Chicken Biryani

Waheeda Sayyid

This is a Biryani to absolutely die for. The process is a bit time consuming but the end result well worth it!

500gms chicken (with bones) cut into medium sized pieces

Ingredients for the Marinade
3-4 tsp Ginger Paste
3-4 tsp Garlic Paste
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 2 1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 2 1/2 tsp Dhania Powder (more if you like)
1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 1/2 Bay leaves
4 5 Cloves
8-10 pcs of Whole Pepper
1 tsp Anardana (roughly ground) Add if sourness wanted
2 Cinamon stick
4-5 Cardamom Black and regular
1 1/2 medium Tomatoes cut in chunky bits
1/3 rd Lemon s Juice
3 tbl spns Yoghurt
3-4 tbl spns Oil
Salt to taste

Mix all the above well with the chicken and set aside for 3 hrs (minimum 1hr)

Ingredients to be fried
1 medium potato quartered and fried - optional
3 large onions finely sliced and deep fried till crisp. The onion should be ready before you begin to cook the chicken.
handful of cashew nuts
handful of raisins

400gms Basmati Rice. Wash and set aside. Start cooking after putting the Chicken on the stove. Cook until 2/3rds done. Then drain and set aside.

Put a pinch of Safron in warm milk and set aside for 20 minutes. The milk should turn yellow.

The Biryani
Put the chicken in a pot on the stove. Add 3/4ths of the fried onions. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender. Stir frequently to ensure that the masala does not stick to the base of the pot.

When ready transfer into the vessel in which the biryani will be made. Add slices of tomato till all the meat is hidden. 1 to 11/2 tomatoes should suffice. Now, spread the rice over the mixture. Pour the kesar/milk mixture over it and spread it to cover the surface.

Close the vessel and cook on an extremely low flame. Keep and eye to ensure that the meat does not stick to the bottom of the vessel and stop when the rice is cooked.

Garnish with the remaining onion some fresh coriander and the cashews and raisins. Serve immediately with raita. Try grated muli and pounded walnuts as optional ingredients in the raita.

Having the ingredients ready and prepared will help you save on cooking time.