Chicken Biryani

I hardly cook non-veg at home.. When we feel like having meat we just go out and have them. But, I wanted to make something special for hubby's birthday. So I ventured into making chicken biryani along with this delicious cake for the first time. It cam out really well. The word biryani sounds exotic but I realised that it is pretty simple to make once you have the chicken washed and cleaned. We had it with a simple raita.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Chicken - 1 pound
Tomatoes - 2Curd - 1/2 cup
Onions - 2 medium sized
Green chillies - 2
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Bay leaf - 1
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tablespoon
Butter - 1 tablespoon

To grind into a paste

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Green chillies - 2
Mint Leaves - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Directions

Wash the basmati rice and soak for about 20 minutes.

Wash the chicken with several runs of water and chop to the required size. Grind the above listed ingredients in a mixie. Marinate the chicken along with curd and the ground paste. Let it stand for at least half an hour. You can marinate for even upto 2 hours.

Meanwhile chop the onions, tomatoes and green chillies. In a pressure cooker or a wide vessel, heat the oil and butter and fry all the whole spices until they give out a nice aroma. Then add the onions and fry till they turn translucent. Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute till the raw smell goes.

Add the marinated chicken and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes. Then simmer for a while till all the water evaporates.

Add the soaked rice and mix with the masala. Add about 3 1/2 cups of water and salt to taste.

Cook till all the water gets absorbed. Top with cashews fried in ghee!

Serve with a simple raita or a chicken gravy!

Sending this to Potluck:Chicken hosted at Viki's Kitchen