My son will be home from his first year of college at the end of this week, Yay!!?…which means I’ll be making all of his favorite dishes over summer break. Fettuccine Alfredo, Chinese stir fry, South Indian beef fry, chicken curry…
But today (since he’s not home just yet), I decided to make one of MY favorites.
Chicken Biryani!!!
In case you’re unfamiliar with this dish, it’s basically chicken & rice with Indian spices. And it’s soooo good!
Some prefer it with peas, carrots, cashews & raisins and & some folks like it without the added fluff. Either way, it’s good stuff!
Here’s my twist to this popular Indian dish.
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Binu’s EASY Biryani (with a few hacks):
PREPARE RICE
Step #1 Rinse then Soak 2 cups of basmati rice in water for about 30 minutes. Drain.
Step #2 Heat 3 tablespoons of butter or ghee in a deep skillet. Once hot, add rice and fry (stirring frequently) for about 2 minutes. Add about 3 cups of water & 1-2 Tsp salt. (Optional: you can add a few cardamom, cloves & cinnamon sticks to the water)
Continue cooking till the rice is about 90% done. Strain any remaining water (if you added the whole spices, you can remove them now if you like). DO NOT OVERCOOK THE RICE.
Step #3 Place 3/4 of the rice in a Pre-greased baking dish. Set aside the remaining rice.
PREPARE CHICKEN:
Step #1 Cover base of pot with oil
Step #2 Add 2 onions (thinly sliced), 4 cloves of garlic (minced), 1&1/2 inch of ginger (minced), 2 green chili peppers, a handful of curry leaves.
– Sauté well.
Step #3 In a spice mill, grind 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 3 cloves, 3 cardamom, 5 peppercorns, 1 inch cinnamon stick.
– Add ground spices to the above sautéed onion mixture. Plus 1 tbsp tomato paste & 1 to 1&1/2 tbsp of Shan Biryani masala mix (Sindhi or Pilai). Stir well.
Step #4 Add rotisserie chicken (deboned and shredded) & a handful of chopped cilantro. Stir well.
Step #5 Add 1/4-1/2 cup of yogurt or half n half. (Enough to make it saucy). Heat through and stir well.
Layer on top of rice
PREPARE VEGGIES
Sauté about 2 cups of frozen vegetable of choice in butter or ghee. Add salt to taste. (I prefer frozen peas & carrots or mixed vegetables)
Layer on top of rice & chicken
Add the remaining 1/4 rice
Sauté a handful of raisins and cashews in butter or ghee. Then sprinkle on top of rice. (Optional: add freshly fried onions).
Sprinkle a handful of chopped fresh cilantro on top of rice.
Cover with foil & Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes.
Serve with papadam, yogurt salad & Indian pickle of choice.
Pray, Eat & Enjoy!
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I know this isn’t your mama’s traditional biryani…but THIS is EASY and I think you’ll find it quite tasty. ?
There are hundreds of ways to make this dish. Please feel free to share any tips or other hacks you use when making Biryani. I’d love to hear from you.
#titus25initiative
#ificandothisyoucantoo
~ Binu
