Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani a famous Indian rice dish that is loaded with spices. The secret of a  good biryani are the perfectly caramelized onions.

There are two ways to make biryani  pakki and Kachchi  biryani.In Kachchi  biryani the meat is marinated with spices overnight or for 8-9 hours and then the meat is cooked by layering it with the rice on dum In pakki biryani, the meat and rice are cooked separately before layering.

In the below recipe I have followed the second way ie cooking the rice and meat separately.

Biryani is mostly served with raita/ plain curd or even mirchi ka salan in many parts of India. I like my biryani with cucumber and tomato raita

Ingredients

 For the Rice 

• 2 Cups Basmati Rice

• 2 Cardamom

• 3 Cloves 

• 2 Bay Leaves 

• 7-8 Peppercorns  

• 2 Inch Cinnamon

• 1 Tbsp Clarified Butter/ ghee

• 1 Tsp Salt 

For the Gravy

• 1-1/2 Tbsp Oil

• 2 Cloves

• 2-3 Cardamom

• 1-1/2 Inch Cinnamon 

• 2 -1/2 Cup Onion/ 4-5 Medium Sized Onions (thinly sliced)

• 1 Cup Tomato/ 1-1/2 Medium Sized Tomatoes (chopped)

• 1 Tsp Sugar

• 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste 

• 2-3 Green Chilies (sliced vertically)

• 1-1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder

• 1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder

• 1 Tbsp Coriander Powder

• 2 Tsp Biryani Masala 

• 2  Tsp Cumin Powder

• 2-3 Tbsp Curd 

• 600 Gram Chicken 

• Handful of Coriander (chopped)

• Handful of Mint Leaves (chopped)

• Salt to taste 

For Layering

• 1 Tbsp Milk (Optional)

• Few Strands of Saffron

• Coriander and mint leaves

Method 

• Heat oil on medium flame, add cinnamon, cardamom. cloves and saute them for a minute

• Now add the sliced onions and fry them till they turn brown in colour by adding salt and sugar(sugar helps onions to get caramelized )

Till the onions get caramelized which takes about 10- 15 minutes will move on to making the rice 

• Wash the rice in a bowl  under cold running water until the water runs clear.

• Boil water by adding bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and salt. Once the water starts boiling add the washed rice 

• Cook the rice for about 5-7 minutes, that is when it 's 3/4 done drain the water with the help of a colander/ strainer and spread the cooked rice on a plate 

• Add about 1 tbsp of clarified butter/ ghee on top of it (optional) and keep it aside

• Once the onions gets caramelized, remove 1/4 of the onions aside for garnishing later and add slit green chilies and ginger garlic paste to the remaining onions and fry for 1 minute on medium flame 

• Now, add the tomatoes and saute for 3-4 minutes on medium flame till they turn mushy .Then add all the powdered spices(red chili,turmeric, coriander, cumin, biryani masala), salt and mix well 

• Cook the spices for about 2 minutes and then add the chopped coriander, mint leaves, curd 

• Finally, add the chicken pieces and mix well so that the chicken pieces and well coated with all the spices 

• Cover the pan with the help of a lid and cook the chicken for about 7-8 minutes on medium flame, till it is about 80 percent done 

Its time to layer the biryani :)

• Add hot milk and saffron strands in a bowl and keep it aside (optional)

• Remove the chicken gravy off the flame, and layer the rice on top of it and then add the fried onions, coriander and the mint leaves 

• Drizzle the  saffron milk on top of the rice  (optional)

• Cover the pan and place it on low flame for about 8-10 minutes 

• Serve the biryani hot with some raita