Ramadan 29… the day when the moon plays peekaboo and the whole Muslim Ummah waits to see it it will be Shawwal 1 tomorrow or the day after, which marks our first Eid, Eid-ul-Fitr. This time, Eid is tinged with some sadness. On a personal level, it’s the last Eid we spend with my parents here… InShaAllah, if they are able to come later on visit is a different case but for now, it is their last… On a global level, the attacks on Gaza this Ramadan has been heart breaking. The number of children being killed is way beyond our normal sense of apprehension – I mean, which man with a normal functioning heart would be able to kill children that are just days, weeks, months old in the name of terrorism? I found this status by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi very apt, so sharing it…
The videos circulating around the net about the massacres and genocide that the Israeli army and air force is committing against occupied Gaza are too painful for me to watch. I must confess that my heart cannot bear to see the fathers and mothers crying over the corpses of their children, or the rubbled and demolished structures from which bodies are being pulled out, or the gory and wounded victims at overcrowded and under equipped clinics.
O Allah! You are the al-Rahman, the al-Raheem! Have mercy and compassion and pity on the people of Gaza, who have suffered for two generations under the tyranny of a Pharonic apartheid regime. Send upon our brothers and sisters Your peace and blessings, and fortify them with faith and perseverance, and accept their martyrs, and console their grieved ones.
O Allah! You do not place a burden on any soul more than it can bear. We ask for your forgiveness for our own inability to do more than dua and some meager donations. Do not call us to task for what we cannot do, and forgive us for what we could have done but did not do, for you are the al-Ghafoor, al-Ra’oof, al-Tawwab.
Ameen ya Rabb al-Alameen!
Albiet a heavy heart, as we go on to celebrate Eid in our little way…. Eid without biriyani is not complete, isn’t it? A couple of days ago, I shared a quick fix semiya payasam and also gave a short list of all the delights that we make on this day. Today, I am sharing with you this delectable, delightful biriyani that has fried chicken in it… I am so sorry for the quality of the picture… seriously I am not happy with it, but then it was a night picture plus I was in a lousy mood when I had cooked this biriyani. Thankfully, that stupid mood of mine did not reflect in the biriyani, Alhamdulillah… and I was happy about how it got wiped out completely without any trace. Even the kids loved it. The list may look exhaustive but unlike the list, the procedure is pretty simple. Off to the way I made it… Want to know how to put the dum? Refer to this post!
Off from blogging till the Eid holidays are done… wishing each and every of my Muslim brothers and sisters a happy Eid… May Allah Ta’alah accept all our deeds of Ramadan and keep us close to Him throughout our life, Aameen…
Fried Chicken Biriyani
Ingredients
- FOR CHICKEN:
- 800 gm chicken cleaned and cut
- 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp fennel powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- Oil for frying
- FOR MASALA:
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 3 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small pc cinnamon
- 2 cardamom
- 5-6 peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 2 medium onions thinly sliced
- 4 green chillies slit
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 2 to matoes chopped
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1/4 cup yogurt whisked
- Salt to taste
- FOR RICE:
- 2 cups basmati washed and drained
- 3 cups hot water
- FOR DUM:
- 1/2 bunch coriander leaves chopped
- 1/2 bunch mint leaves chopped
- 2 tbsp garam masala powder
- 2 tbsp rose water
Instructions
- Make a paste out of the ingredients from Kashmiri red chilli powder to vinegar in a bowl. Nicely coat on the chicken. Marinate overnight (preferred) or at-least for one hour.
- Shallow fry the chicken till browned on both sides, not necessarily completely cooked. Drain and set aside.
- In a deep saucepan, heat ghee. Fry the whole masalas for a minute.
- Add the onions and green chillies and saute till soft. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and cook till raw smell is gone.
- Now add the tomatoes, along with the powders and cook till the tomatoes get mashed and the masala is nicely cooked.
- Add the whisked yogurt and give a nice mix. Adjust the salt.
- Add the fried chicken pieces, along with the oil used for frying and cook on simmer for five minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat water in another saucepan till boiling. Add the rice and allow to boil again. Simmer and close the lid. Cook the rice till the water is drained. The rice will still have a bite but it is OK.
- Now on top of the chicken masala, sprinkle half the coriander leaves, mint leaves and garam masala powder.
- Layer all the rice on top. Sprinkle the remaining dum ingredients and then sprinkle in the rose water.
- Close lid tight and leave on simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Switch off, give a nice mix and serve warm with raita, pickle and pappadam!
Notes
2. Adding the oil used to fry the chicken gives the biriyani a lovely flavor. Since we use very limited ghee, the biriyani is not overloaded. If you are worried about the calorie content, you can skip adding the fried oil.
nice way you have put the happenings in gaza, really i was not in a mood to blog much coz of all these…… btw eid is always incomplete with out a biryani, nice one…..
Thank you so much Razina…
Inshallah may Allah s.w.t protect us. Rafeeda the biryani looks wonderful Eid Mubarak
Aameen… thanks a lot Akhila…
Eid mubarak dear . Biryani adipoli.
Thank you so much Beena…
Its indeed heartbreaking to see the news on Gaza everyday… May god be with the families and the people of Gaza!
The rice looks delicious and so goes one more to your ever growing Biryani list!! Keep it going Rafee.
Happy Eid to you and family 🙂
Thank you so much Rekha… 🙂
Honestly even I don't understand how one human being can inflict pain on another and that too a kid,and ironically we call ourselves civilized……hope all this comes to a stop soon…..
biryani looks wonderful…nice twist to regular biryanis 🙂
Let's hope so Reni… thanks a lot dear… 🙂
Happy Eid to u n family,Rafeeda..mouthwatering biriyani too 🙂
Thank you so much Julie… 🙂
Yummy looking biriyani as usual . War is never a solution to solve issues my heart goes out to those suffering families.
Happy Eid to u all .
So true Meena… thanks a lot dear…
Another favourite briyani…looks so yum rafeeda
Thank you so much Ree…
Eid mubarak rafee. Biryani looks delicious.Enjoy this great day 🙂
Thank you so much Chitra… 🙂
Happy Eid Rafeeda. Biryani looks delicious.
Thank you so much Sebeena…
Heart breaking news whenever i turn the TV, seriously i hate this..
Eid mubarak wishes sis..Wish i get that plate rite now from my lappy screen, irresistible briyani.
Thank you so much Priyaakka…
Fried version of Biriyani sounds delicious!!
Thank you so much Shibi…
Ameen!… Hope you had a lovely eid.
Thank you so much Nammi…
Hope you had a good Eid celebration rafee…. i usually like biriyanis with fried chicken… so this one looks good enough for me…. 🙂
Thank you so much Suji… 🙂
Biryani looks too tempting…I'm sure you must have had a great time with your dear ones..
Yes we did… thank you so much, Gloria…
Happy Eid To you rafz..The dish is soo yummy and am drooling here
Thank you so much Shobana…