Chicken Biryani

Family loved it. Will make it again soon, maybe with some added heat and extra masala. Thank you

My husband and I enjoyed this. In addition to cumin, I added a bit of cinnamon, cayenne, and sweet paprika. I also seasoned my chicken with salt and pepper prior to cooking it. I let it simmer for about 20 minutes and it was ready. It's not the most exciting dish, but it was easy and tasted good. I think the combination of spices I chose were good, and I would make this again using those spices in addition to the ones the recipe calls for.

It's bland and uninteresting. I've made it a couple times hoping it would be better, but no. It just looks like a pile of rice . . . maybe add a bunch more chopped vegetables and it also seems to need a sauce or something to set it off. Husband loves the garam masala flavor but this isn't the ticket.

I added 3/4 tsp dried ground ginger, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp dried ground coriander. This added depth and richness. I also used canned diced tomatoes which tasted fine and cut the prep time. And I toasted the almonds. I thought this dish was great with these few adjustments! Next time, I will cut the chicken into 1/3 inch pieces, cut back on the initial sauté time and use 1/2 cup raisins and maybe slightly less rice. But, I really thought the rice ratio was pretty good IMO. Also, after adding the spices, I added just the rice and sautéed for 1 min. The coated the rice in the spices and oil and toasted the rice slightly.

Very good; however, it took more like 1 hour 15 min after adding the rice for the dish to be done. Second time, I boiled brown basmati rice for 15 min before adding, and it took 45 min. Raisins and lime juice are fabulous. Will use thighs instead of breast in the future. Subbed a half teaspoon of cayenne for jalapeno the second time and found we preferred it. Leftovers even better on day two. This recipe is a keeper.

This dish is excellent. Prep time of chopping etc was about 15 min. Stir fry and cooking another 20 or so. I had to add a bit more broth to get the "bite" out of the rice. You can make the salad and set the table in that timeframe. I might even add some cayenne or a different pepper than jalapeno for a little more kick. Otherwise extremely easy, great mid week dish - a special occasion? Perhaps if that fits your needs.

Good One

This was a total hit with my family last night! The kids loved it as well! I will be making this again. Although the cucumber and tomato Salad was a bit bland .

Very easy to make and quite tasty. I'm not a big cilantro fan so I used flat parsley instead. I had to add about 3/4 cup of water toward the last few minutes because the rice wasn't completely cooked. Will definitely make again though.

Great recipe! Had enough heat and spice for us! I don't think it's a "special occasion" dish though - more like an everyday quick meal. It's also only "quick" if you do the prep work beforehand.....

This is amazing! I used generic long grain rice instead of basmati and it still turned out great. I also mixed in plain, Greek yogurt before serving, as was suggested by a previous reviewer. I served it with naan and everyone loved it. I will definitely make this again soon.

This reminds me of a favorite restaurant recipe - I've been searching for a while for the right spices. I added potato cubes with the rice and a little extra water. I then stirred in about 2/3 c lowfat Greek yogurt before serving. Yum!

Very easy and tasty. My only change was to DOUBLE the seasonings (and triple the ginger), as well as adding a fresh red chili (thai chili type) instead of a jalapeno. Served with steamed green beans seasoned with 2 TB dried unsweetened coconut and a yogurt-cucumber salad.

One of my families week night favorites. With both my wife and I working this one is a breeze to whip up any night of the week. Plus the bonus that our 3 year old loves it.

I should have paid attention to the prep before picking this for a "quick-n-easy" Friday supper. No way is this a 30-minute dish -- so allow extra time. We use Texmati as our main rice, and it alone usually takes 20 min for tender, separate grains. Used half chicken breast/half turkey breast cause that's what we had on hand. Added 1/4tsp saffron threads to the spice blend. Served the recommended salad first, and liked the cumin dressing.

I made exactly as the recipes called. I thought it was fabulous.

This was all right and easy to make, but like other reviewers I really expected more flavor from the dish considering the seasonings. My son and I both added a little bit of mango chutney on top to boost the flavor -- but I would have liked the dish itself to be more bold. I also made the side dish recommended to go with it in the magazine (the cucumber and tomato salad) and found it to be quite sour. Won't be making again.

I found this to be quite bland. I tried seasoning the chicken pieces directly before adding them, but they still didn't have much flavor, and they dried out a bit during the 15 minutes the rice was cooking. My husband doesn't care for onions or peppers, so I just included some onion powder for flavor. I couldn't really taste the raisins or tomatoes as the dish seemed overly diluted with rice, and I wished I had made extra yogurt dressing (for the salad) to put on top. If I were to make this again I would cut back on the rice and/or include some sort of thickened sauce to give it more flavor.

The rice in this recipe didn't cook easily and so the consistency wasn't great in the final product. It probably needed a heavier grain of rice than basmati to congeal well.

Hubby said I could make this as many times as I wanted! We love Indian cuisine, and this recipe packs such amazing flavor. I made my own garam masala, toasting my spices to a gorgeous fragrance, and it did include saffron threads, so I don't know if that helped to elevate the flavor. I didn't have chiles, so I used red pepper flake and it was plenty spicy. The nutty, sweet aroma of the basmati rice along with bold spices and cooling cilantro made for a perfectly balanced amalgamation of flavors. This is going into the permanent rotation.

This came together quickly, and was really tasty. A great weekday meal.

This was a very tasty and easy dish. It's good for a weeknight dinner, but I've also used it to feed last minute guests. My only complaint is that I've had inconsistent results with the rice cooking thoroughly.

I gave this 4 stars because we liked it a lot, although I wouldn't say it's special occasion worthy. For me, this recipe typifies what I love about Cooking Light. Biryani is something I wouldn't even begin to know how to make on my own, and this is such an easy way to master it with minimal fuss and ingredients that are relatively easy to find. Followed this exactly and it was wonderful. A great, easy, weeknight dish, nice for a change of pace.

We liked the crunch of the almonds and the sweetness of the raisins in this recipe. Also, the yogurt salad described in the intro is also good; I altered the salad by using Greek yogurt and leaving out the green onions and it was still good.

I made this and DH who is picky loved it I thought the flavors were fine...the only thing he didn't care for were the almonds Definitely will make again

I made this dish last night and I had very high hopes. It smelled fantastic while it was cooking! I followed the recipe exactly, but found the flavor to be a little blah. I would make again, but I might try some thighs next time. Also, I think that I would make my own garam masala and add some cayenne for additional heat. Definitely has potential but needs a little more kick for authenticity!

Very tasty, but not sure I would serve to guests, unless I was very sure of their food preferences, and I don't think it presents all that well. I added a little more cumin and did a splash of lime juice before I served with add'l lime quarters. Thought it needed a vegtable, so added frozen haricot verts at last 5 min of steaming, which turned out very nice...had planned to use peas, but didn't have any and they would have just added more starch anyway. Used greek yogurt over the top with the cilantro. I think this is a lighter version than many others I have seen for this dish, so will probably repeat and may even use thighs next time for more flavor.

This is a stellar recipe. We live in a town with no Indian restaurants and I have to make any food I'm craving. This hit the spot. I'll probably cut the chicken into smaller pieces next time, but the flavors are a hit. My 18 month old loved it. I put the cilantro in the yogurt sauce as I had no green onions and it was just fine. Highly highly recommended.