Chicken Biryani

(Layered Basmati Rice dish with Chicken and Vegetables)

This recipe was featured in: holiday dinner recap

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Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. Follow this easy recipe and see for yourself how to deconstruct and reconstruct the biryani into a one-pot delicious concoction!

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Serves 4

1 lb chicken legs and thighs (this will be about 2 leg-thigh joint pieces that u will find in a packet at wholefoods)

The Marinade

1 cup yogurt

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp Everest Chicken Masala (or garam masala)

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste

salt

The Rice

3 cups of basmati rice, wash 2-3 times and soak for about 1/2 hour and drain the water

4.5 cups of water (proportion for this is 1:1.5 rice:water and not 1:2 as usual)

salt

1 tsp oil

1-2 cloves

1 bay leaf

1-2 green cardamoms (elaichi), whole

1-2 cinnamon sticks

The Garnish

1 medium onion, sliced

handful of cashews and raisins

1/4 cup milk

1 pinch saffron strands

ghee (clarified butter)

handful cilantro, finely chopped

1-2 bolied eggs, halved (optional)

The Gravy

1/2 cup oil

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 cup canned tomato sauce (= 1 small 8 oz. can of sauce…NOT PASTE)

3-4 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tbsp garlic paste)

1 inch ginger, grated (or 1 tbsp ginger paste)

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp jeera

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

salt

1 tbsp Everest Biryani Masala (or garam masala + 1-2 cloves, 1-2 cinnamon sticks,1-2 bayleaves, 4-5 peppercorns)

3-4 baby potatoes or 2 medium potatoes, quartered

handful cilantro, coarsely chopped

Seperate the chicken legs and cut the thighs into smaller pieces. Make slits on them and mix them with all the ingredients for marinade and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight or atleast for 6-8 hours.

Warm milk and soak saffron in it. With a spoon, try to crush the saffron in the milk to give the milk a beautiful yellow color.

Combine all the ingredients for rice and cook the rice seperately in pressure cooker/stove top/microwave or rice cooker.

In the meantime heat oil in a big non-stick pot (preferably with steel handles. Ultimately you have to put this pot inside the oven) and fry sliced onions for garnishing till brown. Drain on paper towel and set aside. Similarly, fry cashews till light brown and set aside. Lightly fry raisins in the same oil, for a min or so and set aside. Then fry raw potatoes till they get a light brown coating and set aside.

biryani prep 1

In the same hot oil, add onions, jeera, ginger and garlic and fry till onion is light brown. Add tomato sauce, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt, chopped cilantro and biryani masala. Mix well and saute till oil seperates out of the gravy. Add 1/4 cup water and continue cooking till oil seperates again.

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

Add the fried potatoes and chicken, along with all the marinade, mix well, cover and cook till chicken is almost cooked, but not completely. Stir occassionally. If there’s a lot of liquid in the gravy, cook on medium high till the gravy is reduced.

biryani prep 2