Chicken Biriyani

Making biriyani, however easy the method you adopt, takes time and patience and only on the right investment of these two does the biriyani come out well and taste delicious...... The biriyani this time came out so well that there was nothing left for me to present on a plate for the photo session. It was cleaned out from the cooker itself 15 minutes after it was prepared.

CHICKEN BIRIYANI:





Ingredients:

1.5 kg chicken
1 kg basmati rice (i used India Gate Basmati rice)
5 onions (slice thin and long)
2 tomatoes (slice thin)
1/2 cup mint leaves (chopped very fine)
1/2 cup coriander leaves (chopped very fine)
4 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
6 cloves
3 sticks cinnamon of 1 inch each
6 pods of green cardamom
2 pods of black cardamom
1 piece star anise
1 tbsp ghee
6 tbsp oil

For paste:

4 tbsp thick coconut milk
10 green chillies (you can use according to your taste)
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
Grind all the above ingredients to a paste.

Method of preparation:

1. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and add the whole spices.
2. When the whole spices start to crackle, add the mint leaves.
3. Add the onions when the mint leaves turn dark green and shrink.
4. Once the onions turn translucent, add the ginger-garlic paste.
5. As the raw smell of ginger-garlic paste goes, add the chicken and mix well.
6. Now add the ground paste to this and mix well.
7. Add the finely chopped coriander and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Don't add water.
8. Once you close the lid of the pressure cooker, cook the rice in a open pan till half done. Add the ghee, 2 pods of cardamon, 8 leaves of mint, 1 stick of cinnamon to the rice.
9. Strain the water from the rice (let the whole spices and mint remain with the rice)
10. The pressure would have gone down in the cooker by now, open it and add the half cooked rice. Gently mix the rice and chicken thoroughly.
11. Close the lid and cook for a whistle.

Serve this hot with raita. It tastes good without any side dish as well as vouched by my husband, kids and my mother.