Biryani Masala Recipe From Scratch for 1 kg Rice and Meat
One kilo rice, one kilo meat, and about 35 grams of spice in total. That’s the working ratio behind a family pot of Pakistani biryani, and once you know how it splits between whole spices and ground masala, this biryani masala recipe lets you stop depending on a packet.
Whole spices vs ground biryani masala
A good biryani uses spice in two jobs.
Whole spices (sabut garam masala) go into hot oil at the start with the onions, and some go into the rice water. They release flavour slowly and give that background perfume when you open the degh. They’re big enough that people pick them out on the plate.
Ground biryani masala goes into the meat masala (the “qorma” layer). It carries the colour, heat and body of the gravy that sticks to the rice.
Use only whole spices and the biryani tastes thin. Use only ground and it tastes muddy, like pulao with a salan poured on top. You want both.
For 1 kg rice + 1 kg meat
- Whole spices in oil: about 12 g
- Whole spices in rice water: about 5 g
- Ground biryani masala: 2 heaped tbsp (about 18 g)
- Aloo bukhara: 6 to 8 dried plums
- Kewra water: 1 tsp, at dum stage
- Salt: add separately (this masala has none)
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Biryani masala recipe by weight (makes about 100 g)
Make this once; it’s enough for about 6 pots. It’s more floral than everyday garam masala, with more mace, cardamom and a sweet note from star anise and rose.
| Spice | Weight | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Sabut dhania | 15 g | 3 tbsp |
| Zeera | 12 g | 1½ tbsp |
| Shahi zeera | 8 g | 1 tbsp |
| Kali mirch | 10 g | 1 heaped tbsp |
| Choti elaichi | 10 g | 2 tbsp pods |
| Badi elaichi | 8 g | 4 to 5 pods |
| Dalchini | 8 g | 3 x 5 cm sticks |
| Laung | 5 g | 2 tsp |
| Javitri (mace) | 4 g | 4 to 5 blades |
| Badiyan (star anise) | 4 g | 2 stars |
| Tez patta | 3 g | 6 to 8 leaves |
| Dried rose petals (food grade) | 3 g | 2 tbsp |
| Jaiphal (nutmeg) | 1 g | a light grating |
| Kashmiri or deghi mirch | 12 g | 2 tbsp |
| Haldi | 2 g | ½ tsp |
- Roast sabut dhania and zeera on low heat for 2 minutes, until a shade darker. Remove.
- Roast kali mirch, dalchini, laung, badi elaichi and badiyan for 1½ to 2 minutes. Remove.
- Roast shahi zeera, choti elaichi, javitri and tez patta for 45 seconds only. Remove.
- Warm the rose petals off the flame in the hot pan for 20 seconds. Only use petals sold for food; decorative petals may be sprayed.
- Cool everything completely, about 15 minutes.
- Grind finely in two batches, sieve, and regrind the husks.
- Stir in mirch, haldi and a light grating of jaiphal. Store sealed, dark and dry. Best within 3 months.
Using hot local lal mirch instead of Kashmiri? Use 6 g, not 12. Our lal mirch guide explains the difference.
How to use it in a 1 kg biryani
Whole spices in the oil (about 12 g)
- 1 tsp shahi zeera or regular zeera
- 2 badi elaichi, cracked
- 6 choti elaichi, cracked
- 6 laung
- 2 dalchini sticks (5 cm)
- 10 kali mirch
- 2 tez patta
- 1 badiyan
Whole spices in the rice water (about 5 g)
For boiling 1 kg soaked rice in about 4 litres water: 2 tez patta, 4 choti elaichi, 4 laung, 1 tsp shahi zeera, plus the salt (the water should taste noticeably salty, like seawater’s gentler cousin).
- Heat ¾ cup oil or ghee. Add the whole spices for the oil and let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
- Add 3 thinly sliced onions (about 400 g) and fry to golden brown.
- Add 1 kg meat and 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste. Bhuno on high for 5 minutes.
- Add 3 chopped tomatoes, 250 g whisked dahi, salt, and 2 heaped tbsp of your biryani masala. Cook until the meat is tender and oil separates.
- Add the aloo bukhara in the last 10 minutes of the meat cooking.
- Layer with the par-boiled rice (70 to 80 percent cooked), then saffron or colour, fried onions, mint, and kewra at dum.
Chicken cooks faster, so reduce the masala to 1½ heaped tbsp and keep the whole spices the same.
Whole spices give the smell when the lid comes off. Ground masala gives the taste on the spoon.
Aloo bukhara and kewra: a quick note
Both are signature Karachi biryani notes, and both deserve their own deep dive, so here’s only what you need for this pot.
Aloo bukhara (dried sour plums) adds tart sweetness that cuts the richness. 6 to 8 per kilo is typical. Rinse them, and warn diners about the stones, which are easy to bite on; that’s a real concern with children and older people with dental work.
Kewra water (screwpine flower water) is powerful. 1 tsp sprinkled over the rice at dum is enough for 1 kg. Kewra essence (the concentrated bottle) is a different product: a few drops only. Too much makes the biryani taste like soap. Rose water can stand in, see our gulab jal post for choosing a food-grade one. Our guide to how much kewra to use goes further into the difference between the water and the essence.
For colour, many cooks use saffron or zarda rang; our zarda rang safety guide explains how little you need and how to avoid non-permitted loose colours, and our zafran guide covers soaking saffron properly.
Biryani grew out of royal kitchens where dishes were built with temperament in mind: warming spices, rich meat and ghee, balanced by dahi in the masala, raita on the side, mint in the layers and sour aloo bukhara. That old Unani habit of pairing “hot” with “cool” is still how most families serve biryani, with raita and salad, and it’s simply a pleasant, lighter-feeling way to eat a heavy dish.
Biryani is rich, salty and eaten in large portions, which matters more than the spices. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease, portion size, oil and salt are the things to manage, and raita plus salad on the plate helps you eat less rice. Nutmeg and mace are toxic in large amounts; the tiny quantities here are fine in food, but keep the powder away from children. If you’re pregnant, normal home biryani is fine, but make sure the meat is fully cooked through and leftovers are cooled quickly, refrigerated within about 2 hours and reheated until steaming. Rice left warm on the stove for hours can make people ill. If someone gets vomiting, diarrhoea with blood, or can’t keep fluids down after a dawat, that’s a doctor visit.
Scaling, swapping and storing
Cooking for a dawat with 3 kg rice? Don’t simply triple the whole spices. Whole spices get stronger in a big degh because they sit longer in more oil, so use about 2½ times the whole spices and a full 3 times the ground masala. For half a kilo, halve everything but keep at least 1 badi elaichi, since half a pod does very little.
No shahi zeera? Use ordinary zeera and add 2 extra choti elaichi. No javitri? Add a second light grating of jaiphal instead, but no more than that. No rose petals? Leave them out; a few drops of rose water at dum does a similar job.
Keep ground biryani masala in a small glass jar filled to the top, away from the stove. Grind a fresh batch when the cardamom and mace smell has faded, usually around the 3 month mark. The whole spices keep for months longer if stored separately and dry.
Common questions
How much biryani masala for 1 kg rice?
About 2 heaped tablespoons (roughly 18 g) of homemade masala for 1 kg rice and 1 kg meat. On top of that, use around 12 g whole spices in the oil and about 5 g in the rice water.
Can I use garam masala instead of biryani masala?
You can, but add a little extra mace, green cardamom and some deghi or Kashmiri mirch for colour. The result won’t be quite as fragrant, since biryani masala is more floral than everyday garam masala.
What is the difference between biryani masala and garam masala?
Biryani masala is more floral, with extra javitri, cardamom, star anise and rose petals, plus mild chilli and haldi for colour. Garam masala is warmer and more peppery, and goes into everyday salan and qorma.
Is biryani masala supposed to have salt?
Homemade doesn’t need it, so salt your pot separately. Packet biryani masalas usually do contain salt, so check the label before adding more to the meat.
How much kewra water should I use?
About 1 tsp for 1 kg rice, sprinkled at the dum stage. If you’ve got concentrated kewra essence rather than kewra water, a few drops is plenty.
Do I need both whole spices and ground masala?
Both, for a proper biryani. Whole spices give the background perfume when you lift the lid, and ground masala gives the gravy colour and body. Using only one makes the biryani taste thin or muddy.
How many aloo bukhara go in biryani?
Six to eight dried plums for a 1 kg pot is typical, added in the last 10 minutes of the meat cooking. Rinse them first. Warn diners about the stones, which are easy to bite on, especially for children and older people with dental work.
How long does homemade biryani masala last?
About 3 months of good aroma in a sealed, dark jar. The rose petals and mace fade first, so smell it before each pot.
Can I use Sindhi or Bombay biryani masala packets instead?
You can, but they’re usually saltier and hotter than this homemade blend. Use less of the packet, taste the meat before adding salt, and skip extra chilli until you’ve tasted.
Are dried rose petals safe to eat?
Food-grade ones, yes. Only use petals sold for cooking, because decorative petals from florists may have been sprayed with chemicals not meant for eating.
Do I remove whole spices before serving?
Many families leave them in. Warn children and guests so nobody bites down on a clove or cardamom pod, and pick out the badi elaichi and star anise for young kids’ plates.
Can I make biryani masala less spicy for children?
Use Kashmiri mirch at the lower end, or halve it, and cut the kali mirch a little. The fragrant spices can stay. Keep the ground masala jar away from children, since nutmeg and mace are toxic in large amounts even though the traces in a pot are fine.
How long can cooked biryani be left out?
Cool leftovers quickly and get them into the fridge within about 2 hours, then reheat until steaming. Rice left warm on the stove for hours can make people ill. Vomiting, bloody diarrhoea or not keeping fluids down after a dawat is a doctor visit.
Is biryani okay for BP or diabetes patients?
The spices aren’t the issue; portion size, oil and salt are. Take a smaller helping of rice, fill the plate with raita and salad, and remember packet masalas usually add salt of their own.
Is it okay to use hot lal mirch instead of Kashmiri?
Yes, but halve it: 6 g instead of 12 g. Local hot chilli gives much more heat and less colour, so the biryani may look paler.
Why does my biryani masala taste bitter?
Usually the delicate spices were over-roasted, or the rose petals scorched. Roast in rounds, giving javitri and shahi zeera only about 45 seconds, and warm the petals off the flame.
More spice and pantry guides: Desi Remedies.