The Best Chicken Biryani
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Category
Indian Food
Cuisine
Indian
Servings
8-10
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Ingredients
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2 onions, large
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1/2 cup canola oil
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1 1/2 pounds chicken (mixture of thighs, breast - bone in and boneless skinless), cut into large pieces
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3/4 cup yogurt
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1/4 cup tomato puree
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1/4 cup canola oil
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1 T. Fresh ginger/garlic paste (minced)
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1 T. Red chili powder
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1 teaspoon turmeric powder
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1 teaspoon garam masala
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2 T. Brown onions
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1 teaspoon salt
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2 T. Hot milk
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15 saffron strands
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2 cups basmati rice
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6 cups water
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2 T. Salt
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1 bayleaf
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5 cloves
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3 cardamom pods
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1 cup fresh mint leaves
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1 cup coriander leaves
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2 T. Ghee or butter
Browning Onion
Chicken Marinade
Saffron mixture
Parboiled rice
Other ingredients
Directions
Brown onions
Slice onions. Heat oil in a large frying pan and shallow fry the onions for about 15 minutes until they are deep, golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Set aside. Note: you can also use purchased fried onions.
Chicken Marinade
Mix cubed chicken with all the ingredients under chicken marinade and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Saffron
When you are ready to assemble the biryani, soak the saffron strands in the warm milk and mix until milk is orange in color. Set aside.
For the rice
Bring water to a boil, add rice, whole spices and salt. Cook for ONLY 5 minutes and drain completely. Rice should be raw in the middle. Do not remove the spices.
Layering the Biryani
Heat a heavy bottom Dutch oven and add chicken. Cook for 4 minutes and turn chicken pieces. Cook another 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Scatter half the onions all over the chicken, then add the mint and cilantro leaves.
Next, layer the rice over the mint/cilantro and drizzle the saffron milk over the rice. Now drizzle the ghee over the rice and scatter the remaining onions on top.
Cover Dutch oven and cook on low flame for 20 minutes. This helps cook the chicken throughout and also steams the rice to cook to doneness.
Once the Biryani is cooked, let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot with onion raita and warm roti.
Make gravy to spoon over each serving.
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