GMT: Chicken Biryani

Growing up I was not fond of Biryani, chicken or vegetarian. I don’t know why but the only rice based dish I liked was rajma chawal. Nothing else. So I avoided biryani and the likes. Of course later things changed but my true love for biryani started on one of my trips to Goa. My brother was posted there. He still is. I know, its awesome! Everyone should have a family member in Goa. It should be the norm.

About 6 years back, my parents and I went to visit my brother and his wife and they kept talking about the Biryani from a place called Anantashram.

They make handi biryani and the biryani is served in the clay pot/ handi that they make it in. One bite and I was in love. I don’t remember how many times I ate the biryani on that trip but I had countless dreams of it when I was back, and every biryani I ate was compared to the biryani from Anantashram. Sadly, over the years their quality has gone down. On a recent trip I tried it and it was a let down. My brother and sister in law resonated my feelings, and had also told us beforehand that it might not be the same as the first time we had it.

Besides the biryani disappointment our Goa trip was a huge gastronomical success. As you can see in this post. We all came back with our clothes a little tighter. And I came back in search of a new Biryani as my yardstick.

Now, just before leaving for Goa, we got a new cook in the house, Rajeev. And Rajeev makes really awesome biryani. His technique is slightly different than the one I have posted on the blog before. My MIL’s Biryani recipe. No disregard for my MIL’s biryani recipe (it is awesome) but I like Rajeev’s better and found his easier as well. Its not handi biryani- he doesn’t layer it and then seal the dish with whole wheat flour dough and cook it again. His method is simpler and every time I ate it I wanted to know how he makes it.

I finally found the time to watch and note his process and while the recipe is at best an approximation of the actual process, it does give an idea of how to make Rajeev’s version of chicken biryani. Like all cooking do feel free to experiment a little with the quantities mentioned. In cooking, unlike baking which is an exact science, measurements can and should always be adjusted to suit an individual’s palate. So while I might mention 1 tsp of XYZ spice in the recipe, maybe your taste buds would prefer 2 tsp of that spice.

And well, if you are not rushing to the kitchen to make this biryani, then you might be interested in playing this game which Food Talk India has come out with. #addictivemuch Else, get cooking and let me know how the recipe goes for you.

GMT: Chicken Biryani

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

This recipe is at best an approximation of the recipe that my cook uses to make chicken biryani. I love his version and hope you do too.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

For the Chicken marination:

• 800 gms chicken
• 4-5 tbsp curd
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• red chilli powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• salt, to taste

For deep frying:

• 2 cups red onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp ginger slices
• 6-8 sliced green chillies
• 1 cup mint

Tomato onion paste

• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 2 tsp Biryani masala
• 1 tsp freshly ground garam masala

Rice

• ½ kg rice
• few mint leaves
• 1-2 tbsp ghee
• salt, to taste

for the layers:

• Coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 tsp milk each mixed with red and yellow food color (you can use saffron instead of yellow)
• 1 cup Oil, for frying and cooking

Instructions

For the rice:

1. Cook the rice as you would with the mint and ghee, making sure you do not overcook the rice.

For the chicken masala:

1. Marinate the chicken and keep for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile heat the oil and fry the onions till golden brown and remove. Keep aside. Fry the ginger slices and the sliced green chillies, just slightly. You want to get a slight crisp. Fry the mint in a similar fashion. Its just putting and removing the mint after a few seconds in.
2. In the same oil, add the tomato onion paste. Once the oil separates add the chicken along with the marinade and cook covered for 15-20 minutes, till all the water dries and you can see the oil floating on the side.
3. Add the garam masala and the biryani masala. Then add half the rice to the chicken. Mix gently making sure not to break the rice. If your rice is overcooked then it will become mushy, so be careful when you cook the rice. Mix and keep on low flame for 1-2 minutes.

For the layering:

1. In the dish you plan to serve the biryani, add half of the chicken-rice mix, then the fried mint, onion, green chillies ginger mix. Then a little plain rice, and repeat, leaving few of the fried onions, mint, green chilies for garnishing on the top. Sprinkle the colored milk on top and garnish with the coriander/cilantro and the fried onions, mint. Serve hot.

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