Total time
70 mins
Prep
10 mins
Cook
60 mins
Per head
£3.13
Difficulty
Medium
A richly spiced Tamil biryani built on a hand-blended paste of whole spices, cashews and fried aromatics, slow-cooked through mixed chicken pieces and layered with fragrant parboiled basmati. Finished with saffron, rose water and crispy fried onions. Jamuna's version of a Jaffna classic.
Did you know?
Biryani reached Sri Lanka via Mughal trade routes and was absorbed into Tamil cooking in Jaffna, where it was reshaped around the island's own spices and flavours - coconut milk, curry powder, and black stone flower (kalpasi), a bark-like spice used across South Indian biryanis for its deep, earthy fragrance. The Tamil technique of blending the whole spices into a paste rather than leaving them whole is what gives this version its intensely layered flavour. In Jaffna, biryani is a Sunday dish - always cooked for a crowd.
Ready to cook this?
Everything in the recipe, guided step by step. Built-in timers, serving adjustments, and Ask Justina when you need her. Free.
Ingredients
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 200g, rinsed basmati rice
- 150g, sliced onion
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- 3 (crushed) garlic
- 15g, grated ginger
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp, plain (curd) yoghurt
- 30g coconut milk powder
- 4 tbsp, juice of 1 lemon lemon juice
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- 1 star anise
- ¼ tsp black stone flower
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 6 cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- ½ tbsp curry powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp cashew nuts
- ½ tbsp raisins
- ½ tbsp rose water
- 2 (hard-boiled, to serve) eggs
- 1kg, bone-in mixed pieces, washed chicken pieces
- 1 pinch, dissolved in 1 tsp warm water saffron
Tap to tick off as you shop
Ready to cook this?
Everything in the recipe, guided step by step. Built-in timers, serving adjustments, and Ask Justina when you need her. Free.
Cook this in the app
Chicken Biryani
The full cook mode is waiting. Free to download.