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 !
