CHICKEN BIRYANI

it always begin with an ingredient, and in this case, it was basmati rice that was almost a year in the cupboard. And a craving for Indian food, particularly biryani.  And after about an hour of searching online for a beginner's version, my mum casually mentions she has one courtesy of Magnolia chickens.  And so the following is an adaptation of said recipe, as well as some tweaks that I learned after reading numerous versions.  It's actually been some time since I ate an authentic biryani, so I hope this had atleast some semblance.  If not, well I hope its atleast remotely tasty.

Spice mixture:
Dry roast 1 tsp coriander seeds and 2 bay leaves until fragrant.  Grind in mortar and pestle until powdery.  Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp grated ginger, and 1 whole chili pepper chopped to the mortar and pestle.  Grind to a paste.  Add 1/4 tsp dried chili flakes, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 2 tbsp ghee*.  Mix together.  Set aside.

For marinade:
Mix together 1 tbsp tomato paste to 1/2 cup plain yogurt.  Add 2/3 of spice mixture.  Stir together.  Pour over 1/2 kg chicken pieces and marinade for 3 to 4 hours.


To prepare:
First, prepare the rice by washing 3 cups of uncooked basmati rice and then soaking for atleast 10-15 minutes.  Set aside.  In a bowl, soak 1 tsp katsuba or saffron in 2 tbsp milk and soak for at least 10 minutes.  Set aside.


Heat pan with 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee.  Saute 1 large chopped onion until lightly browned.  Add 1 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic, and 1 whole chopped chili pepper.  Fry until fragrant.  Add 2 whole tomatoes, seeded and chopped.  Saute until tomatoes are soft.  Brown chicken pieces. Remove and set aside.  Add remaining spice mixture.   Drain rice and pour into pan.  Saute until translucent.  Add katsuba/saffron mixture and stir until liquid has evaporated.  At this point, the rice can be cooked in the pot or in a rice cooker.  I opted for the rice cooker so the rice mixture was transferred to one.  add in 4 1/2 to 5 cups chicken broth.  Cook.  Halfway through, add chicken to the rice mixture.  In remaining 5 minutes cooking time, add peas.  


Garnish with chopped cilantro, slivered almonds and hard boiled eggs.




*to make ghee:  melt 1/2 cup butter until it bubbes.  Watch butter carefully to make sure it does not burn.  Remove from heat.  Milk solids will settle on the bottom of the pan.  Carefully pour off clarified butter.


✔  1/3 cup raisins may be added to the rice with the peas.