Sunday, April 25, 2010

Spicy Chicken Biryani

Pin It Now! Homemade Indian Food is the thing I miss the most when away from home. So after our LA trip we were craving for a nice homecooked meal. To satiate this craving I made some chicken biryani that went very well with all of us.
 There are umpteen versions of chicken biryani. This is the way I and am my husband like it. And now my sister likes it too.So this recipe goes out to you my dear Sis.

1. Chop 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts into small pieces.Marinate with 3-4tbsp yogurt, 1-2 tblsp chilli powder,salt,2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste,pinch of turmeric. I usually marinate it the night before.

2. Soak 2C of basmati rice in water for about an hour or so.

3. Thinly slice 2 medium sized onions. Finely chop 2 medium tomatoes.Keep aside.

4. Heat 7-8 tblsp oil. To this add foll. whole garam masala :
4 bay leaves
3 cloves
3 cardomom
2 star anise

5. Once the oil is fragrant add the onions and saute till translucent. Then add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 3-4 tsp chilli powder and fry for around 3-4 mins.

7.  Add the marinated chicken pieces and fry on high heat  for 7 to 8 min till mixture is dry. Then add 1/2 C water and the tomatoes.Cover and cook with lid.

8.Meanwhile, add rice and 5-6 cups of water in rice cooker or a pan and get the rice to a boil.The rice should be 50% cooked. Strain and keep warm once done.

9. Once the chicken is cooked add foll:
        2 tblsp coriander powder
        salt to taste
        2 tblsp garam masala
        handful of chopped cilantro
        handful of chopped mint
Saute till the mixture does not have a lot of running gravy.

11. To layer the biryani ,take heavy botton pot (I usde a rice cooker) add a layer of rice at the bottom and then add the chicken.Alternate as required. Inbetween add a layer of chopped mint and cilantro for extra flavor. Cover and keep on cook setting. If the chicken has some running gravy no more water is required. Else add 5-6 tblsp water.

I served mine with lemon wedge. Nothing else was required. It was a great meal on its own.
And what's more we had 3 very satisfied souls at the end.

1 comment:

Spice Rack said...

Looks great and easy to do. A lot spices are involved. I bet it is full of flavor. Got thing you get to use a lot from your spice rack.