Chicken Masala Biryani Recipes

CHICKEN BIRYANI RECIPE

Steps:

• To a bowl, add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, ½ tsp 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.
• 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. I add about ¼ teaspoon salt. Add ¼ cup yogurt (curd), 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves, 1 slit green chili, ½ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder & 1 teaspoon garam masala.
• Mix everything well and layer chicken evenly at the bottom. (check video)
• Spread drained rice in a layer over the chicken.
• To a separate bowl, pour 3 cups water. If cooking in a pot use 3 ½ cups water.
• Add ½ to ¾ tsp salt and mix. Taste the water. It must be slightly salty.
• 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 2 tablespoons mint leaves. Optionally add 2 tablespoons fried onions & saffron soaked milk if using.
• Pot method - If cooking in a pot, cover and cook on a low flame until the chicken biryani is done to your liking. If the rice is still under cooked or hard, pour ¼ to ½ cup boiling water and cook further. When done it has to be fully cooked, yet remain grainy.
• Cooker method - Set the flame to medium high. Cover & place the whistle. Cook for 1 whistle. Move the cooker away from the burner to stop cooking further.
• Rest until the pressure settles. 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).

CHICKEN MASALA BIRYANI

Steps:

• If you are using Chicken breasts, cut them into medium sized cubes. Marinate the chicken with all the spices, cardamom, cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, soomph, chilli powder, yogurt, ginger/garlic paste, tomato paste and the pureed tomatoes. Refrigerate overnight or for an hour
• Wash rice, add cinnamon and cardamom. Add salt and cook as per package instructions until fully cooked
• Sprinkle a little food colouring over (if you are not using saffron) and cover the pot. Set aside. When ready to add to the chicken use a fork to fluff up the rice. You will then have different shades of yellow in the rice.
• Steam the potatoes until slightly tender. Season with salt and shallow fry in a little oil until golden brown. Set aside
• You can soak the dry lentils overnight. Place it in a pot with enough water to cover it and cook until tender but not mushy. Set aside
• Heat 2 tablespoon butter from the 100 gram butter and a few drops oil. Add the cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, star aniseed and black cardamom. Fry until fragrant
• Add one onion, curry leaf, thyme and green chillies. Sauté until the onion is golden brown
• Add the marinated chicken and mint chopped mint leaves. Add salt and cook on high heat for 5 minutes
• Reduce heat and simmer until the tomatoes are cooked, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked lentils to the chicken
• Add the rice on top of the chicken. Sprinkle the saffron water over, if using. Cut the remaining butter and spread on top together with the fried onions. Pour a cup of water over the biryani and pop into the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. Please check in between cooking time to see if it needs more water. Add more, only if necessary. You can increase the cooking time a little if the potatoes are not fully cooked after an hour.
• For the Crispy Fried Onion heat half a cup of oil in a pot and fry the onion on low heat until golden brown and crisp. Please keep an eye on the onion or it can burn. Drain on a paper towel and set aside