Mummy’s Best & Easiest Ever Chicken Biriyani
Ingredients
To Grind (for biriyani masala)
- 1 nos Onion roughly chopped
- 8 cloves Garlic
- 2 inch Ginger roughly chopped
- 7 nos Green chilli as per taste
- 9 nos Raw cashews
- 2 cup Coriander leaves/Cilantro chopped and packed
- 1 cup Mint leaves
- 2 sprigs Curry leaves
Other
- 1¼ kg Chicken
- 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 3 nos Bay leaves optional
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander powder
- 2 tbsp Cumin powder
- 1 tbsp Chilli powder
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- ½ cup Curd
For frying
- 3 nos Onion medium sized, thinly sliced
- to taste Cashews and Raisins
- 1 nos Potato optional
For the rice
- 4 tbsp Ghee
- 2 nos Bay leaves
- 2 nos Cinnamon
- 10 nos Peppercorn
- 8 nos Clove
- 5 nos Cardamom
- 2 nos Star anise
- 4 cup Basmati rice
- 1½ cup Hot water for each cup of rice
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- to taste Salt
For Assembling
- few pinches Garam masala powder
- 3 tsp Ghee
- Saffron water Soak 2 pinches of saffron in 3 tbsp hot water and let it sit for 10 mins
- Coriander leaves chopped
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients ‘To grind’ into a blender jar and blend to smooth paste with little water.
- Heat the oil and ghee in a pan on medium heat. Add bay leaves followed by the ground masala paste and cook until the raw smell disappears. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala. Mix until the spices are cooked and pour in the curd and bring to a boil. Note: At this point, this masala can be stored in a glass jar for later use, in a refrigerator for 2 days, or frozen for at least 2 months. This masala is suitable for 1–1.25 kg chicken/mutton or beef.
- Add chicken pieces to the masala, add salt to taste and cook on medium flame till the chicken releases its water. Add 1/2 cup - 1 cup of water as required. When done the gravy should not be too thick or too loose. (The gravy will thicken as it sits.)
- While the chicken is cooking fry sliced onions until golden brown, followed by potatoes, cashews and raisins.
- Once the chicken is done add the fried potatoes into the masala, mix and keep aside.
- Now to partially cook the rice, into a large pot add 3- 4 tbsp ghee and fry the whole garam masala on low heat until aromatic. Add the basmati rice and fry for 5 mins. Pour 1.5 cups of hot water for each cup of rice, salt to taste, dash of lemon juice and bring to boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for approx. 15 mins until the rice is 80% cooked.
Toss the rice in the pan to prevent over cooking while you prepare to ‘Dum’ the biriyani.
- Assembling the biriyani: Grease the bottom of a large heavy bottom pot with ghee and spread a layer of the chicken masala, followed by the cooked rice, sprinkle some garam masala, fried onions, nuts and raisins, saffron water, and ghee and repeat.
- For Dum: Place on a Tava and cover with aluminum foil or seal the lid with atta dough . Heat the pot on medium heat for an initial 10 mins, then let it ‘dum’ for approx. 35 mins or more on low heat.
- Mummy’s delicious chicken biriyani is ready to serve with raita, pickle and papad. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can discard the whole garam masala from the cooked rice while assembling the biriyani.
- For Vegetarian options you can try with paneer or some mixed veggies.
- You can use either 3 or 4 cups of rice according to the ratio your family prefers for this amount of chicken. Make sure to use only 1.5 cups of hot water for each cup of rice used.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!