“There are no measures.
Neither in cooking nor in love.
It’s all driven by instincts.”
Would you believe, Indian biryani is not actually Indian,
It is believed that this royal delicacy originated from Persia and was brought to India by Mughals.
Since then it has been amongst the most popular and considered a luxurious treat preferred on special occasions.
The word biryani is supposed to be derived from the Persian word “Birian”, which means fried before cooking, and “Biring”, the Persian word for rice.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients-
-Chicken, 750 g
-Yogurt, 100 g
-Fresh coriander leaves
-Onion, 5-6 medium-sized (sliced lengthwise)
-Rice, 2 and 1/2 cups basmati rice
Powdered spices:
-Red chili powder 1 and 1/2 tsp
-Turmeric 1 tsp
-garam masala 1 tsp
-coriander powder 1 tsp
-biryani masala 3 tsp ( 2 in marination and 1 in layering )
-chicken masala 1 tsp(optional)
-salt to taste
Other:
-Cardamom -3
-Clove 4
-Bay leaf 2
-Star anise 2
-Cinnamon stick 1/4 stick
-Almonds 5
-Cashew 5
– 1 lemon sliced
– food color/saffron
– ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
– butter
– olive oil
Marination:
Ideally, marinate for a minimum of 45 mins.
You can also rest it overnight in the fridge.
1. To a bowl add washed chicken
2. Add approx 3 sliced onions
3. All spices
4. Add only 2 spoons of biryani masala ( Save 1 for later )
5. Chopped coriander
6. Ginger garlic paste
7. Mix everything well and keep aside
(use the above recipe reel as a guide)
Meanwhile…
Keep 2 onions for frying till dark golden brown
Also keep rice to boil; add cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, clove, and salt
Boil 85% of the way,
Then add oil and add almonds and cashews add marination and let it cook until the chicken becomes tender.
Layer the contents in the pot as seen in the reel, then add butter to a pan and 1/3 of the cooked chicken mixture.
Layer it with 1/3 part of the rice,
Add caramelized onions, sliced lemon, and coriander leaves, add another 1/3 layer of chicken and rice, and repeat. On the top layer, pour the green and orange food coloring mixed with milk onto each side of the rice in the pot (as seen in the reel), add a little cube of butter over top and cover the pan with the lid, and heat over a low flame for the next 10 minutes. After the rice has cooked, leave it in a pan for 5 additional minutes off the heat for the flavors to infuse. Enjoy!
Thanks to the amazing Areba Eram for helping me with this recipe and post!
The Food Anatomist 