CHICKEN BIRYANI



Biryani is an exotic dish made using a variety of spices, meat and rice. No doubt it is one of the most sought after dishes in India and festivals, special occasions and feasts are incomplete without it. There are several varieties of Biryani available throughout the country like the Hyderabadi Biryani, Awadhi Biryani etc. I have shared below my mother's chicken biryani recipe which is simply delicious. This is an easy to cook recipe and can be cooked in about half an hour. Here we have used a pressure cooker to create 'dum' for the biryani. This ensures that flavour and aroma are intact and the biryani comes out perfect.

Serves: 4
Ingredients

For the Biryani kurma

500 gms chicken
1 cup oil
1 big onion sliced
4 cardamoms
2 cinnamon
4 cloves
1 ½ tsp red chilli powder
1 ½ tbsp garlic paste
1 ½ tbsp ginger paste
4 green chillies
3 tomatoes pureed
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ lemons
½ cup curd
1/2 cup Coriander leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
water as needed

For the rice

2 1/2 cups(500 gms) long grained Basmati rice (washed and soaked in water for half an hour)
1 tbsp salt

Method

For preparing the Biryani kurma, take a pressure cooker and heat oil. Add cardamoms, cinnamons, cloves and the sliced onion, and sauté for some time. Then add garlic paste, ginger paste and mix well. Then add red chilli powder, green chillies, tomato puree and salt. Cook for a minute. Then add curd, coriander and mint leaves and the chicken pieces. Mix well. Finally add 1 or 2 cups of water and close the lid. Cook for 10 minutes. Then open the lid and add lemon juice and bring it to a boil. The kurma is now ready.

While the kurma is cooking in the pressure cooker, take a large pan and fill water such that it fills 3/4th volume of the vessel. Add salt and bring to a boil. When water starts boiling, strain away the water that was used to soak the rice and add rice to the pan containing boiling water. Cook till the rice is half cooked. Drain the excess water and set aside. When the kurma is ready, add the rice to the kurma. Do not mix. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook in medium flame for about 5 to 7 minutes. Open the lid of the cooker after all the steam has escaped. Mix well and serve hot with onion raita and Khatte Baingan.




14 comments:

  1. Mouth Watering, so yummy ! making me wanna come join you for dinner :) Thanks for sending it to my event

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  2. Hi i am indumukhi..
    I have a question ...
    Can I replace chicken and add vegitables..? Will it tastes the same.....
    Please reply ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment... Of course you can replace chicken with vegetables... It may not have the same taste as that of a chicken biryani but i am sure it will taste delicious...

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    2. Thanks a ton ..
      Nice blog..
      Very tempting biryani...
      I will cook this tomorrow with veggies..


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  3. Biryani looks so tempting.. Absolutely love it.

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  4. Tried this recipe today.. Came out very tasty.. Thank you :)

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  5. Hi do we need to slit the green chillies?

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  6. Hi Madam,

    Had tried almost every recipe in this blog and all came very well except the above biryani recipe. Tried 3 times till now never came well for me. The mistake I am doing is the rice part. When I finish the process the biryani rice looks watery at the end. And tastes dull. Can you help me out where my mistake would be ? Also what's the quantity of mint and coriander leaves ?

    Regards,

    Priya

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Priya... Thanks for your comment...

      I am glad that you have tried my recipes and that they came out well.

      As far as this chicken biryani recipe is concerned, I think while cooking the rice, you might have cooked it for a longer time. Some basmati rice get cooked fast while others slow. So please be careful that your rice is not fully cooked. It should be only half cooked. Only then it will absorb the flavours and juices from the khurma and your biryani will not be watery.

      In case you still get a watery biryani, pressure cook for a few more minutes. This would take away all excess water and your biryani will come out good.

      After seeing your comment, I have made some changes to my recipe to make it more clear. And have also added the quantity of coriander and mint leaves needed. It is feedback from readers like you which help me improve my recipes and blog. Thanks a lot.

      Do let me know how your biryani comes out next time :)

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    2. Thanks a lot for detailed explanation Madam. Is there a way to know when rice is cooked half ? Also for making rice do we need bigger vessel with largr qty water filled? Will try this weekend and let you know.

      Regards,

      Prints

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    3. Hi madam,

      Can't resist making the biryani today. Finally I had done it. Felt like touching your feet. Everyone at home enjoyed. Thanks a lot. For mutton the same process?

      Regards,

      Priya

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    4. Thanks a lot Priya... I am glad the biryani came out well :)

      To check if the rice is half cooked, take one rice grain and press between your fingers. It would look like it is cooked, but slightly hard at the centre. With practise you would be able to gauge the correct time of cooking the rice.

      For cooking the rice take a vessel which is large enough to hold the boiling rice.

      The process of making the mutton biryani is similar, the only difference is that you need to cook the mutton for about 15 minutes as mutton takes longer time to cook than chicken. Hope your mutton biryani comes out perfect :)

      Delete
  7. Hi,

    Does the kurma need to be in gravy consistency?

    ReplyDelete

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