Chennai dosa style biriyani/ Tamilnadu biriyani

Since the pandemic started our eating out has stopped almost completely except for the occasional takeaways. Before that every weekend we used to eat out or do a takeaway. We definitely have saved a lot of money on that front 😊 

 Living in London has it's perks, we have lots of desi restaurants around. Chennai dosa  is our go to place for  our south Indian cravings. When we go, I  always eat masala dosa while my husband orders biriyani. He is a big fan of Chennai dosa biriyani.   

So, on weekend when I thought of making a different biriyani, I checked Maya’s blog because I have seen Maya’s yummy biriyani pictures in Instagram. The Tamilnadu biriyani in her blog looked very similar to the one we get in Chennai dosa . The recipe looked pretty simple too, so I gave it a go with a few changes bearing in  mind the flavours of Chennai dosa biriyani. The biriyani was spot on and so delicious. Thanks to Maya!  You can find Maya's recipe here 

 

Ingredients 

To marinate 

Chicken –1 kilogram 

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp 

Salt  

For chicken masala 

Onion – 6-7 medium onions (sliced thinly) 

Tomato – 2 small or 1 large 

Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp 

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tsp 

Yogurt – 4 heaped tablespoons 

Oil/ghee (I used oil) 

 

To make a green paste 

Ginger – 1 inch piece 

Garlic pods – 6-7 number 

Coriander leaves – handful 

Mint leaves – handful 

Green chillies – 2 or as per your spice level 

 

For biriyani masala powder  

Fennel seeds – 1 tablespoon 

Cumin seeds – 1 /4 tsp. 

Shahi jeera – ¼ stp 

Cloves – 4 

Cardamom – 5 nos 

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch stick 

Dagar na phool /stone flower – 2 small pieces (key ingredient for Chennai dosa flavour) 

For rice 

Kaima rice- 2 ¼ cup 

Water  

Salt 

 

Method 

Marinate the chicken and keep it aside for ½ an hour minimum. 

Soak the rice for 30 minutes, drain and keep it aside. 

Roast the ingredients for biriyani masala powder and powder it. 

Make the green paste with ingredients mentioned. 

In a big pan/ saucepan add oil/ghee and sauté the sliced onions until light brown. 

Add green paste and sauté until raw smell goes. 

Add in chilli powder, coriander powder and sauté until raw smell goes. 

Add chopped tomatoes and cook until soft. 

Add marinated chicken , biriyani masala powder (all  of it)and stir for 2-3 minutes on a medium flame until its well coated in the masala. 

Finally add yogurt and give it a mix. 

Add ½ cup boiling water to it and cook covered until chicken is cooked. 

Drain all the stock/ liquid from the chicken carefully. I got 1 ¾ cup of stock. 

 

Cooking rice 

Add rice a pan and add 1 ¾ cup stock to it, add 3 ¾ cup of boiling water too (water should be double). 

Check the salt. 

Once its boiling, cook covered with a lid on for 7-8 minutes. 

Water should be almost absorbed by now and rice will be almost cooked too. 

Remove from heat and let it cook more in the heat for few more minutes. 

After 5-10 minutes remove the lid and fluff up the rice. 

Layer the rice with chicken masala and serve with raita, pappadam, pickle etc.

Enjoy !