Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

Chicken marination:

Whole pre-cut chicken (ready to cook) - 1 packet

Red chilli powder - 2 teaspoon

Ginger - 1 inch (grated)

Garlic - 2 cloves (grated)

Pepper - ¼ teaspoon

Yogurt - 2 tablespoon

Garam masala - ½ teaspoon

Salt - as required

Orange or red colour - ½ to 1 teaspoon ( I used 1 teaspoon)

Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon (optional)

To cook rice :

Basmati rice - 2 ½ cups

Salt - as required

Bay leaves - 3

Cardamom - 2

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Lemon juice - ½ teaspoon

Water - 6 to 7 cups

Oil - 2 teaspoon

For chicken masala:

Onion - 1 (sliced)

Ginger - 1 inch (grated)

Garlic - 2 cloves (grated)

Tomatoes - 3 (medium)

Green chillies - 2 (slit)

Turmeric -¼ teaspoon

Red chilli powder 3/4 teaspoon

coriander powder - 2 teaspoon

Salt

Ghee

For layering:

Onion - 1 (medium - sliced, deep fried till crisp and brown)

Pudina (mint) leaves - ½ cup (or) (mint leaves - ¼ cup & coriander leaves - ¼ cup)

Saffron strands - 2 pinch

Warm milk - 1 table spoon

Flavoring masala:

Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Green cardamoms - 3

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon- 1 inch

Black cardamoms - 2 (Use just the seeds)

Method:

Early Preparation for Biryani:

Unload the chicken pieces into a large bowl.
Add all ingredients from chicken marination section above to the chicken.

Mix well.

Cover and keep it in fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

Soak basmati rice for 30 minutes.

Grind all the flavoring masala and add one tablespoon of water. Let's call this liquid masala.

Filter and keep the liquid masala aside.

Add 2 pinches of saffron to warm milk, cover and keep aside.

Deep fry the sliced onions till brown. Keep it in aside.

Cooking procedure:

Melt the ghee in a kadai.

Add sliced onion and fry till brown. Add the grated ginger, garlic and fry for few minutes.

Add slit green chillies and tomatoes, little salt, and fry few more minutes.

Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and mix well.

Now add the marinated chicken and mix.

Pause. Stir occasionally for 3 minutes.

Add ½ cup of water and cook the chicken. Do not place any lid on the kadai.

Chicken should get half cooked.

When the contents in kadai gets dry, remove from fire.

In a pan boil 6 to 7 cups of water with bay leaves, salt, cardamom, cinnamom, and oil.

To the boiling water add rice. (discard the soaking water)

When the rice is 50 % cooked, remove from burner, strain and spread it in a wide tray.

Allow all the steam from rice to escape.

Layering :

Take a large heavy bottomed sauce pan, spread half of masala chicken evenly.

Spread half of rice above the chicken layer.

Moist the rice layer with liquid masala.

sprinkle the warm milk with saffron.

Spread the deep fried onions and mint leaves.

Spread next layer of masala chicken.

Repeat rice layer, sprinkle masala liquid, saffron milk, mint leavs, fried onions.

Dhum-ming:

Cover the sauce pan tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil.

Place a thick flat lid over the sauce pan. Do not spoil the aluminum foil.

Dhum (steam veliyil varaamal ulleiyay cook aaharadhu) for 25 to 30 minutes in low flame.

Garnish & Sides: your imagination

Note: Adapted from a recipe book. I customized it for my taste. Use your judgment for deciding quantities of salt and spices.

Posted in: Chicken, Rice