Chicken Biriyani

Chicken Biriyani is a term that brings smile on the face of me and my family. LOL 😀

No other food can give me the happiness and satisfaction of eating chicken biriyani. I believe you too have the same feeling. I have got lot of praises for my chicken biriyani. Once I made chicken biriyani for an International Food Festival and many foreigners also liked it, and I heard they recommended others to also try my chicken biriyani 😀 and many Indians identified it as typical South Indian style of biriyani and Many people bought it again and again and some of them also came back after it got over . I was really really happy that day.

This is a easy one pot biriyani recipe, though it is easy it takes time to prepare it. Atleast an hour. But while it is being half done the aroma fills the house and kindles the hunger in everyone’s tummy. Once it is ready, the cooker takes the center position and the whole family sits around it and the cooker takes several rounds and serves us all till the tummy threatens “Please STOP. You cant walk if you eat anymore” .  We all love chicken biriyani, my kids say it as “chiichii boova” meaning chicken rice. We like to have it with cucumber raitha.

This is a one pot recipe , but I have been longing to make Dum style chicken biriyani for a long time. I wish to do it soon and share here too 🙂

I am proud to share my recipe of chicken biriyani here

Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Main course
Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins | Total time: 1 hr | Serves: 4 to 5

Ingredients for Chicken Biriyani:

• Chicken – 1 kg
• Basmati Rice – 3 cups
• Onion – 5 big
• Tomato – 4 big
• Ginger – 1/3 cup
• Garlic – 3/4 cup
• Green chilly – 2
• Mint leaves – 1 handful
• Coriander leaves – 1 handful
• Cinnamon – 2 pieces of 2 inches
• Cloves – 10
• Elaichi – 4
• Star anise  – 2
• Kadal paasi – 1 tsp  ( optional )
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Red chilly powder  – 2 heaped tsp
• Curd/ Yoghurt – -1 tbsp
• Lemon juice of half a lemon
• salt – to taste
• oil – 1/2 cup

Method:

1.Wash and clean the chicken. Wash and soak the basmati rice.

2. Peel the skin of onion and cut it into rings. Chop tomatoes finely.

3. Grind ginger, garlic, green chilly, mint and coriander to a fine paste.

4. Heat a pressure cooker, add oil and once it gets hot, add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, elaichi and star anise, kada paasi ( optional ).

5. Fry for half a minute, then add onions and salt. Fry till the onions become soft and changes in colour.

6. Now, add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off completely. It may stick to the bottom but you can easily scrap it with a laddle. I always prefer to use a dosa laddle (DOSA THIRUPPI) while cooking biriyani as it has a sharp edge and it will be easy to scrap the masala to prevent it from getting burnt.

7. Now add the tomatoes and saute till it becomes mushy.

8. Add turmeric powder and red chilly powder over the tomatoes. Saute them well till the oil oozes out.

9. Then, add curd and mix it up. Add chicken and mix it well with the masala.

10. Add the juice from half of a lemon.

11. Add quarter cup of water and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles. The chicken gravy is ready, chicken will be cooked soft and nicely.

12. After the pressure subsides, open the pressure cooker. Drain the water from the soaked basmati rice and add the soaked basmati rice into the pressure cooker.

13.  Add water in the ratio of 1:1.5 ( rice: water ) including the water present in the chicken gravy. Check for salt and adjust as needed at this stage.

14. Close the lid and pressure cook for 5 minutes.

15. Once, the pressure subsides, open and mix it up well.

Serve hot with any raita of your choice.

Spicy, Hot and tasty chicken biriyani is ready to be enjoyed!!

Notes:

• Measurements shown in the pictures might differ, I cooked a lesser quantity that day.
• My hubby does not like the biriyani to be non-sticky, so I add a little extra water and my calculation is that, the water should be one inch above the rice and chicken gravy before pressure cooking the rice. By cooking this way, the rice will be cooked to soft and tender yet will have long grains.
• You can adjust the spiciness by reducing the red chilly powder, I use extra hot red chilly powder and 2 heaped teaspoons of it makes the biriyani really really spicy.
• You can also add any good store bought chicken masala powder along with red chilly powder , but it might give a different flavor. I love it without any extra masala powder.
• Grinding mint and coriander leaves along with ginger garlic gives a great flavor to the biriyani. You may also skip it, it will still be good.
• You can have the chicken gravy after step 11 as a side dish for idly or dosa. It is a great combination.
• You can also add more fresh and chopped mint and coriander leaves after adding the rice and water , it will add more flavor.