Ingredients (serves 6 people)
- Chicken Marinade: Chicken or Mutton: 1.5 kg
- Thick yogurt: 250 g
- Coriander powder: 2 tsp
- Red chilli powder: 2 tsp
- Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
- Green chillies: 5 slit
- Coriander leaves chopped: 2 tbsp
- Mint leaves chopped: 2 tbsp
- Salt
- Chicken Gravy: Large onions: 3 sliced finely
- Green cardamoms: 8
- Cloves: 10
- Cinnamon sticks: 2 inches
- Black pepper: 5
- Black cardamom pods: 4
- Cumin seeds: 2 tsp
- Bay leaves: 2
- Raisins: handful
- Ginger: 2 tsp
- Garlic paste: 2 tsp
- Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
- Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp
- Salt: 2 tsp
- Fennel powder: 3/4 tsp
- Tomato: 500g chopped
- Oil: 1 cup
- Rice: Basmati rice: (soaked in water for at least 1/2 an hour): 5 cups
- Cinnamon sticks: 3
- Lemon juice: 1 lemon
- Black cardamom pods: 3
- Bay leaves: 2
- Salt: a pinch
- Garnishing: Mint leaves: 1/3 cup finely chopped
- Coriander leaves: 1/3 cup finely chopped
- Rose water: 2 tsp
- Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
- Saffron milk: a pinch of saffron in 1/4 cup of warm milk
- Lemon juice: 1/2 lemon
- Browned onions in step 2
Directions
- Part 1: Marinade the chicken and keep it overnight or for at least 3-4 hours
- Next put some thick yogurt in a bowl, beat it well and add powdered spices and salt to the mix.
- Now, add those fiery slit green chillies, some chopped mint coriander leaves and mix everything well.
- Last but far from least, add cut chicken and once again, mix well.
- That done, you can now plastic wrap the bowl and let it chill overnight in the fridge.
- Part 2: Make the chicken biryani masala
- To start making the masala for chicken biryani, heat oil in a large non-stick vessel.
- After the oil is hot, add your finely sliced onions and fry until they turn a light shade of golden brown.
- Now, set aside about 1/3 of the fried onions on a tissue paper; these will serve as the final garnishing you need to layer the biryani.
- Add the cloves, cardamoms, black pepper, cumin seeds, cinnamon, black cardamom pods and bay leaves to the remaining brown onions in the pan.
- Fry them till fragrant after which you can add ginger and garlic paste to the mix and fry it for roughly 4-5 minutes until there’s no hint of a raw smell.
- Now it’s time to add the powdered spices (chilli, coriander and fennel powders) and fry it for precisely 30 seconds before adding in the tomatoes and salt.
- Remember to fry the tomatoes till they turn soft and all the moisture within dries up completely.
- In your vessel, add the marinated chicken and yogurt mixture and mix well. Close the lid on the vessel and leave the chicken to cook for 30-35 minutes on medium heat, stirring intermittently. You’ll know that the chicken is ready when the gravy turns darker in colour and the oil begins to float.
- Just do a quick salt check before squeezing lemon juice over it. Then, turn off the heat.
- Part 3: Prepare the rice
- To prepare the rice, simply soak the rice in a clean bowl of water for about 20 minutes before draining the rice in a colander. Set it aside.
- While the rice is soaking, you have to get busy preparing the water to cook it in. For this, boil approx. 15 cups of water in a large vessel. Make sure the rice has enough room to cook in; you can do this by checking if the grains lengthen to their maximum length. If the grains of rice start clumping together, you know the vessel is too small.
- Let the water come to a boil. Now, add bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and black cardamom. Lid the pot and allow the spices to infuse the water with their flavours for 3-4 minutes before you add in the rice.
- Add rice to the boiling water while gently stirring. Add salt, lemon juice and a dash of oil to the boiling water. This helps maintain the fluffiness of the grains and also to keep them separate.
- Allow the rice to cook for 6-8 minutes. Turn off the flame and instantly drain the water off the rice into a colander. Great, you’ve got the rice down perfectly!
- Now, just spread it out on a large tray and allow it to cool.
- Part 4: Assembling the Chicken Biryani
- This step requires quite a bit of skill. First you have to grease the base of a large, oven safe pot with oil.
- Now, half the cooked rice goes into the bottom of the pan. Now, arrange the pieces of meat over the rice evenly followed by which you pour in the gravy. That done, add the remaining rice over the meat, carefully levelling the rice to form an even layer.
- The chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves and reserved browned onions now have to be sprinkled over the rice.
- By using the back of a spoon, tunnel your way through the rice and meat layer. In these tunnels, pour in some drops of saffron milk, lemon juice and rose water.
- Now, simply sprinkle garam masala powder and a few drops of ghee over the rice.
- Seal the pan with foil and lid it. Place it in an oven preheated to 180° C for 25-30 minutes.
- Gently mix it and then serve it with a cucumber and tomato raita.
Enjoy delicious chicken biryani dish with your family and dear ones.
