Chicken Biryani Punjabi Style

A classic, delicious and spicy one-pot dish with chicken, rice and aromatic Indian spices.

https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/chicken-biryani-punjabi-style • Posted by Aditi

You will need

2 cup Basmati Rice 4 cup Water 4 pieces Chicken Breast (or chicken thighs cut into 2 each) 3 tbsp Oil (or Clarified Butter or a mix of both) 1 Star Anise 1 tsp Cumin Seeds 1 tsp Coriander Seeds 2 small Cinnamon Stick 1 small Bay Leaf ½ tsp Fennel Seeds 1 tsp Green Cardamom Seeds 1 ½ tsp Whole Cloves 1 tsp Black Peppercorns (whole) 1 medium Red Onion , puréed 1 tsp Ginger , finely chopped 3 medium Tomatoes , puréed 4 Garlic Cloves , finely chopped 3 Green Chili , finely chopped ½ tsp Red Chili Powder ½ tsp Coriander Powder 1 tsp Garam Masala ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg Salt to taste (start with about 1.5 teaspoons) 1 tbsp freshly chopped Cilantro a few Mint Leaves

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Description

Instructions

1. Coarsely grind the star anise, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, fennel seeds, green cardamom seeds, cloves,photo (64) whole black peppercorns and set aside- this is your biryani masala. Instead of coarsely grinding these you may use whole spices also, which I do sometimes, but coarsely grinding these ensures you get the flavour but not the whole spices when eating the biryani. :)

2. Soak the rice in 4 cups of water for half an hour.

3. In the meanwhile, heat (on medium heat) the oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the coarsely ground spices. Sauté for about 2 minutes.

4. Next, add in the puréed onions and ginger and sauté until the onions become translucent, for about 2-3 minutes.

5. Then add in the tomato purée, garlic and the cook for about a minute. Add in the salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and nutmeg.

6. Next add in the chicken and roast on medium-high flame until the mix gets a little dry and the chicken starts roasting. This should take about 12-14 minutes.

7. Once the mix is dry and chicken slightly roasted, keep adding a few splashes of water and cook on low heat covered with a lid until the chicken is almost cooked. This could take another 9-11 minutes. At this stage the chicken should not be completely cooked as it will continue cooking when you put in the rice later.

8. Then add in the coriander and mint leaves and mix well.

9. Next, increase the heat to medium-high and add in the soaked rice along with the water in which it was soaked. Bring it to a boil. Add about a teaspoon salt or more if needed.

10. Once the rice comes to a boil, lower the flame, cover with a lid and cook until the water dries up and the rice is cooked.

11. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with fresh onion tomato mint raita!

12. Notes It’s always best to use chicken with bones in biryani ‘coz they are more juicer. If you are not a big fan of picking out bones from the chicken, add at least one piece with bone in and the remaining can be boneless. Also, as always, for a moist chicken use chicken thighs instead of breast pieces.