Diya's Food Diaries

DIYA'S TASTY CHICKEN BIRIYANI

This Biryani has got the most mouth watering flavours . The marinade for the chicken has an immense amount of tastes which really bring out the authencity of this dish. Many different ways of cooking this dish were tried and tested and finally this has got to be the ultimate in all Chicken Biryanis.
In my opinion, once you have made this dish you will be very reluctant to order it in a restaurant!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1. ¾ kg Chicken (cut into small pieces)
2. 2tbsp Butter
3. 3tbsp Ghee (Clarified Butter)
4. 2tbsp Oil
5. 2 Cinnamon Sticks (approx 1 inch in length)
6. 3 Black Cardamoms
7. 2 Green Cardamoms
8. 7-8 Cloves
9. 3 Bay Leaves
10. 2 Medium Onions – 1 onion finely cut in circles
11. 1 onion finely chopped
12. 2 Cups Basmati Rice
13. 4 Cups Water
The Marinade
1. 1 Cup Yogurt
2. 1 Cup Tomato Puree
3. 1tsp Paprika
4. 3 tbsp Ginger paste (reserve ½ of this)
5. 2tbsp Garlic paste (reserve ½ of this)
6. 4tsp Coriander Powder
7. 2tsp Garam Masala Powder
8. 1/2tsp Turmeric
9. 1tsp Chilli Powder
10. 1tsp Dried Mint
11. 3tsp Salt
Method
Take all the ingredients for the marinade and place in a bowl. Reserve ½ of the ginger and garlic paste. Take your chicken pieces and put it into the marinade and mix.
Leave for at least 30 minutes. The longer the marinade the better the chicken will pick up all the flavours. Leave to marinade in the fridge.
Meanwhile, put the butter, ghee and oil into a thick, wide bottomed saucepan. The reason for using all the three different fats is to get a full flavour of the dish and will give it an authentic taste which is needed for the chicken biryani. Add the cinnamon sticks,cardamons, cloves and bay leaves. let this sizzle and then add the onion rings and the chopped onions and let it really pick up a lovely dark golden colour. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes on low to medium heat. You must ensure you do not cook the onions in a high heat otherwise the onions will burn.
Whilst this is cooking nicely, wash the rice thoroughly and leave to drain in a colander.
Once the onions have cooked and caramelised take it out into a bowl.
In the same saucepan, take 2tbsp of oil and fry the reserved garlic and ginger paste for a couple of minutes, add the chicken pieces and all of the marinade and cook on moderate to high heat for approximately 5 minutes until the liquid starts to evaporate slightly. Once that is happening reduce the heat and cook the chicken for a further 10 minutes.
The chicken should be semi cooked and the sauce should be reduced at this stage. Then add the caramalised onions and rice and all of the water. This might look like a lot of water but the rice will soak it up while cooking. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat and cook with the lid on. Check to taste whether you need to add more salt and add salt if needed.
Simmer the rice and chicken until all the water has evaporated and the rice cooked. Stir the rice from time to time ensuring it does not stick to the bottom. Do not stir vigorously as the rice will become stodgy.
Once the biryani has cooked, you can serve it straight away or you can leave to eat later.
To serve, take out the biryani in an oven dish and to decorate you can add sliced tomatoes, sliced onion rings, flaked almonds and a sprinkle of chopped coriander. You can choose to decorate the biryani or simply eat it just the way it is! You can even decorate the biryani with just some sliced onions and some sliced green or red peppers.
To warm the biryani you can put the whole dish in the oven with a covered piece of foil so that the rice does not become crispy.
For the Raita
1. 1 Cup Yogurt
2. ¼ Cup water
3. 2tbsp Finely Chopped Cucumber
4. 2tbsp Finely Chopped Tomato
5. Salt to taste
To make the Raita, simple mix the above together and leave in the fridge until ready to eat. This is a great accompaniment to eat with the Biryani.

Hello My Favourite Foodies, I made Chicken Birayani today for lunch and it was so sweet! I really enjoyed it. I dedicate this chapter to you my fans. Make your tasty Biriyani and don't forget to vote and comment... Till Next Time...HeenaWritesAishaRQgreenwriterShariff1890rainbowbrookninyatippettdrahcirwolfFoodKart