Making delicious food should be a simple no-fuss affair. Good quality ingredients along with a few easy to follow directions, and you have awesome food on your table!
This Biryani recipe is a step in this direction, give it a try you will love the outcome.
You will need:
For the rice
2 cups Basmati rice, washed and soaked in water for 20 minutes and then drained.
2-3 green cardamom
3-4 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds.
Heat ghee+oil. Add cumin seeds, green cardamom and cloves.
After 30 seconds, add the soaked and drained rice
Cook stirring often till rice begins to crackle.
Add 4 cups water and salt to taste,
I also like to add a gentle squeeze of lime
Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover pot with lid and cook till almost all the water evaporates. Then open lid, gently fluff up rice using a flat spoon and let the rice cool slightly.
For the chicken:
2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken
(Use chicken thighs or drumsticks)
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste,
1 tsp red chilli pwdr,
1/2 tsp haldi
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coarsely ground coriander seeds
1/2 cup sour yoghurt (dahi)
A handful of freshly chopped mint.
Marinate chicken in above ingredients for about 1/2 hour.
Heat ghee+oil add marinated chicken, reserving excess marinade
Cook on medium heat and add reserved marinade little by little, stirring chicken occasionally till you use up all the marinade.
Then add 1/2 cup fried onions (you can use ready fried)
Continue to cook, till masala leaves oil and the chicken becomes tender.
To assemble the biryani…
Layer a baking dish with a thin layer of the cooked rice.
Top with a few pieces of chicken.
Sprinkle some fried onions
And dry mint
along with a light drizzle of saffron soaked in warm water.
Follow with more layers of rice and chicken, onions, mint and saffron water.
If you like nuts…you can sprinkle some fried cahewnuts and almonds too.
Once you have finished layering your Biryani…
Seal top of dish with aluminium foil and place in a pre-heated oven at 375F to bake for 25-30 minutes.
Remove foil from top, when you are ready to eat…and experience the wonderful aroma that envelops you!
Serve along side chilled onion raita.