Chicken biryani recipe

© Minerva Editions

Preparation: 30 min
Cooking: 1h 10 min
Set aside: 2h

Ingredients (serves 4)

Step 1
1 chicken cut into 8 pieces, de-skinned
5 average size onions
2 average size tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
1 piece of fresh ginger (5cm long)
1 piece of green chilli (2cm long)
10 sprigs of fresh coriander
10 fresh mint leaves
1 pot of natural yoghurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp powdered coriander
1.5 tbsp powdered fennel

Step 2
1.5 cups of basmati rice (or 180g)
2.5 tsp byriani massala (a mix of cinammon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves)
3 tbsp clarified butter
1 pinch of saffron
12 cashew nuts, broken in half
1 tbsp raisins
Salt

Preparation
Peel the onions, setting aside the first layer you peel. Wash and chop the tomatoes into eight. Peel the garlic and ginger and crush with a mortar and pestle along with the chilli. Wash and chop the coriander leaves and wash the mint leaves.

Place the chicken along with the ingredients from Step 1 (except for the onion peel you set aside) in a pan. Mix, cover and set aside for 2 hours at room temperature. Cook on a moderate heat, bringing the mixture to the boil and then cooking for 30 min, mixing from time to time. Add the biryani massala and leave to simmer for 15 min.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of the clarified butter in a pan. Heat the rice on a moderate heat for 2 min, until the grains are see-through. Add three cups of boiling water. Season and cook, mixing from time to time, for around 20 min, until the water evaporates.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (GM 6-7).

Chop the onion peel you set aside into fine strips and brown in a pan with 1 tbsp butter. Add the cashew nuts and raisins and cook for 30 seconds, just until the raisins swell. Mix the saffron with 1tbsp hot water.

In a baking dish, spread a layer of rice in the bottom. Drizzle with the saffron and hot water mixture, scatter the raisins and cashew nuts over, and spread a layer of chicken on top. Add another layer of rice, chicken and rice, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 5-10 minutes.

With thanks to Minerva Editions.