'Kozhikode' or Calicut (the anglicized name) is a coastal city in the state of Kerala in India also known as the 'land of spices'. A visit to Calicut is not complete without enjoying the very famous Kozhikodan chicken biryani! There are a couple of popular restaurants like Paragon, Saagar, Bombay Hotel, etc which serve this extremely delicious meal, and sometimes the wait times at peak hours can be long. It is however totally worth the wait!
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What kind of rice is used for making the Biryani?
I learned to make a version of this dish at home with inputs from friends and the internet and it tastes almost like it! The main star ingredient of this dish is the rice used which is a special 'Jeerakasala' or 'Kaima' rice and this is a tiny variety of rice that enhances the taste of this dish. However, I also use the regular Basmati rice which is easily available in the stores here in the US and tastes equally good and comes close in taste!
Ingredients used in making the biryani
- Dry Spices - A variety of dry spices like coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin, poppy seeds, nutmeg, garam masala (a blend of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom bay leaf, cumin)
- Freshly ground paste - ginger, garlic, green chilies. Use chilies as tolerant, as the dish mainly gets the spice from it.
- Marinade - Yogurt that is preferably not too sour
- Fresh herbs - coriander, mint, and curry leaves chopped finely
- Chicken with bone-in is preferable.
- Basmati or Jeerakasala ( Jeeraga Samba or Kaima) Rice
- Ghee and whole spices like cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, nutmeg
- Fried onions, cashews, raisins, boiled eggs for garnish
How to make the Kozhikodan Chicken Biryani?
This chicken biryani does not use red chilly powder, all the spice is from the green chilies and other dry spices. The traditional recipe has an off-white color due to very little turmeric used, but I like to use a little turmeric in my preparation so you can see the final dish has a yellow tinge. I also cook the chicken and rice separately and then layer them together. The traditional recipe calls for cooking the rice and chicken in the 'dum'(steaming in a closed container).
The outcome of my dish is very close to the original and everyone who has had it loves it. I hope you enjoyed reading about this special and popular dish and will try it. Please read on for the ingredients and the detailed cooking procedure. If you love seafood, especially shrimp I would recommend my Malabar Shrimp Biryani recipe for which I got great reviews. You will also love another biryani recipe from Malabar which is similar, Malabar Mutton Biryani with subtle spices and exotic flavors.
Kozhikodan Chicken Biryani
Ingredients
For Biryani Rice
- 6 cups Rice Basmati or Jeerakasala
- 4 tsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
- 4 tsp Oil
- 5-6 Cloves
- 3-4 Cinnamon (small pieces)
- 2 Bay leaves
- 5-6 Cardamoms
- ½ Onion diced
- 2 tsp Salt or to taste
- 5 cups Water
For Chicken Marination
- 1 ½ pounds Chicken cut into pieces
- 3 cups Yogurt
- 1 ½ cups Coriander leaves finely chopped
- 1 cup Mint leaves finely chopped
- 3 medium Tomatoes chopped
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Biryani Masala (optional)
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- 1 medium Lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
To powder for marinade
- 1 ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 ½ tsp fennel seeds
To grind for marinade
- 1 inch ginger
- 10-12 cloves garlic
- 10-15 green chillies use as tolerated
- 2 tsp Poppy seeds
For Chicken Preparation
- 4 tbsp ghee or oil
- 3-4 inch cinnamon sticks
- 5-6 cloves
- 4-5 cardamom
- 1 nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tomato medium diced
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
For Garnish
- 2 onions cut into long thin stripes
- 10 cashews
- 10 raisins
- 4 tbsp ghee
- 1 sprig mint leaves chopped
- 1 cup coriander leaves chopped
- 4 boiled eggs optional
Instructions
Chicken Marination
- Wash the meat thoroughly with salt and lemon and drain water completely.
- Powder the ingredients in the "to powder for marinade" section .
- Grind the ingredients in the "to grind for marinade" section with minimum water .
- Add the powdered spices, ground paste and all contents in the "for chicken marination" section to the chicken.
- Mix well and marinate for about 2 to 3 hours in a referigrator
Rice Preparation and garnishes
- Wash the rice, drain and keep aside
- Heat a thick bottomed pan , add the ghee and oil
- Add the thin sliced onions and fry until crisp golden brown
- Drain and keep aside.
- Add the cashews and raisins ,brown it as well
- Drain and keep aside.
- The thin fried onions, cashews and raisins will be used for garnishing.
- In the remaining ghee and oil, add the spices under the "For Biryani rice" section
- Next add the diced onions and sautée
- After 2 mins add the washed rice
- Fry for about 5 to 7 mins until the rice turns opaque
- Add the salt and water and cook until done in a rice cooker
- Wait for the steam to be released and rice to be cooled.
Chicken Preparation
- Next for the preparation of the Chicken , pour ghee and oil in a large deep bottomed pan
- Add onions and sautée it for 10 mins
- Add tomatoes and ginger garlic paste ,sautée for another 5 mins
- Cook until the chicken is well done.
- Add some chopped coriander leaves and squeeze a little lemon.
Layering biryani and garnishing
- For layering , transfer the cooked rice into a serving bowl and garnish with fried onions, cashews ,raisins, chopped mint and coriander leaves
- Then add a layer of the chicken gravy and repeat layering with rice, chicken and again layer with garnish onions , nuts ,raisins, mint and coriander leaves.
- Gently mix so the gravy is evenly mixed into the rice.
- Squeeze half a lemon if you like (optional).
- Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves, boiled egg, and the remaining garnishes.
- Kozhikodan Chicken Biryani is ready to be served.
- Accompaniments that are usually served with this dish are fritters (pappad), yogurt salad, coconut chutney and pickle .
Video
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much water to add for Basmati rice vs JeeragaSamba rice or Kaima rice?
- For Basmati rice, add double the amount for the first cup and then a cup for each of the following cups.
- For Jeerakasala rice 1.5 cups of water is enough for a cup of rice but sometimes it needs a little more. I cook the rice in an instant pot and for 3 cups about 4 ¾ to 5 cups of water is just right. If you use too much water the Jeerakashala rice will mush up and using less will leave it uncooked.
- Note: the cup used here is the "rice cooker cup" which is equivalent to 180 ml and not the US cup.
- How long should I marinate the chicken? The earliest time to cook after marination is 30 minutes. You can also marinate for 1 to 2 hours in a refrigerator so that the chicken will absorb all the spices.
- Can I skip ghee and use oil? Sure but ghee gives an authentic taste to this biryani and is preferable, a combination of ghee and vegetable oil will also work.
- Where can I find the Jeerakasamba rice? 'Jeerakashala' or 'Jeeraga Samba' rice can be found in the Indian grocery store in the US. It closely resembles the 'Kaima' rice used in this recipe back home. As you can see, from the picture, it is a different type of variety, not the long-grain kind. The fragrance of the 'Jeerakashala' rice along with the spices, really stands out in this biryani. If you find this type of rice, I highly recommend you use this rice for that exact authentic taste.
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How delicious your biryani looks! I am making a note of it so that I shall try it when I am back home, Nisha. xx
Thank you so much Dippy! I'm sure you will definitely love the Malabar version of Chicken Biryani and would love to hear how it turned out 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your stay and have a safe trip back!
I will and thanks my girl. I love Malabar everything, including the parottas 🙂 xx
Yes indeed Malabar dishes are to die for 🙂 very delicious, parottas are a favorite among many!
Hmmm yummmy
Thank you so much Deepa!
Mouth watering this looks! Must try! <3
Thank you so much Mallika! Hope you will try it some time , it is very delicious!
Biryani is ❤
Thank you so much Jyo!
Perfect for this season ✌✌
Yes perfect for this cold snowy weather here as well!
I absolutely love a good biryanii. Can’t get my husband past curry in a gravy of some sort though.
Thank you for the comments! Happy to hear you love a good biryani. I love curries and gravies as well ,this biryani definitely has it's own unique taste and flavor and am sure he will love it!
Looks so delicious! 😍😋😋
Thank you so much ,this biryani has a unique blend of spices which makes it really different and delicious!
Abolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much Jyoti!
The Biryani at Calicut is indeed yum. During my trip in December, I happened to have the vegetarian version of biryani (which is more like a pulav) but the flavours of masalas were simply great.
oh! Thats wonderful Vidya to hear that you visited Calicut and loved the Vegetarian biryani's flavor and taste! Thank you for the comments!
Yum! That looks so tasty! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much Anya! It is indeed a very delicious dish .
That looks so good!
Thank you so much Diane! It's a very popular and delicious dish!
Looks very scrumptious and filling. A perfect all-in-one meal with great mix of ingredients. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thank you so much Lily, much appreciated!
The aroma of biryani while it is being cooked is fantastic. I never tasted Biryani from kerala. I would love to try this recipe out.
Thank you so much Lisha, It is definitely worth the try you will absolutely love it, and yes the aroma is just awesome!
Did I miss your invite...The chicken Biriyani looks lip smacking and I loved your kitchen back splash too
Thanks so much dear .Glad to hear that you love the recipe . I love the back splash as well 🙂
I have never put cinnamon in my rice....great idea!
Many Thanks Diane! Cinnamon gives a nice fragrance to the biryani.
Oh wow this looks really amazing! I love all the different spices. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you so much Tera! Yes indeed this recipe does have many different spices, appreciate your comments!
Yum! I love Indian dishes and this looks so delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us.
Wonderful to hear that Leah, am so glad that you loved this share .It is indeed delish. Thank you so much!
Wow, looking at the ingredients, this must be super flavorful. Love it!
Thank you so much Nart! Yes the spices and ingredients in it make this dish unique and very flavorful. It is much different from the Biryanis in other parts of India.
I have never heard of this before. But, this sounds amazing and looks yummy!
Thank you so much Larena , it sure is an amazing dish
I love biryani recipes! This looks pretty darn good and I think I will have to try it soon.
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback ! I'm pretty sure you will love it .
Mmm that marinated chicken sounds SO flavorful and delicious!!
Thank you so much! Yes it does , sometimes I save a little bit of the gravy to go with naan or rotis (bread) .It tastes really awesome.
The ingredients look so good and that sauce it so tempting - I'll be it is just delicious stirred into the rice.
Yes! exactly Beth, the sauce especially the combination of fennel, mint ,yogurt , spices and ginger garlic in it, is what makes it so different .It blends well with the rice and gives that unique flavor. Thank you so much!
Can you help with the volume, of 1 CUP you have used
Sure, the cup used here is the "rice cooker cup" that is equivalent to 180 ml and not the US cup. Normally they say for 1 cup of Jeerakasala rice 1.5 cups of water is enough. But I noticed it needs a little more than that.I cook in an instant pot so for 3 cups about 4 3/4 to 5 cups of water is good enough. I normally make in bulk so my standard is 6 cups of rice and for that, I use about 9 3/4 to 10 cups of water. The Jeeraka shala rice can get mushed up if using too much water and using less will leave it uncooked. After a couple of attempts experimenting, this is what worked for me the best. If you are using basmati rice for 2 cups of rice double the water will be good .Hope this helps.
I usually order Chicken Biryani at the Indian restaurant at the top of our street, but I have never made it at home. I will have to try your delicious recipe!
Wonderful to hear you love it . Yes indeed homemade versions are very delicious .Enjoy!
ooh biryani is so good! I've been trying to make a keto version with riced cauliflower, so far not much success. But I'll try your spices and see if that turns out better!
Thank you so much, good luck with it !
That looks delicious although I'm not into chicken too much. I love rice dishes, just the same. I hope this would also work well with salmon. What do you thinnk?
I have not tried it with salmon, but do check out my recipe for Malabar shrimp biryani under rice dishes and that would be a great biryani recipe with fish. Thank you for stopping by and comments!
I love chicken biryani, but I've never tried making it. Thanks for this recipe. It looks very massive, but I'll try to gather the ingredients.
Yes I agree it has some effort into making it but well worth it 🙂 Happy cooking! Thanks for stopping by.
This looks amazing. I love chicken biryani but I am not sure I could make it myself!!
Thank you so much. It looks like a lot of work but it's doable and the result is yum , so hope you will try it out 🙂
Wow! This looks delicious. It has been a while since we had chicken biriyani. Thank you for the recipe and the tip about the rice. Will try to find Kaima or Jeerakasala.
You are very welcome and Thanks for the wonderful comments!
I love biryani but never heard of this recipe. This recipe looks super delicious and I would love to try it, bookmarking for later!
This recipe is from God's own country Kerala and very popular there , hope you enjoy making it as well. Thank you so much!
looks absolutely delicious! nom nom nom! I would definitely enjoy eating it. I love biryani rice in any form
Thank you so much for the wonderful comments!
I love Indian food but have never made Kozhikodan Biryani at home. I can't wait to try this!
I've never heard of this before, and I loved it. So homey, warm and delicious.
Everything about this biryani sounds delicious. I love how there are so many varieties of biryani according to taste and region.
I love cinnamon with chicken. This recipe was delicious.
So flavorful!
This is making my tummy growl!
We enjoy this chicken biryani. It's so deep in flavors and comforting as well
Wow, this looks amazing. I love biryani, going to making it this weekend.
Love how you have explained the entire process. Thanks
Thanks for the recipe! It’s so delicious!
I love a good biryani, and this one looks fantastic