Chicken Biryani Recipe (Malabar Style)

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 1 kg
• Basmati Rice – 1 kg
• Thinly Sliced Onion- 500 gms
• Sliced Tomato – 250 gms
• Ghee – as needed
• Broken cashew nuts – 1/4 cup
• Raisins – 1/4 cup
• Curd – 1 cup
• Lime – 1 big
• Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
• Chopped Mint leaves – 1 small bunch
• Curry leaves-2 sprigs
• Biriyani Masala Powder – 3 tsp
• Rose water – 2 tbsp(optional)
• Saffron – 1 gm(optional)
• Boiled eggs – 2
• Salt – as reqd

Marinating Chicken:

• Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
• Salt – as needed

For Grinding:

• Green Chillies – 100 gms
• Garlic – 50 gms
• Ginger – 50 gms
• Poppy seeds soaked in water for 5-10 mts – 2 tsp
  Grind them together to a coarse paste.Keep them aside

Preparation:

1. Mix together the ingredients for marinating chicken.Apply the mixture thoroughly on chicken pieces and allow it to stand for half an hour preferrably in refrigerator.
2. Wash and drain the rice well.Heat little ghee in a pan,and roast the rice for 4-5 mts.Add necessary water(Usually the measurement is like,for 1 cup rice – 2 cups water) and salt into it, cook rice till soft and all the water is absorbed.Spread the rice in a flat serving dish,and sprinkle 3-4 drops of lime juice, allow it to cool.
3. Heat a little ghee in a pan and roast cashews and raisins till brown and keep it aside. Now add half of sliced onion and fry them until thay are well browned.Add more ghee /oil if needed. Drain them into a tissue paper and reserve. Now into the same oil, add marinated chicken pieces and shallow fry them for a while. Shynee says this can enhance the taste and also make the chicken pieces more firm.
4. Now heat another vessel and heat ghee/oil (preferrably ghee for more taste, or you can combine ghee and oil together), add rest of the onions and saute them till translucent.Mix in tomatoes, salt and the ground paste and saute them for 2-3 mts. Stir in curd and lemon juice and saute until oil seperates. Now add fried chicken pieces, mix well, cover and cook.
5. When it is half done, add Coriander leaves,Mint leaves, curry leaves and 2 tsp Biriyani masala powder. Mix and allow the chicken to cook well in medium heat, until all water is absorbed and chicken pieces are coated with gravy.Switch off the stove.
6. Take a big vessel,spread chicken pieces along with the gravy in the bottom. Now add one layer of cooked rice over chicken. Sprinkle a little biriyani masala powder, fried onions, cashews, raisins and saffron (mixed in rosewater). Repeat the same for 2 more layers with chicken, rice and fried cashew-raisins-onions etc. Seal the vessel with aluminium foil and bake it for 15 mts. Mix thoroughly and serve hot with whole boiled eggs, Onion Salad, Pickle and Pappad.

Onion Salad:

Mix thinly chopped onions, green chilli and vinegar well and then adding some thinly sliced tomatoes to it.

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