CHICKEN BIRYANI

Rich and aromatic dish where flavoured rice is layered with marinated cooked chicken. This is a healthy and homemade Biryani that is delicious, full of flavour and definitely one of the best one pot meals.

Serves: 6 people | Prep : 30 mins | Cooking : 60 mins

Health Hack: This dish is packed with nutrients and anti-oxidants. The spices used have anti-bacterial properties and the chicken is a great source of protein.

Fresh Ingredients

Chicken - 1kg, thighs and drumsticks
Basmati rice - 350gms
Onions - 2 large, sliced lengthwise
Tomatoes - 2 medium chopped

For Garnish:

Onion - 1, sliced lengthwise
Tomato - 1, cut into round slices
Cashewnuts - 10-12
Raisins - 10-12
Fresh mint leaves – handful
Saffron - few threads soaked in warm milk

For Marinade:

Yogurt -250gms
Ginger-garlic paste -2 tbsp
Green Chilies -2, broken up
Fresh coriander – chopped 2 tbsp
Mint leaves 10-12
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Spices For Rice

Bay leaves - 2
Black cardamoms - 3
Star Anise - 1
Cloves - 6
Green cardamoms - 6
Cinnamon stick - 1

Spices For Marinade

Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 6 tbsp

Step 1

Wash rice in a few changes of cold water and leave to set aside for 30 minutes. Make a small bag of muslin cloth with all the whole spices tied into it. Heat a large pan of water and bring to a boil. Add drained rice, muslin bag with whole spices, oil, salt, and boil until the rice is nearly cooked. You can check as the grain of rice should have a slight bite to it and break easily when pressed between fingers. Drain and set aside to cool.

Step 2

Pierce the chicken pieces all over with a fork. Place them in a large bowl and add all the marinade ingredients mentioned above. Mix it well and cover the bowl with cling film. Set aside to marinate for twenty minutes in the refrigerator.

Step 3

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry one onion till golden brown, followed by lightly frying cashews and raisins. Keep this ready alongside round slices of tomato and fresh mint for garnish.

Step 4

Heat a separate deep pan and add oil. Add sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Then add chopped tomatoes followed by some salt. Fry until the tomatoes leave oil on the sides and then add the marinated chicken. Keep frying until oil separates and chicken is nearly cooked.

Step 5

For layering: Take out some of the cooked chicken for layering and set aside. With chicken at the bottom of the pan add some tomato slices, mint, fried onions, cashews, and raisins. Then layer half the rice on top of the chicken and repeat in the same order for one more layer. Add saffron on top of the rice in the last layer.