Chicken Biryani

Christmas is just around the corner and shopping is in full flow! So while you decorate your Christmas trees, and pack gifts and plan on buying stuff for a great Christmas dinner, here’s the recipe for a great delicious traditional dinner dish – The Chicken Biryani. In India, the turkey is not cooked that often, and infact it can be found only in gourmet food shops. Hence we can always have the option to make biryanis with chicken, Fish, mutton, egg or just veg biryani.

Biryani is basically the meat cooked with long grained rice and flavored with whole spices and lots of aromats. It’s a typical dish from Hyderabad and makes for excellent Christmas meal as you elaborately decorate the dinner tables!

Serves 5-6

Preparation time 45 mins

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 ½ kg, big pieces

Oil - 5 to 6 tbsp

Garlic - 2 tsp, ground

Ginger - 2 tsp, ground

5-6 medium onions finely sliced

Cashew Nuts - 2 tbsp, ground

Poppy Seeds (Khus Khus) - 2 tbsp, powdered

Dry Coconut 2 tbsp, ground (optional)

Tomato Puree - 2 cups

Basmati Rice - 4 cups

Salt 2 tsp or to taste

Saffron - 1/2 tsp, soaked in 1/4 cup milk

Cinnamon Stick 1

Cloves 3-4

Bay leaf 1

Black Cardamom 1

Green Cardamom (elaichi) 2

Ghee - 2 tbsp

For the Marinade

Thick Curd - 4 cups, beaten till smooth

2 Green Chillies chopped

Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped

Salt - 2 tsp

Chilli Powder 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder 1 tsp

Chicken Masala ½ tsp

Biryani Masala ½ tsp

For Garnish

Onion - 1 to 2, sliced and fried

Method

• Mix the marinade ingredients to a smooth paste.
• Rub it over the chicken and allow it to marinate for 15 minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add bay leaf, cinnamon, and cardamoms.
• Fry the garlic, ginger and onions in this oil till light brown.
• Add cashew nuts, poppy seeds and coconut.
• Cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.
• Add the tomato puree.
• Simmer on low heat and keep mixing till the oil starts to float on top.
• Transfer this paste to a large pan.
• Add the chicken with the marinade in the pan with the paste.
• Cover pan and cook on low heat till the chicken is tender.
• Wash the rice 2-3 times and soak in water for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Cook rice with salt in plenty of water (7-8 cups) till 3/4th done. This should take around 8-10 mins.
• Drain out the water and allow the rice to cool.
• Place 1/3rd of the rice in a deep pan or a big kadhai/pot.
• Place half the chicken over the rice.
• Cover with another layer of rice.
• Place the remaining chicken over it and cover with the remaining rice.
• Sprinkle little water on it.
• Pour saffron milk and ghee on top.
• Cover the pan with a lid and seal the edges with dough.
• Cook on low heat for 20 minutes or bake in an oven at 180C for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Garnish with fried onions.
• Serve hot with raita or curd.