Chicken Biriyani

CHICKEN BIRIYANI (Rice cooked with chicken , spices and herbs)

Things needed :
Onion - 4, 350 gm
Tomato - 2 big, 260 gm
Green Chilly - 3 big 260 gm
Ghee

Marinate chicken with :
Garlic-ginger - shallot paste - 3 tbsp
Chilly powder 1 tsp
Coriander - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp

For Later cooking :
Biriyani masala - 1 tbsp
OR
Chilly powder 1/2 tsp ,Coriander powder 1 tsp , Garam masala 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt - 5 tbsp
Lemon Juice - that from a lemon
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup , chopped coarsely
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup , chopped coarsely
Nuts & raisins - a handful

Preparation method for Chicken & gravy:
Marinate the chicken with all the spices and ingredients mentioned and refrigerate for 1 hr ( or overnight for best results) .
Prepare other ingredients like Onion , Tomatoes etc. Required to make the chicken .

First of all add ghee in a nonstick pan. Roast Cashews , raisins in this ghee , keep them aside.

Add ginger - garlic - shallot paste in ghee & when the smell spreads add Green chillies and Onions into this & fry nicely .

Add the marinated chicken pieces to this and cook until the outer surface turns whitish . At this point add Yogurt , Biriyani masala (OR 1 tsp salt and Chilly powder 1/2 tsp,Cori 1 tsp, Turmeric 1/2 tsp ) & chopped tomatoes.
Mix everything well and allow to coat on the chicken . Cook like that for 5 min.

Add 1/2 cup water & salt if required and cook covered until chicken is done and the gravy thickens .

Preparation method for Rice:
Add some Ghee in a nonstick vessel.

Add the crushed spices ( cloves 5 , Cardamom 3 crushed, Cinnamon - 5 sticks , Bayleaves - 3 broken) . And when their flavour spreads , Add the rice .

Add 1/2 of the gravy of the chicken into this.

Usually for cooking rice we adds double the quantity of water . But for making Biriyani s add a bit less. Like 3/4 th.
Add 4 tsp salt & 5 1/2 cup water to the rice and cook closing lid. When there is enough steam inside the vessel and drops started forming in the Lid, reduce the flame to low. So it will cook in the steam slowly and won't burn at the bottom.

Cook like this for 10 min.

Make partition in the rice & place the cooked chicken with gravy in this. Spread 3 tbsp of lemon juice, chopped mint coriander leaves & nuts & raisins over the rice. Switch on low heat , when steam increases switch off the flame & cook for some 10 more min. until the rice is done.

Use a fork to check if the water is completely absorbed.

Serve with boiled egg , mint chutney and a salad.