All the delicious flavours of a chicken tikka and a chicken biryani combined! This Chicken Tikka Biryani is quick and easy to make, and tastes amazing – the perfect fakeaway.
Chicken Tikka Masala + Biryani = delicious!
What’s your favourite curry? I have many favourites, but two of my all time favourites are Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Biryani.
Well, it turns out you can combine the two – and it’s just as good as it sounds!
It may not be exactly ‘authentic’… but it is extremely delicious!
How to make Chicken Tikka Biryani
And this delicious Chicken Tikka Biryani is super easy to make!
First, marinate diced chicken breast in a simple homemade tikka marinade. Then oven cook on high for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, fry sliced onion and red pepper in a frying pan, then add garlic, chilli and spices. Next, add the rice and chicken stock. Cover and cook for 8 minutes before adding frozen peas and the cooked chicken tikka pieces. Cook for a final 5 minutes before stirring in some fresh coriander (AKA cilantro).
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
Not an ‘authentic’ biryani
OK, I’ll be the first to admit, this is not an ‘authentic’ biryani.
Traditional recipes for biryani are often quite long and complicated, and a bit faffy. And you know that’s the opposite of what I do on this website!
My focus is on making quick, easy and delicious recipes, that give you all of the flavour, but none of the faff…
And that’s exactly what I’ve done here with this Chicken Tikka Biryani!
What to serve with Chicken Tikka Biryani
This chicken tikka biryani could be a complete meal in its own right, but I like to serve it with naan bread, Bombay potatoes, mango chutney and lime pickle.
Alternatively, you could serve this easy peasy biryani as part of an Indian-themed spread, including other curries and rice dishes such as:
- Easy Beef Mince Curry (Keema Curry)
- Easy Peasy Pork Curry
- Easy Prawn Tikka Masala
- Easy Chicken Dhansak
- Multicoloured Pilau Rice
- Fruity Pilau Rice
- Peshwari Naan
See a full list of all my easy peasy curries here.
Chicken Tikka Biryani with Easy Bombay Potatoes
What to drink with Chicken Tikka Biryani
As with most chicken curries, this Chicken Tikka Biryani goes best with aromatic whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris (from Alsace or New Zealand) and Torrontes (from Argentina).
Alternatively it also works well with fruity rosés.
Can you reheat biryani?
Biryani really is at its best when it is freshly made… However, if you do end up with some left over, simply store it in a plastic lidded container in the fridge, where it will keep for 24 hours.
To reheat, place the biryani in a pan and add a big splash of water and stir to combine. Heat the biryani for about 5 minutes over a low-medium heat until the biryani is piping hot all the way through, stirring occasionally.
When reheating rice, always make sure you adhere to food safety guidelines for rice.
Can you freeze biryani?
Yes, you can freeze biryani. Again, it won’t be quite as good as freshly made biryani, but it will still taste delicious. Make sure you cool the rice quickly and get it into the freezer, in a plastic lidded box, within 1 hour of when you finished cooking it. It will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Defrost the biryani overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Again, make sure you always adhere to food safety guidelines for rice.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Chicken Tikka Biryani
Ingredients
Chicken Tikka Marinade
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 1 cm fresh ginger grated
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 teaspoons garam masala
- Juice of half a lemon
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 100 ml plain yogurt
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
Chicken Tikka Biryani
- 600 g chicken breast cut into bitesize cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 red pepper sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 250 g basmati rice (See Note 1)
- 600 ml chicken stock (from a cube is fine, I use 1 Kallo Organic Chicken stock cube)
- 100 g frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander/cilantro plus extra for garnish (optional)
- Pickles/chutneys/naan bread/Bombay potatoes – or whatever you like to serve with a biryani.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 240C / 220C fan / gas mark 9 / 475F. (Do this later if you plan to marinate the chicken for the full hour.)
- Place all the Chicken Tikka Marinade ingredients in a large bowl and stir thoroughly to combine.
- Add in the diced chicken breast and stir thoroughly to combine. (I find using your hands works best here!)
- Ideally, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. However, if you don’t have the time, simply continue with the recipe – it will still taste very good!
- Place the chicken on a large baking tray, reserving any leftover marinade for later.
- Place the chicken into your preheated over and cook for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put the tablespoon of olive oil and the onion and red pepper in a large frying pan or sauté pan (must have a lid), fry gently over a low heat with the lid on for 3 minutes or until softened but not browned.
- Add the garlic, chilli and spices and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir to coat the rice in the spices, then add the stock and bring to the boil.
- Put a lid on the frying pan and turn the heat right down, simmer for 8 minutes (See Note 1) then add the frozen peas and cooked chicken tikka, stir once and replace the lid.
- Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is done to your liking. If it starts sticking before the rice is cooked, add an extra splash of water.
- Finally stir in the 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro).
- Sprinkle extra fresh coriander on top and serve with all your favourite extras, such as naan breads, pickles and chutneys.
Notes
- Cooking time will depend on the specific brand of basmati rice you use. I use Tilda Basmati Rice, which yields perfectly cooked rice when cooked as above. Tilda advise cooking their basmati rice for 10-12 minutes. If your brand’s instructions advise you to cook the rice for longer than this. Add the extra time to the initial 8 minutes.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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