March 30, 2026

Chicken Breyani / Biryani

Serves:

Cooking Time:

< 90 min

Spiced rice, lentils and potato are layered here with chicken marinated in LANCEWOOD® Double Cream Plain Yoghurt, then simmered until every layer takes on the same warm spice. It is the sort of Sunday lunch that fills the whole kitchen with steam before it even reaches the table.

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Spiced chicken, rice, lentils and potato are layered together and cooked slowly, so the flavours work into each other rather than staying separate. LANCEWOOD® Double Cream Plain Yoghurt in the marinade keeps the chicken tender through the long cook, and every spoonful pulls up a bit of all four layers at once.

This is Cape Malay cooking, made in one big pot for the whole family rather than plated out individually. Serve it straight from the pot with roti and a simple tomato and onion salad, and there won’t be much left to put away.

Ingredients:

Chicken marinade:
500 ml LANCEWOOD® Double Cream Plain Yoghurt
15 ml ground cumin
15 ml ground coriander
5 ml turmeric
5 cm piece ginger, grated
3 large garlic clove(s), crushed
60 ml Masala powder
salt to taste
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
6 chicken drumstick(s)
6 chicken thigh(s)
Rice

lentils & potatoes:
750 ml basmati rice
2 cardamom pods
250 ml brown lentils
45 ml oil
2 onion(s), thinly sliced
2 garlic clove(s), crushed
3 cm piece ginger, grated
3 potato(es), peeled & quartered
saffron
6 – 8 strands
125 ml butter
250 ml water

To serve:
45 ml fresh coriander, chopped
LANCEWOOD® Double Cream Plain Yoghurt
3 Roti(s)

Tomato & onion salad:
1 onion(s), chopped
30 ml white vinegar
15 ml sugar
pepper to taste
2 large tomato(es), chopped

Method

Chicken marinade:

Mix the yoghurt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, garlic, masala powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves together and pour over the chicken to cover it.
Marinade chicken for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight. Rice, lentils, onions,

potatoes & chicken:

Cook the basmati and cardamom pods together in salted water until the rice is just soft. Drain, remove the cardamom pods and set aside.
Cook lentils in unsalted water until just soft, drain and set aside.
Heat 30 ml of the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onions until golden and transparent. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add more oil if necessary. Fry the potatoes until golden. Remove from oil and set aside.
Remove the chicken from the marinade. Add more oil to the pan if necessary. Fry the chicken until golden on both sides.
Add the marinade to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and set aside.
Place a layer of rice in the bottom of the saucepan and arrange half the onions on top. Arrange the chicken pieces on top. Layer potatoes, remaining onions, lentils and rice on top of the chicken.
Sprinkle saffron on top. Dot with butter and pour the water over.
Cover and cook on high heat for 5 minutes, then lower heat and simmer slowly for 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked.

To serve:
Serve with coriander sprinkled on top, extra yoghurt, roti and tomato and onion salad.

Tomato and onion salad:
Mix the onion, white vinegar, sugar, pepper and tomatoes together and serve on the side with the breyani.