July 25, 2014

Chicken Biryani


Weekends are incomplete without non-veg feast (I guess that all non- veg lovers accepts this) and especially biryani holds the royal crown at majority house. Biryani is a single pot meal which is cooked under a slow flame with loads of spices and masalas and can be prepared with veggies or meat. Though it is a single pot meal, care should be taken while preparing to get the right consistency/texture. Varies kind of biryanis can be prepared with varieties of techniques and each variety has its own unique n yummy taste. Mostly Biryani is prepared using Basmati rice but some specialty biryani tastes very delicious when prepared with Jeeraga samba rice. Generally, biryani is served with Raita and brinjal gravy and again it all depends upon the region where hyderabad biryani is served with salan and kerala briyani is served with pickles along with raita.

And coming to my Today's recipe.... This is one of the style which I follow for chicken biryani and it tastes really delicious and flavorful. Personally I believe that marination does the major role in biryani ,So I used to marinate the chicken with yogurt and masala for atleast half an hour to one hour. It enhances the flavor in briyani and chicken. This can also be prepared using pressure cooker but I love cooking it with the below mentioned way as its a no flop method :) 

Are you ready to try this flavorful biryani for weekend? Here comes....


Ingredients : 
  • 2 Cups Basmati Rice ( approx. 400 gms)
  • 500 Gms Chicken, cleaned and cut into pieces
For Marination :
  • 1 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
  • 1 Tsp Chilli Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2 Tbsp Yogurt / Curd
To Grind :
  • 1 Cup Mint Leaves / Pudina 
  • 10 Garlic pods
  • 1 inch ginger 
For Biryani :

  • 3 Tbsp Oil + 1 Tbsp Gingelly Oil ( Gingelly oil is optional )
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 2 Star anise
  • 2 Elachi
  • 1 Inch Cinnamon
  • 250 gms Onions, sliced
  • 125-150 gms Tomatoes, sliced
  • 4 Green chillies, sliced
  • 1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2 Tsp Chilli powder
  • 1 Tsp Coriander powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 Cups Water
  • 1 Tsp Lemon Juice or Juice from half lemon
  • Mint Leaves, for garnishing 
Method :
  • Marinate chicken with the ingredients given above for half an hour to 1 hour.
  • Meanwhile, wash and soak basmati rice in water.
  • Grind the ingredients given in "To Grind" by adding little water. 
  • Grind into fine paste and keep aside.
  • Slice the onion, tomatoes and chillies, keep aside.
  • Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan and add bay leaves followed by cinnamon, elachi and star anise in a medium flame.
  • Add the sliced onions and sliced green chillies. Saute well.
  • Now add the ground Mint - ginger- garlic paste and saute till the raw smells goes off. 
  • Add the sliced Tomatoes and saute for a minute.
  • Add all the masala powder ( Chilli powder, Turmeric powder and Coriander powder), saute for a minute and add the marinated chicken.
  • Mix well and cook it for 5 minutes in a medium flame.
  • Add the measured water,lemon juice and salt to the chicken masala.
  • Drain water in the rice and add it to the pan when it starts boiling.
  • Mix well and simmer the flame.
  • Close it with the lid and place iron dosa pan on top of it.
  • Cook it for 20 minutes or till the rice gets cooked.
  • Remove the lid and slowly mix without breaking the rice.
  • Garnish with mint leaves and serve hot.




Serving Options :

Serve hot with Onion Raita, Brinjal gravy and salna.



Notes :
  • Coriander leaves can also be included while grinding ginger and garlic.
  • Simmer the flame after adding rice to avoid getting burnt at the bottom of the pan.



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