Beriani Recipes

AUTHENTIC SOUTH INDIAN BIRYANI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a large oven-proof pot over medium heat. Add cardamom, clove, and cinnamon stick. Stir in chopped onions, and fry until golden brown. Stir in garlic and ginger. Stir in chicken pieces, and fry about 3 minutes. Stir in chili powder, and cook several minutes. Stir in tomatoes, and cook about 5 minutes. Mix yogurt with 3 tablespoons water and lemon juice; stir into sauce.
• Cover pot, and bake in a preheated oven until the sauce is somewhat thickened and concentrated, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook rice in enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until it is half cooked, about 7 minutes. Drain rice, and stir into chicken and sauce. Stir in butter, season to taste with salt, cover pot, and bake 1 hour. Stir in mint and cilantro immediately before serving.

VEGETABLE BIRYANI

Steps:

• Make the rice: Place the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, over medium-high heat. Add the golden raisins, almonds, turmeric, cumin seed, coriander seed, cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 1 minute more. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, (wrap the lid tightly with a kitchen towel), cover, and steam until the rice is tender, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
• Meanwhile, make the vegetables. Melt the butter in a medium straight-sided skillet with a tight-fitting lid, over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the golden raisins, almonds, coriander seed, cumin seed, and cardamom and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower, green beans, potatoes, carrots, and salt. Raise the heat to high, pour in the water, and cook, covered, for 4 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender and most of the water has evaporated, about 1 1/2 minutes more.
• Add the rice to the vegetable mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Season with salt to taste. Divide the vegetable-rice mixture among plates and top with some of the toasted coconut and almonds. Serve immediately.

BIRIYANI

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix in the yogurt and vinegar. Place the onion in the skillet, and cook until tender. Mix in the garlic, ginger paste, green chile peppers, and tomatoes. Cook and stir until tomatoes are tender. Season with garam masala, mint, salt, and pepper, and mix in the cilantro.
• Place the chicken in the skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and continue cooking 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken juices run clear.
• Bring the water and rice to a boil in a large pot. Mix in the bay leaf, green cardamom, black cardamom, and cinnamon. Season with salt to taste. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
• In a separate pot, alternate the rice and chicken mixture in layers, topping with rice. Sprinkle with the food coloring, and mix to serve.

CHICKEN BIRYANI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee) fry potatoes until brown, drain and reserve the potatoes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and fry onion, garlic and ginger until onion is soft and golden. Add chili, pepper, turmeric, cumin, salt and the tomatoes. Fry, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add yogurt, mint, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are cooked to a pulp. It may be necessary to add a little hot water if the mixture becomes too dry and starts to stick to the pan.
• When the mixture is thick and smooth, add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spice mixture. Cover and cook over very low heat until the chicken is tender, approximately 35 to 45 minutes. There should only be a little very thick gravy left when chicken is finished cooking. If necessary cook uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the gravy.
• Wash rice well and drain in colander for at least 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil (or ghee) and fry the onions until they are golden. Add saffron, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger and rice. Stir continuously until the rice is coated with the spices.
• In a medium-size pot, heat the chicken stock and salt. When the mixture is hot pour it over the rice and stir well. Add the chicken mixture and the potatoes; gently mix them into the rice. Bring to boil. Cover the saucepan tightly, turn heat to very low and steam for 20 minutes. Do not lift lid or stir while cooking. Spoon biryani onto a warm serving dish.

THE BEST BIRYANI

Steps:

• Soak rice for half an hour.
• Cook in rice cooker with 15 cups of water. Cook rice until almost done.
• Fry onions in oil until golden brown.
• Add ginger and garlic.
• Add chili powder, cloves, cardamom, pepper corn, cumin, curry, graham masala, coriander, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, dried plums, and salt.
• Add yogurt.
• Add tomatoes and cook until dry.
• Add meat.
• Add green chiles.
• Cook until meat is done and add water if needed.
• Add cilantro.
• Mix saffron with hot water.
• Layer rice and meat mixture and sprinkle with saffron mixture.
• Put in oven at 350°F for 20 minutes.

CHICKEN BIRYANI

Steps:

• Soak 300g basmati rice in warm water, then wash in cold until the water runs clear.
• Heat 25g butter in a saucepan and cook 1 finely sliced large onion with 1 bay leaf, 3 cardamom pods and 1 small cinnamon stick for 10 mins.
• Sprinkle in 1 tsp turmeric, then add 4 chicken breasts, cut into large chunks, and 4 tbsp curry paste. Cook until aromatic.
• Stir the rice into the pan with 85g raisins, then pour over 850ml chicken stock.
• Place a tight-fitting lid on the pan and bring to a hard boil, then lower the heat to a minimum and cook the rice for another 5 mins.
• Turn off the heat and leave for 10 mins. Stir well, mixing through 15g chopped coriander. To serve, scatter over the leaves of the remaining 15g coriander and 2 tbsp toasted almonds.

CHICKEN BIRYANI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rice in a medium bowl. Cover with cold water and rub rice to release starch. Drain. Repeat until liquid is almost clear. Cover with water and let stand 30 minutes. Drain. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and rice. Return to a boil. Cook 4 minutes. Drain.
• In a small skillet over medium-high heat, toast the cloves, peppercorns, cardamom, cumin, and coriander until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool briefly, then grind in a spice grinder. Stir in mace. Soak saffron in milk.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high. Working in two batches, season chicken with salt and cook until brown on one side, 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add 2 tablespoons oil and the onions. Season with salt. Cook until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Reserve 1 cup onions and coarsely chop the rest.
• Return chopped onions to pan with 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, chiles, the ground toasted spices, tomato paste, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add yogurt, turmeric, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil. Add chicken, return to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer, covered, until chicken is just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 inch oil in a small saucepan over medium-high until a piece of onion dropped in oil sizzles. Working in small batches, fry reserved onions until crisp and golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
• When chicken has simmered for 15 minutes, remove from sauce. Bring sauce to a boil and cook, uncovered, to reduce slightly, about 3 minutes. Add juices from resting chicken. Remove half of the sauce. Return half of the chicken to pan and add half of the rice. Sprinkle with one-third of the crisped onions, half of the saffron milk, the reserved sauce, and remaining chicken. Top with remaining rice and another one-third of onions. Drizzle with remaining saffron milk.
• Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Remove lid and wrap in a clean kitchen towel. Return lid to pan and let stand 10 minutes. Serve with remaining onions.

BIRYANI SPICE BLEND

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir to combine spices. Store in an airtight container.

VEGETABLE BERIANI

Steps:

• Wash and drain rice, put aside.
• In a food processor mince onion, peeled garlic and peeled ginger, put aside.
• In a wok heat ghee and sauté cinnamon, 5 cardamom, star anise and lemon grass for 1 minute.
• Add onion ginger, garlic mix to wok and continue sauté for about 5 minutes.
• Add carrots, beans, and tomatoes and cook down for 10 minutes.
• Add rice, corn, peas, coriander, turmeric and salt, mix well.
• Transfer to the rice cooker. Add water and screw pine leaves and cook in WHITE RICE mode.
• Heat ghee and fry cashews until golden, then fry raisins. Drain both.
• When rice is cooked fluff rice with fork and then garnish with cashews, raisins and chopped coriander sprig.
• Note: 200g diced chicken thigh or breast can be added with the rice to make Chicken Beriani.

BERIANI

Steps:

• Cut chicken into 6-8 pieces.
• Grind together garlic, ginger, chillies, poppy seeds, cashew nuts and almonds.
• Heat ghee and fry cloves, cinnamon, shallots.
• Add in the chicken pieces, 1 tsp salt, ground ingredients and curry powder.
• Stir to mix and cook covered for 10 minutes.
• Extract 1-2 cups coconut milk from coconut.
• Add in salt.
• Mixed with washed rice and cook it.
• When the rice has absorbed all the milk, make a well in the center and put the chicken mixture.
• Cover and allow rice to cook over very low fire.