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.
