There
was a time when we used to make biriyani every weekend. Every Sunday without
fail ! Once the health consciousness started
kicking in, we cut down the biryani a lot and now I make this only when I have guests.
My
other half is from Telicherry and the biriyani that we get there is so tasty ,
especially the ones served for weddings. Eventhough I like to experiment with
biriyani’s from differerent regions, this one has to be my favourite. We use a special biriyani rice
calles kaima or jeerakasala rice for it and every year when I go home I bring a
few packets of biriyani rice with me. But unfortunately I ran out of it and had
to make this one with basmathi rice.
Ingredients
Chicken
– 1 kilogram
Onions
– 6 medium thinly slicled ( for sauting)
Onions
-5 ( thinly sliced ) for frying
Cashewnuts
– 2 tbs
Golden
sultananas – 1 tbs
Tomato
– 2 medium
Ginger
– 1
inch piece
Garlic
– 5-6 pods
Green
chillies – 5 ( according to your spice level)
Mint
leaves –1 small bunch
Coriander
leaves – 1 small bunch
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
oil
For
biriyani masala powder
Fennel
seeds – 1 tbs
Cumin
seeds – ¼ tsp
Shahi
jeera – ¼ tsp
Cinnamon
stick – 1 small stick
Cloves
– 5
Cardamom
– 5 no
Pepper
– 1 tsp
For
rice
Khaima
rice/ jeerakashala rice/ basmathi rice -
3 ½ cup
Boiling
water – 5 cups ( depends on the rice)
Cinnamon
stick – 1 small pices
Cardamom
– 5
cloves -4
Fennel
– 1 tsp
Bay
leaves – 1
Onion
– 1 thinly sliced
Fried
onions
Ghee
salt
Method
Soak
the rice for 30 minutes, drain and keep it aside.
Preparing
the chicken masala
First
take a pan add oil and deep fry the onions until golden brown.
Strain
and keep it aside.
In
a big pan add enough oil and saute the thinly sliced onions( 6 onions ) until
it’s golden brown.
Add
the chicken pieces to this and fry for about 5 minutes to seal the juices.
Meanwhile
In a blender make a paste of ginger, garlic, green chillies, mint and coriander
.
Add
the paste to the onions and saute until
the raw smell goes.
Add
biriyani masala powder, turmeric powder
and saute until the raw smell goes
Add
chopped tomatoes , salt and give it good mix.
Cover
and cook the chicken for 10 minutes.
Open
the lid and add the half of the crushed fried onions ( reserve the rest of the
fried onions for the rice) to the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes or
until chicken is done.
Cooking
rice
In
a big pan add some ghee add the whole spices and saute until nice aroma comes.
Add
sliced onions and saute until soft and light brown.
Add
the drained rice and fry for a minute.
Add
salt, lime juice, boiling water and cook until water has been absorbed.
Fluff
up the rice gently with a fork.
Fry
some cashew nuts and sultanas in ghee until cashew nuts have browned lightly
and sultanas plump.
Layering
the rice
Grease
the bottom of a big vessel with some oil.
Add
chicken masala on the bottom.
Add
one layer of rice, sprinkle with some fried onions, some ghee, some chopped
mint and coriander
Repeat
until all rice has been used.
Finally
top it with fried cashews and sultanas.
Cove
it with a aluminium foil tightly and place the lid on top and dum it on the stove top or in the oven. If using the stove,
place the the vessel on top of a pan, so that the masala doesn’t get burnt .
dum it for about 20 minutes, 5 minutes on high and 15 minutes on low flame. Of using
the oven place it in a preheated oven 180 degree C for 20 minutes.
.
1 comment:
H is a big fan of this biriyani, yours looks too tempting and delicious !!
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