🍛 Iraqi Biryani

Name: Iraqi Biryani
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Iraq · Baghdad
Ingredients: 500 g basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes; 600 g chicken pieces; 2 medium potatoes, diced; 150 g green peas; 50 g vermicelli, broken; 50 g raisins; 40 g almonds; 2 tsp baharat; 4 tbsp oil; Salt

Origin: Iraq · Baghdad

648kcal

per serving · 350 g

185kcal

per 100 g

28 gProtein8 g / 100 g

21 gFat6 g / 100 g

88 gCarbs25 g / 100 g

Iraqi biryani is a festive rice dish quite different from its South Asian cousins: fragrant rice cooked with baharat and mixed with chicken, fried potato cubes, green peas, toasted vermicelli, plump raisins and fried almonds. It is mildly spiced, slightly sweet and full of contrasting textures. It is piled on a large platter and served for family gatherings and celebrations.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Contains glutenbecause of: vermicelli

Not keto25 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Tree nuts

What it is made of

ricechickenpotatopeasraisinsalmondsvermicellibaharat spice mixoil

Recipe

6 servings75 min

Ingredients

500 g basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes
600 g chicken pieces
2 medium potatoes, diced
150 g green peas
50 g vermicelli, broken
50 g raisins
40 g almonds
2 tsp baharat
4 tbsp oil
Salt

Method

Simmer the chicken in water with salt and half the baharat until cooked, then shred or cut it and keep the broth.
Fry the potato cubes in some of the oil until golden; set aside. Toast the almonds briefly in the pan, then the raisins.
Toast the vermicelli in a little oil until golden.
Add the rice, vermicelli, remaining baharat and enough chicken broth to cover by 1 cm; cook covered on low heat for 15 minutes.
Fold in the chicken, potatoes and peas, cover and steam for 10 more minutes.
Serve on a platter topped with almonds and raisins.

How to make it lighter

Bake the potato cubes with a light brush of oil instead of frying them.
Use skinless chicken breast to cut fat.
Keep the almonds and raisins as a garnish rather than a thick layer; they are calorie-dense.

History

Biryani is generally thought to have come to Iraq from the Indian subcontinent and Persia, and Iraqi cooks made it their own: milder, with vermicelli, nuts and raisins. Today it is a celebratory dish in Iraqi homes.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →