Chicken Biryani

The icon, the legend, the queen. Biryani can be made with various types of meat, but prominently mutton or chicken. In case of mutton biryani, I choose to pre-cook the mutton in a pressure cooker with a little ginger-garlic paste, salt, chilli powder and coriander powder. Additionally, the ingredients used in making the gravy are to be increased a little in case of mutton biryani.

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Step 1

Put oil in a pan. When hot, add cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Once it crackles, add the onion. Sauté till the onion is golden and caramelised.

Step 2

Add the chicken, salt, ginger garlic paste and turmeric. Cook for a while before adding the green chilis.

Step 3

Add chilli powder and coriander powder, sautéing till the chicken is coated well.

Step 4

Put in the chopped tomatoes and let it cook till the tomato is tender and soft.

Step 5

Add the garam masala powder, chopped mint and coriander leaves. Mix in the yoghurt. Let the gravy simmer on a slow flame. The gravy must be cooked till the excess oil pools up on the top.

Step 6

In a separate pot, boil water up to around 75% level. Add the mint leaves, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and salt.

Step 7

Wash the rice and let it soak in water for 10 minutes.

Step 8

Meanwhile, add the lemon juice to the gravy prepared.

Step 9

Once the water in the pot is boiling hot, strain and add the rice. Let it cook 80% before straining out the water.

Step 10

Shift the pot to a steel jali so as to prevent burning the bottom layer of rice.

Step 11

Build the biryani by alternating between layers of rice and gravy. Excess oil can be added to the rice so that the biryani isn’t dry.

Step 12

After the final layer, drizzle the soaked saffron along with the milk over the rice.

Step 13

Cover the pot tightly (with a wet cloth wrapped around the lid if needed)

Step 14

Let the biryani cook on a slow flame for a while till the rice is completely cooked.

Step 15

Serve with raita.