Chettinad Biryani Recipe | Chettinad Style Dum Biriyani with detailed photo and video recipe. An easy and flavorful yet straightforward long-grain rice biryani recipe made with vegetables, spices, and fresh green herbs. It is a combination of rustic and earthy flavours with the popular rice biryani, resulting in a bright and attractive green-coloured rice meal. Typically, Chettinad recipes are famous for their meat-based meals; however, this is a vegetarian or mushroom biriyani.
Chettinad Biryani Recipe | Chettinad Style Dum Biriyani with step-by-step photo and video recipe. The Chettinad region is renowned for its spicy, flavourful meat-based recipes and is popular throughout India. The recipes originating from Chettinad are known for their bold, tangy, and premium combination of flavours. One such simple and easy, yet flavoursome recipe is Chettinad Biriyani, known for its simple cooking process.
I have posted several biryani recipes on my blog; however, this recipe is especially special to me. I like the dum-style cooked Hyderabadi biriyani with spicy and rich mirch ka salan curry. However, you don’t find many restaurants that prepare it authentically. More importantly, being a vegetarian, it is challenging to get a dum-style cooked biriyani. Most commonly, you would end up getting a tawa-style cooked pulao and rebrand it as veg dum biriyani. Hence, I always avoid dum biriyani and fall back on Chettinad Biryani as it is the safest meal whenever we plan to have a meal. Additionally, the meal contains all the required spices and therefore does not require a salan accompaniment. Hence, a quick solution is when preparing lunch boxes at home or for serving guests.
Furthermore, some additional related tips, suggestions, and variations for the Chettinad Biryani Recipe are provided below. Firstly, I have prepared this meal with long-grain basmati rice, which is a perfect choice. However, you may choose other short-grain rices, such as sona masuri or ponni rice, which should also yield the same taste and flavour. Secondly, I have prepared this meal as a vegetarian biriyani, but the same recipe can be adapted to include chicken and mutton. You may need to reduce the vegetable quantity as it may otherwise overpower the rice. Lastly, the recipe tastes great when served with sour onion & cucumber raita. However, any spicy curries, such as paneer, chicken, or egg gravy curry, make it even better.
Finally, I request that you check my other related Biryani Recipes Collection, which is available alongside this post on the Chettinad Biryani recipe. It mainly includes other related recipes, such as Paneer Biryani Recipe, Soya Biryani Recipe, Mushroom Biriyani Recipe, Veg Biryani Recipe, Pressure Cooker Veg Biryani Recipe, Biriyani Pulao Recipe, Hyderabadi Veg Mutton Biryani Recipe, donne biriyani, veg biriyani, jackfruit biriyani. Further to these, I would also like to highlight my other related recipe collections, like,
About Chettinad Biryani
A Spicy Southern Gem with Humble Roots: When you think of South Indian biryanis, Chettinad Biryani stands tall, bold in flavour, rich in heritage. Nevertheless, it is surprisingly easy to make compared to its northern cousin, the Hyderabadi Dum Biryani. Hailing from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu, renowned for its aromatic and spicy cuisine, this biryani is a culmination of spices, herbs, and local culinary expertise that has been passed down through generations.
Veg Chettinad Biryani – smart alternative: While the meat version (especially mutton and chicken) is the more iconic dish, there’s a loyal following for the vegetarian version too. It’s not just a compromise — it’s a dish in its own right:
- Loaded with vegetables like mushrooms, carrots, beans, peas, and potatoes
- Soaks up the spicy green masala beautifully
- Offers a perfect balance of heat, aroma, flavour and colour, making it a vegetarian showstopper
Why It Looks So Attractive: The secret to its rich green colour lies in the blend of mint, coriander, green chillies, and coconut, all ground fresh and added to the biryani base. This gives it:
- A vibrant, attractive herbal texture.
- A refreshing, balanced aroma that complements the bold spices
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A uniquely appetising presentation that stands out from the usual saffron-toned biryanis
Fun Fact
In many Chettinad households, biriyani isn’t a Sunday luxury — it’s a Saturday ritual! That’s because markets are busiest on Saturdays, and families gather for a big, spicy pot of biryani to kick off the weekend.
Video Recipe
Recipe Card for Chettinad Biryani
Chettinad Biryani Recipe | Chettinad Style Dum Biriyani
Ingredients
For masala paste:
- handful coriander
- handful mint
- ½ onion
- 4 chilli
- 1 inch ginger
- 5 cloves garlic
For marination:
- 10 mushroom, chopped
- 1 potato, cubed
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 5 beans, chopped
- 3 tbsp peas
- ½ cup curd
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp biryani masala
- 1 tsp salt
For biryani:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp fennel
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 1 javetri
- 3 bay leaf
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 onion, sliced
- ½ capsicum, cubed
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1½ cup water
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp coriander, chopped
- 2 tbsp mint, chopped
- 3 chilli, slit
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1½ basmati rice, soaked
Instructions
- Firstly, in a mixer jar take a handful of coriander, a handful of mint, ½ onion, 4 chilli, 1 inch ginger and 5 cloves of garlic.
- Grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
- In a large bowl take 10 mushroom, 1 potato, 1 carrot, 5 beans and 3 tbsp peas.
- Add a prepared masala paste, ½ cup curd, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, 2 tbsp biryani masala and 1 tsp salt.
- Mix well and marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a large kadai heat 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee. Saute spices till they turn aromatic.
- Now add 1 onion and saute till the onion turns golden brown.
- Add in ½ capsicum, 1 tomato and saute well.
- Now add in the marinated vegetables and cook till the oil separates.
- Further add 1½ cup water, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp coriander, 2 tbsp mint, 3 chilli and 2 tsp lemon juice. Mix well.
- Once the water comes to a boil, add 1½ basmati rice and mix gently. If you are having seeraga samba rice, it's the best choice to use.
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Finally, enjoy Chettinad Biryani Recipe with raita.
Nutrition
How to Make Chettinad Biryani with Step-by-Step Photos
- Firstly, in a mixer jar, take a handful of coriander, a handful of mint, ½ onion, four chilli, 1 inch ginger and five cloves of garlic.
- Grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
- In a large bowl, combine 10 mushrooms, 1 potato, 1 carrot, 5 beans, and 3 tablespoons of peas.
- Add a prepared masala paste, ½ cup curd, ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, 2 tbsp biryani masala and 1 tsp salt.
- Mix well and marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a large kadai, heat 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee. Saute spices till they turn aromatic.
- Now, add one onion and sauté until the onion turns golden brown.
- Add ½ capsicum and 1 tomato, and sauté well.
- Now add in the marinated vegetables and cook till the oil separates.
- Further add 1½ cups water, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp coriander, 2 tbsp mint, three chilli and 2 tsp lemon juice. Mix well.
- Once the water comes to a boil, add 1½ basmati rice and mix gently. If you are having seeraga samba rice, it’s the best choice to use.
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Finally, enjoy Chettinad Biryani Recipe with raita.
Notes
- Firstly, the unique coconut flavour makes this biryani unique.
- Also, if you are using seeraga samba rice, make sure to adjust the water accordingly.
- Additionally, add more chilli, as the coconut milk will mellow the spiciness.
- Finally, Chettinad Biryani Recipe tastes great when served after 1 hour.