CHICKEN BIRIYANI

Biriyani is my favorite for special occasions. Everybody has a favorite way of eating biriyani. My mother needs a whole boiled egg along with her biriyani. My favorite combination is biriyani, dates pickle, pickled onions, and pappadam. I started making biriyani from Mrs. K M Mathew's cookbook. Now, I use a combination of Mrs. K M Mathew's and my mom's recipes.

RECIPE

1. 1 kg chicken pieces
2. 2 Tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
3. 1/2 tsp mace powder
4. 3 tsp cumin powder 
5. 1 tsp clove powder
6. 1 tsp cinnamon powder
7. 1 tsp fenugreek powder
8. 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 
9. 1 tsp turmeric powder
10. 5 heaping Tbsp. curd(I used whole milk yogurt)
11. 3/4 cup mint leaves(30 gms)
12. 1/2 cup coriander leaves(30 gms. )
13. 10 green chilies (15 gms. The heat in the curry comes only from the chilis)
14. 2 medium-sized onion thinly sliced (250 gms)
15. 4 Tbsp. oil
16. 1-1/2 Tbsp. ghee or butter 
17. salt to taste 

For the biriyani rice 

1. 2-1/2 cups basmati rice soaked in water for at least 20 minutes. Cook the rice. This is how I do it.
2. 13 cups of water
3. 5 tsp salt.
4. 2-1/2 Tbsp ghee
5. 1/2 medium-sized onion(90 gms), sliced very thinly
6. 2 Tbsp raisins 
7. 2 Tbsp cashews

METHOD

Marinating the chicken:

• Wash, clean, drain the chicken, and keep it aside.
• In a mixie jar, put the curds, mint leaves, and coriander leaves and blend them into a puree. 
  
  
  
  

• Marinate the chicken with the mint-curd chutney. Keep aside for at least 30 minutes to at most overnight in the fridge.
  
  
  
  

MAKING THE RICE:

Cooking the rice

• In a big pot, bring the water to a boil. When the water boils, add salt. Taste and see. The water should taste pleasantly salty. Put in the washed and drained basmati rice.  Cover and cook. Bring it to a boil.

  

  
  

  

  
  

  
• When the rice boils, turn off the stove and cover it for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, turn on the stove and bring to a boil again. Turn off, drain, and keep aside. The rice will be 80% cooked.

• After 5 minutes of draining, transfer the rice to a bowl, add the ghee and give it a gentle stir.

FRYING THE ONIONS FOR THE GARNISH AND MAKING THE CURRY

• Slice the onions for the curry . I use the slicing blade of my food processor.
  

         

• Keep the sliced onions, cashews, and the raisins ready. Heat a wok on the stove. When warm, pour oil. When the oil is hot, add in the ghee. When the ghee melts,  put the sliced onions reserved for the garnish for the rice. Sauté on high heat till the onions are soft. Then reduce the heat to low and keep stirring until golden brown, for about 15 minutes. Just before draining out the onions, add the raisins and cashews(. Fry slightly. Drain and keep aside. Don't wait to drain the last bit of fried onion. The oil will get very hot, and the last remaining onions will  burn .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• In the same pan, add the rest of the onions(for making the curry) with the remaining oil. Sauté until the onions are translucent. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilies and saute on low heat until the paste is cooked well. Then add the spice powders and saute.
• Then, add the marinated chicken and marinade. Saute the chicken till well cooked - about 20 minutes. 
• Check for salt when cooked, and also add lemon juice if it requires more sourness to the curry.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
          

        

LAYERING THE BIRIYANI:

• The rice, chicken curry, and fried onion mixture are ready now. All these can be made ahead and assembled before serving.
• About 30 minutes before serving, Take a large bowl, add a layer of cooked basmati rice, sprinkle some fried onion mixture, and add a layer of chicken curry without much gravy.

                                       

• Now top it with rice and dab the rice tightly with the spoon.
  
  

• Cover the top of the bowl with a wet cloth(the wet cloth will prevent the steam from escaping and fluff up the rice) and microwave on high for 5-7 minutes. (The time for microwaving depends on the quantity taken.)
• Let it stand in the microwave for some time. Remove the bowl from the cloth and sprinkle with the fried onion mixture. Serve while still hot. Serve the gravy separately, along with some chicken. Microwaving is the easiest way to serve the final dish. My mother uses the microwave method.
  

  

• I like it with pickled onions , salad and pappadam.
  

  

NOTES 

• When the chicken and rice are taken out of the fridge, to assemble the biriyani, heat a pan, add the chicken, and bring to a simmering boil. Then top it with rice. Dab it. Garnish with the fried onions and cashews. Cover and cook on medium-high heat for 2 minutes, then turn the heat to low and cook for 8 minutes.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• If you like to bake it , bake it in a preheated oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour.

NOTES

• The curry's gravy is good enough to cling to the chicken pieces and add some flavor to the rice. The cashew nut date renders volume and some sweetness to the curry and emulsifies the oil. 
• Most of the recipes for cooking biriyani rice call for cooking rice till 1/2 or 3/4 cooked. It's very difficult for me to assess the right amount of doneness. So I cook for a certain amount of time, ensuring the rice is not overcooked.
• Actually, the date-cashew mixture is optional. The original recipe calls for date-cashew nut chutney, but that is optional.