Turkey Biryani Recipe (2024)

My family loved this!! I used chicken thighs, marinated them in the yogurt mixture, and seared them in the Dutch oven before proceeding with the recipe. I've made this recipe twice, but skipped all the frying for the toppings the second time around -- we found them heavy in an already-substantial dish, and I didn't miss the extra work. I was able to use less ghee overall that way (I dry-toasted the nuts, left the raisins uncooked, and omitted the fried-onion topping).

Final note: You may (should) top biryani with fried onions, and a squeeze of lime and serve with a side of plain yoghurt or raita. As I recall our turkey version never made it that far.. the guys just swiped it as they walked by the kitchen and in 1/2 hour it was all gone! That turkey did not die in vain.. twice over! And of course there were sandwhiches too.

Aww and here I thought I invented leftover turky biryani in 2003! Not exactly the same (no broth) but good all the same: minced onions, garlic, ginger, hot chillies, tomatoes in a bit of yoghurt and then added to a large pot with fat along with whole spices. Sauteed and added dried spice powders.. red chilly powder and turmeric and some garam masala or curry powder and salt. Turned heat down and mixed in leftover turkey.. more pieces with bone in and some boneless morsels coarsely shredded ...

Contd.. from previous post: Layered spiced turkey mixture with basmati rice that had been soaked drained and very briefly sauteed in butter and a pinch of salt. Using the rice as an index, added equal volume of water and heated on stove top (in a sealed pressure cooker) until the steaming. Then put on the weight (we used the old fashioned Indian kind of pressure cooker) and after a single 'whistle' turned off and allowed to sit for 1/2 hour. Or leave on very low for 5 min and serve...

Excellent technique .
Have a biryani recipe for goats meat aka mutton in India from my grandmother ! This recipe is just like hers- instead of the oven we used to put live coals on the cover of the PAN in which the biryani is braised and then seal the edges with whole wheat flour dough.
Once the dough dried out the coals were removed.
This seal was broken just before we ate !
This technique ensured that the biryani did not dry up.

I made it with leftover turkey and used some turkey for the broth. This was fabulous. I made the recipe again, but with leftover leg of lamb. The only difference was I used canned chicken broth. Again, fabulous. The second time it was easier and less time consuming. This is such a great way to use left over meat.

Got rave reviews from my guests on this one. The only thing I'll change the next time I make the dish is to add a minced hot pepper or two to the turkey mixture. This was just a little too mild for my personal preference.

It’s not often (like never) when I love a new recipe and immediately start thinking about how to tweak it. Well this recipe is darn right perfect. It was pretty easy to fix and the taste was wonderful. I used ground turkey and did a little fridge cleaning by adding three mushrooms and a small red pepper. Just sautéed the veggies with the onions. It was amazing. I can’t wait to fix it again. Five stard

Great recipe. At least the biriyani part is carefully designed. It is difficult to improve it any further.

One of my pet peeves in recipe comments is when people write that they substituted many ingredients and were disappointed in the outcome. What did you expect? But I did that with this recipe and it was fantastic, so it's a tribute to this dish! I made this right after Thanksgiving and used what I had. Didn't have plain yogurt - used sour cream. Didn't have cinnamon sticks- used cinnamon. Didn't have much dark meat left so used white. It was wonderful in spite of all the substitutions.

Although I did not have high expectations, this recipe turned out absolutely great. It’s more work than I’d wished for a post Thanksgiving get together but the pay off is fantastic. I used 2 pounds of leftovers turkey meat (dark and breast) and 300 grams of yogurt with marinade ingredients doubled. It looked and tasted fantastic.

A great dish! But browning onions until crispy is a hard job. Next time I will pay closer attention to slicing them the same width.

I followed the recipe exactly and it was absolutely wonderful. There were a lot of steps but it really didn't take that long from start to finish. This could easily be a weeknight dish substituting chicken for turkey or even veggies.

Great abbreviated version the usual biriyani project. Only criticism is that 2 teaspoons of our Garam Masala was too much. This can deaden a dish rather than giving proper aromatics. If your Garam Masala has a lot of cinnamon, balance the cinnamon sticks so as not to overpower.

Well, I read the recipe wrong and put in 1 tablespoon ground ginger lol. I am truly hopeful it still tastes okay.

If you have an air fryer, you can make the fried onions in that- stir them every 5 min and cook at 350-400, turning heat down if they start to char, until they're golden and they crip up as they cool. Less mess!

Bland! If I made it again, I would add more garam masala and three serranos after adding the chicken broth.

I’ve made disastrously almost soupy biryanis before. Not this time! The directions pretty much assured that the rice would be tender yet dry. I really liked all the condiments prepared as written but onions took twice as long frying to achieve a crunchy golden brown.

Took many shortcuts. Fortunately, the family, including toddler, enjoyed it. Marinated raw ground turkey with the yogurt spice mix and just cooked it in the pan before adding the stock, as others suggested. Skipped frying the onions and used caramelized onions from the fridge. Added more vegetables: about a cup of frozen peas and 1.5 bunches of julienned baby carrots that had been cooked down. Upped the spices by about 1/4-1/3 to compensate. Would love to get this to work with brown rice!!!

Always looking for ways to transform Thanksgiving leftovers into something completely different. I love this aromatic dish! Swirled some frozen spinach into the pot just before baking. So good! Will do again.

A bit fussy in the number of steps, but very good. Used half the cayenne, to suit family tastes. Was ok with Carolina rice, although basmati would likely have been better. Worked fine in large Dutch oven, although probably could have used more liquid because of extra surface area. Don’t need so much oil/ghee to sauté cashews and raisins.

Delicious. Followed method of first note. Used chicken leftovers, mostly dark meat, 1 pound. Leeks, carrots, parsnips. Served with yogurt, cilantro. No yogurt in it.

Instant pot vers w/ tweaks to ensure masala ‘pakad gaya’ (“catches” in Hindi or penetrates). Sauté ginger garlic paste, chillies, whole spices w/ onions. Add meat marinade, sauté stirring often. Add any other chopped veggies (tomatoes, peas, carrots, potato, cauliflower, beans). Sauté until no longer mushy. Add 2 c drained rice, mix well with meat masala. Mix in fresh coriander/mint. Add 2.25 cups broth or thinned out coconut milk. Salt to taste. 5 min at High, 3 min natural release.

It was a lot of work for a meal to use up leftover turkey! (And my onions took much longer than 5-7 minutes PER BATCH to get crisp and brown.) I thought it was fine, but nothing special. My husband liked it and then added red pepper flakes and liked it even more.

It's a keeper. Obediently followed the directions like a good girl. Next time I might add a bit more yogurt for creaminess, and try lamb instead of turkey. It looks like a lot of work, but it comes together quickly. Don't leave out the raisins - the sweetness they add is fantastic. Husband thought it needed some heat, and he's probably right about that.

Delicious! I had a large package of ground turkey, and this seemed like a good way to make it interesting. Great for a casual gathering, everyone loved it. Served with some steamed broccoli around the edge, and skipped the eggs. I made it a day ahead and then added the toppings at the end. Next time I'd probably try to contain the cloves, peppercorns, etc. into a bundle, as someone else mentioned. Yogurt sauce a must! Such great flavors, this did not disappoint.

Very yummy, but labor intensive. I felt like the results were worth it, and I liked that it was a different way to use up lots of leftover turkey.

How could I do this with brown basmati? Thanks!