Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

• Chicken breast

  Broilers or fryers, meat only, raw

  1 lb or 454g

• Nonfat greek yogurt

  Nonfat, plain

  ½ cup or 120g

• Ginger root

  Raw

  1 tbsp or 6g

• Garlic

  Raw

  4 clove or 12g

• Salt

  Table

  1 ¼ tsp or 8g

• Turmeric

  Spices, ground

  ¼ tsp or 0.6g

• Chili powder

  Spices

  1 ½ tsp or 4g

• Garam Masala

  Badia

  4 tsp or 96g

• Lemon juice

  Raw

  1 tbsp or 15g

• Bay leaf

  Spices

  1 tbsp, crumbled or 2g

• Cardamom

  Spices

  1 tbsp, ground or 6g

• Cinnamon Sticks

  Canela - Don Enrique

  1 piece or 6g

• Whole Cloves

  McCormick

  1 clove or 0.2g

• Cumin Seeds

  Swad

  1 tbsp or 7g

• Rice Basmati

  Compliments

  2 cup or 180g

• Canola oil

  2 tbsp or 28g

• Onions

  Raw

  1 medium or 110g

• Mint

  Freshdirect

  4 tablespoon or 12g

• Green peppers

  Hot chili, raw

  1 pepper or 45g

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  3 cup or 710g

• Saffron

  Spices

  1 tsp or 0.7g

Directions

1. Marinade for chicken biryani ▢ ½ kg chicken (1.l lbs) ▢ 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (curd or dahi) ▢ 1¼ tablespoons ginger garlic paste (1 inch ginger & 4 garlic cloves crushed) ▢ ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to tase) ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric ▢ ½ to 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (or paprika) (use less spicy variety) ▢ ½ to 1 tablespoon garam masala (or biryani masala) (Refer notes) ▢ 1 tablespoon Lemon juice (optional) Whole spices (skip if you don’t have any) ▢ 1 bay leaf (tej patta) ▢ 4 green cardamoms (choti elaichi) ▢ 6 cloves (lavang) ▢ 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini) ▢ 1 star anise (chakri phool ) ▢ ¾ teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds) (substitute with cumin) ▢ 1 strand mace (javitri) Other ingredients for chicken biryani ▢ 2 cups basmati rice (aged rice only) ▢ 2 tablespoon ghee or Oil ▢ 1 large onion sliced thinly ▢ ¼ to ½ cup mint leaves chopped fine (about 15 leaves) ▢ 1 green chili (slit or chopped) ▢ ¼ cup plain yogurt (Indian curd) ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder (optional, for heat) ▢ 1 teaspoon garam masala (or biryani masala) ▢ 3 cups water (or coconut milk, 3½ cups for pot) (refer notes, more if needed ) ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt (to stir in water) ▢ 2 tablespoon fried onions (optional) ▢ 1 pinch saffron (optional)(soaked in 2 tbsps hot milk)
2. Preparation ▢ To a bowl, add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, salt, garam masala, turmeric, lemon juice & red chili powder. ▢ Mix up well and taste the marinade. Add more salt and spice if needed. ▢ Make slits on the chicken pieces. Add it to the marinade & mix well. Cover and set aside for 1 hour to overnight. ▢ Rinse basmati rice thrice and soak for 30 mins. Drain to a colander after 30 mins.
3. How to make Chicken Biryani ▢ Heat ghee or oil in a pot or pressure cooker. ▢ Add whole spices – bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, shahi jeera & mace. Skip them if you do not have. ▢ When the spices begin to sizzle, add onions & fry them evenly stirring often until uniformly light brown but not burnt. ▢ Add chicken & saute until pale for 5 mins on a medium heat. ▢ Cover & cook on a low flame until the chicken is soft cooked or tender. Saute to evaporate any excess moisture in the pot. ▢ Taste test and add more salt if needed. Add yogurt (curd), half of the chopped mint leaves, slit green chili, red chili powder & garam masala. ½ to 1 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 green chili, ¼ cup plain yogurt, 1 teaspoon garam masala
4. Layering ▢ Mix everything well and layer chicken evenly at the bottom. (check video) ▢ Spread drained rice in a layer over the chicken. ▢ To a separate pot, pour water. If cooking in a pot use more water. ▢ Add salt and mix. Taste the water. It must be slightly salty. Bring this to a rolling boil. ▢ Pour 2 cups of this water across the sides of the cooker or pot. Gently pour the rest on top of the rice. (check video) ▢ Level the rice if needed. Sprinkle the rest of the mint leaves. Optionally add fried onions & saffron soaked milk if using. ▢ Pot method – If cooking in a pot, cover and cook on a medium flame until the rice in the chicken biryani is cooked completely but not mushy or undercooked. If the rice is still under cooked or hard & there is no water at the bottom, pour ¼ to ½ cup more boiling water depending on the kind of rice used and cook further. When done it has to be fully cooked, yet remain grainy but not mushy. ▢ Cooker method – Set the flame to medium high. Cover & place the whistle. Cook until you hear 1 whistle. Move the cooker away from the burner to stop cooking further. ▢ Rest until the pressure drops naturally. Fluff up the chicken biryani with a fork. ▢ Serve from top to the bottom layer. Each serving gets biryani rice from top and chicken from the bottom layer. ▢ Enjoy chicken biryani with raita and sliced veggies, papad and shorba (biryani gravy).