Chicken biryani

How to make chicken biryani:-
Ingredients:-

• For the Rice:-
• 2 cups of basmati rice
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 tsp of crushed ginger
• 1 tsp of crushed garlic
• 4 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• A small piace of cinnamon
• 3 star anise
• 1 tsp of cumin / jeera
• 1/2 cup of carrots, cut into small cubes (optional)
• 10 cashew nuts
• 10 raisins

For the Chicken Gravy:-

• 1 kg of chicken pieces, with bones
• 3 of large onions, sliced
• 1 tsp of minced ginger
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• 2 tsp of coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp of powdered fennel seeds
• 2 tsp of chicken masala
• 1/2 tsp of garam masala (optional)
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
• 2 tomatoes
• A small bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro)
• A fistful of mint leaves
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 5-6 green chillies
• 3 tbsp of ghee or oil
• 1 tsp of pepper powder

For the Rice:-

Soak the rice for 30 mins. 

Meanwhile, heat the ghee or oil in a wide pan and add the sliced onions along with the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, star anise). Fry the onions stirring frequently.

Grind or crush the garlic and ginger together. Add this to the frying onions and fry until the onions turn a dark golden brown. Drain and set aside. (If using carrots, add along with the ginger, etc and cook together). 

In the same pan, fry the cashew nuts and raisins until golden. Drain and set aside with the fried onions.

Once the rice is done, mix it with our onion mixture, add the fried raisins and cashew nuts on top and set aside.

Cook the rice following whichever method you prefer. We usually cook the rice for biryani in an open pan but you can use the rice cooker or pressure cooker too. Just make sure the rice doesn't get overcooked. The grains need to remain separate.

For the Chicken Gravy:-

Grind or crush ginger + garlic + green chillies

Heat the ghee or oil and add onions. Fry until golden brown and add the ginger-garlic-chillies paste. Fry for another minute and then add the spice powders chicken masala + coriander powder + fennel powder + pepper + turmeric. Saute for a minute.

Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they turn soft. At this stage, the mixture will turn mushy and gravy-ish. 

Add the washed and cleaned chicken pieces + salt + sugar + 1 cup water and mix well. Bring to boil and cook closed until the chicken is completely cooked. The meat will let out water so don't add too much. Cook on a low flame until done. Then, garnish with garam masala, coriander leaves, mint leaves and more pepper powder. Mix well and set aside. 

The chicken gravy should be a bit watery as you see below. If not, add more water and cook further for a bit longer.

Layering the Chicken Biryani

About an hour before serving, take a large serving dish and add a layer of rice. Top off with some chicken and gravy. Add more rice. Repeat this 2 more times. Keep the dish closed and at the time of serving, gently mix and transfer to plates.

Serve chicken biryani with tomato cucumber raita or onion raita and papad.