EASY HYDERABADI CHICKEN BIRYANI

Biryani is a classic Indian mixed rice dish that is part of the Indian Mughlai culinary tradition, which traces its roots to central Asian cuisine and a rich fusion with Indian flavors and techniques.
HOW TO MAKE EASY HYDERABADI BIRYANI
Cooking of the rice grain to perfection is essential for the taste of biryani. And in traditional methods, the rice is boiled in a large quantity of salted water and strained when it has been partially cooked. This requires skill and attention from the cook.
Here, I am using a rice cooker to do that part, but it is important to use minimal water to cook the rice (see note below). I typically use a ratio of 1¼ to 1½ cups water for 1 cup rice. And that can differ slightly with the age of the rice. Checkout more in the notes section of the recipe below.
The idea is to cook the rice just enough, to be fluffy, retain its shape and be firm. Another rice dish where I have used a similar technique is a Persian recipe – Saffron Yogurt Rice with Chicken, Spinach and Prunes.
If you are unable to fry the onions as described in the recipe, at the very least make sure to saute them until crisp golden brown like it is done in this Persian noodle soup recipe and adjust oil used for the rice and chicken.
I do not use commercial biryani spice mix, but I have been told that the Shaan Sindhi biryani mix can be a close substitute. It is spicy so use carefully.
Branded biryani spice mixes may include salt and chili powder. If they are used to substitute the biryani spices in the recipe, then the salt and chili powder should be adjusted accordingly.
BIRYANI SPICE BLEND (BIRYANI MASALA)
Grind all the spices below into a fine powder and store it in an airtight container to use as needed.

4 cinnamon sticks
4 black cardamom
20 green cardamom
1 teaspoon cloves
4 large bay leaves
4 teaspoons black caraway seeds (shahjeera)
2 teaspoons black pepper
There are regional variations to the above mix which also include some coriander seeds, cumin seeds etc., but the list of spices above are still the dominant ones in biryani spice blends.