Chicken Biryani

Last weekend, I got together with some friends for a cozy fall potluck. I decided about a week in advance that I wanted to make Chicken Biryani, because I have a slow cooker recipe for Vegetable Biryani and I thought it would be a quick and easy adaptation. Well, I did a bit of recipe reconnaissance online and discovered that a true Chicken Biryani is nothing if not time and labour intensive! And in the end, even a slow cooker version was going to take more time than I had, which was about 3 hours. (Nothing like leaving things until the last minute.)

So, I abandoned the slow cooker idea and decided to go with a modified oven and stovetop version. I went looking online for recipes, but they varied widely depending on region. I had no idea which one to use or whose version I would like. In the end, I decided to work from a recipe for Muglai Chicken Biryani from Northern India.

Surprise, surprise, I didn't follow the recipe as written, but mostly because it was poorly written and the directions didn't make sense.  In fact, I had to use some kitchen know-how to sort through it, but between it and a couple of secondary recipes, I did get a general idea of ingredients and approximate proportions. Because I was on a deadline, I admit, I took a few shortcuts. (e.g. The 3-4 hours of marinating became 45 minutes...and the 3-4 hours in the oven became 1 hour and a half...I used chopped garlic instead of garlic paste, etc...) Maybe not the most authentic Chicken Biryani (apologies to the purists...) but it was really tasty and didn't take all day.

Chicken Biryani "turbo version"
(Serves 6-8)
(Note: These are potluck proportions...I needed two casserole dishes for this amount.)

INGREDIENTS

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into small pieces) or boneless skinless thighs (I used both)
3 cups basmati rice
3 large onions - 1 thinly sliced, 2 chopped

a bunch of mint (chopped)  - about 1/2 cup
a bunch of coriander leaves (aka cilantro) (chopped) - about 1/2 cup
2 tsp. chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp. chopped garlic (about 6 cloves)

1/2 cups plain yogurt, diluted with 1/2 cup water

3 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1 tsp. ground cumin 

1 tbsp ground garam masala

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

10 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

2 bay leaves

1 small lemon
salt (to taste)

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil + 2 tablespoons of butter for cooking

for garnishing:

10 cashew nuts, chopped coarsely
20 golden raisins

PREPARATION

1. Place the 2 chopped onions, garlic, ginger, diluted yogurt, about 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, red pepper flakes, and 1 tsp. of salt in a bowl. Mix it together and add the chicken to marinate for about 3/4 of an hour in the refrigerator.

2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan or cast iron skillet, take the remaining slices onion, and fry in oil and butter until crisp. (But heat gently, or butter will burn.) Set aside.

3. Fry cashews and raisins in the same oil, drain and set aside. Reserve the oil for cooking the chicken.

4. Wash and chop the mint and coriander leaves and set aside.

5. Rinse the rice several times in cold water, and drain. In a large pot, partially cook the rice (for about 5-7 minutes with an open pot) with bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom and a little squeeze of lemon juice. Don't cook the rice ahead of time, or it will get too cold too absorb the flavours of the chicken and spices. The ratio of rice to water should be 1:2, drain excess water if you find that its overcooking the rice. The grains of rice should still have a little bit of firmness on the outside, but be soft inside.

6. In the same oil in which you fried everything, add the whole cloves and fry them for 2 minutes. Add the marinated chicken and all of the marinade, and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. If the mixture looks too runny, cook it until it reduces a bit.

ASSEMBLY

1. In a deep baking dish or casserole dish, layer the semi cooked rice, then add a layer of the chicken mix.

2.For the next layer sprinkle chopped mint, coriander, and fried onions.

3. Repeat step 1 and 2 again.

4. Add a final layer of rice and sprinkle with cashews and raisins. 

5. Cover with aluminum foil and keep it in a 300 degree oven for about an hour and a half....until rice is cooked through and fluffy.

6. Serve with Cucumber Mint Raita (recipe below) and Mango Chutney (store-bought)

Cucumber Mint Raita

To whatever amount of Greek yogurt you want, add chopped mint and grated cucumber (peeled and seeded) a few shakes of cumin and a pinch of salt. (Use Greek yogurt, or it will be too runny, because the cucumbers contain a lot of water...)

Sorry, no photo for this one...as I explained in a recent post, I broke my camera. But I trust your imagination to do my recipe justice...