Chicken biryani with potatoes
A yummy chicken biryani paired with potatoes, recipe that is so delicious and easy to make at home that this will become your regular weekend meal - just like ours is!
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
- Stock pot/thick bottomed cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1½ cups basmati rice washed and soaked for 15 minutes
- 1 cup fried onions beresta
- 2 big potatoes cut in halves
- 1 big tomato chopped
- 4-5 cloves
- 2 black cardamoms
- 6 green cardamoms
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 inch cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 star anise
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 cup coriander leaves finely chopped
- 1 cup mint leaves finely chopped
- 4-5 chillis slit
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 tbsp milk
- 6 tbsp ghee
- salt to taste
For marinating the chicken
- 500 g chicken on the bone
- 1 cup yoghurt whisked
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 3 tsp garam masala powder
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp mustard oil or any cooking oil
- 1 tsp salt to taste
Instructions
- Add all the marination spices and the yoghurt to the washed and cleaned chicken
- Massage the chicken well with the marinade. Cover and leave it in the fridge overnight
- Set 6 cups of water with the a tablespoon of ghee, 1 black cardamom, 3 green cardamoms, 2 bay leaves, 2 cinnamon sticks,1 tablespoon peppercorns, cumin seeds, star anise and salt to boil
- Once the water comes to a roll boil, add the soaked basmati rice. Cook the rice until 75% done. Drain the water and keep the rice aside, until needed
- Warm the milk and add the saffron strands to it. Keep it aside
- Heat a heavy bottomed pan with two tablespoons of ghee. Once hot add the cloves, 2 sticks of cinnamon, a bay leaf and 2-3 green cardamoms. When they turn fragrant, add the potatoes. Fry until they are light golden brown in colour
- Add the marinated chicken, chopped tomatoes, a few chillis, the beresta and some coriander leaves. Mix well
- Add half a cup of water and salt to taste. Be mindful, as the the cooked rice and marinated chicken already have salt - so add accordingly
- Again give it a good mix, cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.* Remove from flame and set aside
- Now, grease your stock pot/thick bottomed pan with ghee very well
- Arrange the chicken pieces, from the curry, on the edges and keep the potatoes in the centre. Cover with the curry
- Now carefully layer the rice over the chicken and the curry. Use a spatula to do this so that the rice grains do not break
- Drizzle the ghee and the saffron milk over
- Then arrange the slit chilis and beresta
- Finally add the mint and coriander leaves. Cover and cook on a very low flame for 15-20 minutes (or until the rice is fully cooked). When done, turn the flame off. Keep covered for 5-10 minutes before opening the lid
- Scoop the rice out carefully with the chicken and potatoes and serve. Enjoy your chicken biryani with potatoes, hot, with a chilled raita on the side!
Notes
- *You should have a thick curry once the chicken is cooked. In case it is watery, cook without the lid until the quantity of curry reduces to desired amount
- This is important, so that your biryani has well masala coated chicken in it. Otherwise, it can turn out to look like chicken curry and rice, if the curry remains watery, before adding the rice
- If you are unable to marinate the chicken overnight, then marinate it for an hour at least
- The saffron milk, besides giving the biryani rice a lovely yellow colour, also adds to the flavour. However, this is optional
- If you do not wish to add the potatoes, you may skip it
- g - grams
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres