2 pkt Special Bombay Biryani (Shan Mix)
  • 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 piece Chicken cube
  • 5-6 Whole Cloves (loung)
  • 10 pods Green Cardamon (elaichi)
  • 2-3 Cinnamon sticks (daar chini)
  • 1/2 tsp Whole Black Pepper (kaali mirch)
  • 3 medium Potato cut in half

For the Rice

  • 3 cups Long grain Basmati Rice (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
  • Water for boiling
  • 3 tbsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Oil

For the Layer

  • 1/2 cup Coriander leaves chopped
  • 1/2 cup Mint leaves chopped
  • 8 Whole Green Chilies stem off
  • 5 pieced Dried Plum (alo bukhara)
  • 3 medium Tomatoes cut in thin slices
  • 3/4 cup Fried Onion
  • 1 tbsp Kewra Water
  • 1 tsp Biryani essence
  • 1 tsp Whole spice powder (garam masala powder)
  • 1 tsp Orange Food color
  • 1/2 cup Oil (for top of the rice layer)

Instructions

  • In a large pot add oil, ginger garlic paste saute until fragrant.
  • On a medium-high flame, add chicken. then add Shan Bombay biryani mix , kashmiri red chili powder, chicken cube. Mix for a minute or two.
  • Add Whole Cloves, Green Cardamon, Cinnamon sticks and Whole Black Pepper. Add potatoes (optional), mix well.
  • Now add two cups of water and cook covered for 10-15 minutes on low-medium flame or until the potatoes are half-cooked. Then turn off the flame.
  • In another large pot add water and bring it to boil. Once the water boils up, add salt, rice (pre-soaked) and oil.
  • Cook the rice for 6 minutes or until it gets half cooked (par boiled), it should have a bite. Then strain the rice.
  • Meanwhile the rice are being cooked, in a bowl add chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions, dried plums, stem-off green chilies and thinly sliced tomatoes and toss them all together very well.
  • Now comes the layering part. Add a layer of all the mixed ingredients (from step 7 above) on top of the chicken curry and increase flame to high.
  • Sprinkle food color (I use Orange-Red), whole spice powder (garam masala), kewra water and biryani essence (optional) on top.
  • Now put the final layer of the par-boiled rice.
  • Add half cup of oil on top. Cover the lid and cook on high flame for 5 minutes.
  • Then remove the lid and cook for 5 more minutes on the same high flame.
  • Now turn the flame to lowest and cover the lid properly with foil or cloth for steam (dum) for 5 – 10 minutes.
  • Once Biryani is ready, time for plating. Degi Biryani is not supposed to be mixed up once ready. Instead you have to work your way from bottom of the Degh/Pot to the top. Start plating by taking out Masala rice from the bottom. Then subsequently take out white rice, chicken and potato. Be gentle and try not to break rice.
  • Serve hot and ENJOY!

Chef Shahid Jutt deserves credit for this recipe. To see the procedure, I viewed his YouTube tutorial video. Sharing his video below, you can also try his authentic version of Al Rehman Biryani.

Pro Tips:

  • Try to use larger pots and pans for making and steaming biryani, so that no breaking of chicken or rice occurs while plating.
  • Use rice serving spoon, professional skimmer spoon or a plate to mix and serve biryani.
  • If you are boiling potatoes separately, add a pinch of orange food color, to make them look more attractive. Then layer them in the chicken curry or either top them over rice layer just before the final dum/steam.
  • If you are using Basmati rice, don’t full done them while boiling; otherwise, they will become mushy after dum/steam.
  • Also, don’t over cook the chicken while making the biryani masala; otherwise, it will break after dum/ steam.
  • Close the lid for dum tightly and seal it with the foil or cloth.
  • Don’t let the rice cool off once they are boiled and strained. Use them immediately for steaming (DUM) once chicken is ready .Otherwise the rice would begin to curl .
  • When making this biryani for a gathering, you can do the biryani masala step a day before and the rice, the dum steps on the final day.

_Craving More?_

You might also like


Did You try this recipe? Let me know in the comments, or tag me on Instagram @the_cravingzone. Also, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the comment section below.


Get Free Recipes straight into your Inbox!

24 Comments

  1. Biryani is my all-time favorite and this degi chicken biryani made me restless to try it out. Today I made it for my family and got so much appreciation from them about the biryani all credit goes to you thank you so much.

  2. 5 stars
    Hi guys
    Hope everyone is going well
    Thank you for the recipe we loved and enjoyed the taste and will be looking further more delicious recipes and more new dishes

    Thank you for such great recipes and will be looking forward for more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating