Chicken Biriyani

Being from a city famous for Biriyani I think am a little late to post this recipe. Biriyani is a common dish in our celebration menus.
Actually its like we dont need a reason to prepare biriyani ,this dish visits our dining table at least once in a month ( may be tats the minimum 😉 ). If we dont feel like cooking it at home we order it from Paragon Restaurant.
The biriyani I tasted in my childhood, from restaurants is different from those available today, the recipe have changed with time. It has lost its authentic taste. Even though the restaurant ones are tasty, they can never replace the authentic ones. So since last few years we mostly prepare it at home.
The recipe  I am sharing here is authentic. My mom have used this recipe form the day she started making biriyani. She had borrowed it from one of my aunts.
 She has taken the effort to prepare it for my blog. I helped her prepare the rice and then was busy writing down the measurements . She use to eyeball it so I had to convert everything to definite quantities.
The recipe is a bit lengthy but its worth the effort.

Ingredients

• Chicken  -  1 kg

For rice

• Basmathi/Jeera rice/Kayma  -  1 kg
• cloves  -  10 no
• Green cardamom  -  4 pods
• Cinnamon  -  1 inch stick
• Ghee  -  2 1/2 tbsp
• Chopped coriander and mint leaves  -  1 tsp each
• Biriyani masala  -  1/4 tsp
• Salt  -  to taste
• Lemon  -  1/2 a lemon (extract juice n discard seeds)

To grind

• Onion  -  1no
• Coriander leaves  -  50 gms
• Mint leaves  -  50gms
• Tomato  -  1 no
• Green chilli  -  8 nos
• Garlic  -  35 pods
• Ginger  -  1 big piece
• Jeera  -  a pinch
• Sa jeera  -  a pinch
• Sauf  -  1 tbsp
• Pepper cons  -  1 tsp  
• Cloves  -  5 no
• Green cardamom  -  2 nos
• Cinnamon  -  1inch stick
• Star anise - 1 nos
• Nutmeg  -  a very small piece
• Javithri   -  a small piece
• Coconut (grated)  -  1/2 cup
• Kuskus  -  1 1/2 tbsp  (soak for 30 minutes)

To marinate

• Curd  -  1/4 cup
• Lemon  -  1/2 a lemon
• Turmeric powder  -  1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder  -  1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder  -  1 level tsp
• Garam masala  -  1/2 tsp
• Salt  -  to taste

For gravy

• Onion  -  6 medium sized
• Tomato  -  2 big
• Turmeric powder  -  1/4 tsp
• Ghee  -  1 tbsp

For garnish

• cashews  -  50 gm
• Raisins  -  50 gm
• Onion  -  1 (thinly sliced)
• Ghee  -  1 tbsp

Method

Rice

• Measure the rice in a large bowl or using cups. This step makes measuring of water easy. For one part of rice we use 1 3/4 part water, so measure rice in convenient vessel and measure water using same vessel. I measured using a tumbler, 1 kg rice measured 5 level tumblers for me, and I measured 1 3/4 tumbler water for each tumbler of rice.
• Wash and soak the rice for half an hour. Now drain the rice. Take the rice in a pressure cooker add the measured amount of water and rest of the ingredients mentioned under the table for rice, give it a stir and keep on medium high flame without whistle. When heavy steam starts coming through the nozzle note the time and after 5 minutes put the whistle and switch off the flame. Keep it undisturbed till the gravy is ready.

Prepare chicken

• Grind the items given under the ' to grind' table.
• Clean the chicken. Add the ground masala and the items from the 'to marinate ' table.
• Rub the marinate into the chicken thoroughly. Keep aside for half an hour.

Gravy 

• Heat a pressure cooker, add ghee ,saute onions till translucent, add tomatoes saute till mushy. Add turmeric powder mix well. Add chicken, mix and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Now close the lid and pressure cook till the chicken is done ( cooking time varies according to the type of chicken used )
• Open the cooker when the pressure is released. Check the gravy for salt. If there is too much gravy, reduce the gravy by cooking with the lid open. The gravy should be thick. Now remove from flame.

Garnish

• Heat ghee in a pan fry onions till golden brown. Fry in very small portions or it wont be crispy.
•  In the same pan fry cashews and raisins.

Dum

• Open the cooker of rice, fluff it a transfer to a wide basin to cool down to room temperature.
• Transfer 3/4 th of the chicken to a bowl. On top of the remaining gravy spread 1/4 of the rice, add some fried onions, raisins and cashews on top.Above this spread 1/4th of the remaining chicken along with gravy. Repeat the process till all the chicken and rice is layered. The final layer should be rice with cashews raisins and fried onions on top. Cover the cooker with lid.
• Switch on the flame, set it to low, place a heavy lid or tawa on it. Now place the cooker on this tawa. No need to put the whistle. After 10 to 15 minutes switch off the flame and open the lid.
• Serve hot with pickle, raita and pappad.

Notes

• Some basmathi rice needs more water to cook ie 2 part water for 1 part rice.
• Mom adds 1/4 tsp turmeric powder to rice for yellow color.
• We use legon variety of chicken, it cooks slowly, it takes 15 to 16 whistles.
• Can reduce the quantity of ghee, but dont reduce in rice, the above given measurement is minimum, further reduction may cause rice to stick together. You can reduce the quantity used in gravy and garnish.
• Can use mint and coriander leaves for garnish.