Cheats Chicken Biryani

Yes, I do love a good Biryani, well who doesn't? But I hate that it takes so long to prepare. I am a sucker for all things lazy so well of course I did make one that's slightly easy while not compromising on the taste either.

It's simple and flavourful. Give this one a go.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

1 kg chicken, cut cleaned and washed - medium pieces

1/4 cup curd

1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1/2 tsp turmeric

Salt, to taste

1/4 cup oil/ghee for frying

5 onions, sliced

Biryani Masala for the chicken:

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1tbsp fennel seeds

1/2 tbsp pepper seeds

1/2 tbsp ajwain/carom seeds

4 dry red chilli

6-7 cardamom

6-7 clove

2 inch cinnamon stick

3-4 strands of dry mace (javitri)

Nutmeg /Jaiphal- about the size of a drop 

2 bayleaf

Method:

Roast the above, remove the bayleaf and grind the rest to a dry powder. 

Marinade the chicken with the spice powder and all the ingredients mentioned above. I hardly kept it for about half an hour but you can keep it for longer.

Heat the oil, fry the onions and then add the bayleaves and chicken. Cook till the chicken are tender.

Optional ingredient:

4 potatoes boiled to 80% with skin on. Remove the skin and halve them. Fry in oil sprinkling a little salt. Remove and keep aside.

Preparing the rice:

500 gms basmati rice, washed

Some spices like pepper, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, for flavouring

Salt

Ghee

A few strands of saffron dissolved in one-fourth cup milk, keep aside

Water

Mint, to garnish

Method:

Boil the rice to 80% with the spices. Once the rice is 80% cooked drain the rice. You can then take 3-4 spoons of ghee and mix it with the drained rice. This will ensure the rice doesn't stick together and also add flavour.

Fried onions:

Slice a few onions and deep fry them in medium heat with a sprinkling of salt. It should be brown and crispy but not burnt. Set aside.

Layering the biryani:

Now take a deep pot or utensil. I usually use this utensil to cook my chicken. The bottom layer is usually chicken. Top with potatoes, rice, fried onions and a little of the saffron milk.

Repeat for another one or two layers. I usually only make two layers. 

Cover. Now seal the utensil. Take an iron tawa, heat it and then reduce the heat to minimum. Place your biryani utensil atop the tawa and let it cook like this for about 15-20 mins. 

Sealing the utensil: I usually put a very heavy weight on top of my utensil to prevent the steam from releasing. I see that this works for me everytime. But mostly the utensil is sealed with a flour dough. I am against wasting food and find this method really distasteful.

After 15-20 mins let it rest for about 5 mins. Open the utensil and serve making sure that everyone gets the middle layers too, since all the spices are in there. Enjoy with salad, mint or coriander chutney.