This is one of the most famous Indian/Pakistani dishes that I have had the pleasure of eating when on vacation in India.
It is traditionally reserved for special occasions like parties, weddings, holidays like Ramadan.
The preparation is quite long but the result is simply amazing.
The secret to making an amazing chicken biryani is in the spices…
I personally recommend using Basmati rice. It is a thin, fine-grained rice that can be used for a variety of purposes.
Use Ghee instead of butter.
It is a very important ingredient if you want your biryani to taste more authentic.
So please, no substitution here! 🙂
Also make sure you have all of the following ingredients in place to simplify the cooking process.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 kg of disarticulated chicken
1 kg of soaked basmati rice
2 cinnamon (powder)
6 teeth – whole
1/2 teaspoon of clove powder
5 cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon whole cumin
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2g eastern saffron
1 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
50 g chopped onion
500 g of fried onions
500g French fries (marinated in a dash of yellow food coloring before frying)
1 cup of oil
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon of salt
50g fresh coriander leaves (finely chopped)
50 g fresh mint leaves (finely chopped)
5 green chiles cut lengthwise
Ok, before you do anything else…
Take some flour (about 1/2 kg) and mix it with 1 – 2 cups of water. We are preparing a dough. Once done, set it aside. We will use it later (see step 8).
Now follow the 10 easy steps:
(1) Marinate chicken in saffron, chili powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, and crushed onion.
(2) Add dry spices to yogurt and mix into chicken. Marinate for 1 hour.
(3) Add fried onions, French fries, coriander, mint leaves, green chilies to the marinated chicken. Rub again.
(4) Gradually add oil, ghee and 2 cups of water to the marinated chicken. Reserve for 30 minutes.
(5) Boil 1500 ml (1.5 L) of water with whole cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, salt and soaked rice. Boil halfway.
(6) Strain and layer rice over chicken. Sprinkle with fried onion, a little ghee and saffron diluted in 1/2 cup of hot water.
(7) Top with remaining rice. Sprinkle again with fried onions, 1 teaspoon of ghee, and 1 teaspoon of saffron.
(8) Seal the lid of the pot with the dough.
(9) Cook on high heat for 10 minutes, then reduce heat (or reduce heat when it starts to sizzle). Cook over low heat for 1 hour.
(10) Serve with spiced yogurt, thinly sliced carrots and cucumber salad.
Makes 8 servings.
Tips: Use a heavy utensil when cooking the biryani. The dough can be replaced with a heavy lid to seal. To get crispy fried onions, simply fry them in oil.
Hurry! The dinner is ready…
Enjoy your meal! 🙂
Copyright 2006. Jonathan Teng