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Bombay Chicken Biriyani

Course Rice
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 6 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 7 hours
Servings 4 -6
Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

  • FOR MARINATION:
  • 1 kg chicken cut and cleaned
  • 4 tbsp yogurt
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • FOR MASALA:
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 3 onions sliced
  • 3 to matoes chopped
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 1/4 tbsp coriander powder
  • A handful coriander and mint leaves
  • FOR DUM:
  • Ghee/oil for frying
  • 2 onions sliced long
  • 15 cashews
  • FOR RICE:
  • 3 cups basmati rice washed and drained
  • 900 ml water
  • 2 inch cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 cardamoms
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 4 cloves
  • Salt to taste
  • A big pinch of saffron soaked in 1/4 cup hot water

Instructions

  • Draw stashes on the chicken pieces. In a bowl, marinate the chicken along with all the marination ingredients and leave in the fridge overnight.
  • Next day, bring the chicken to room temperature.
  • Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Saute onion till soft.
  • Add the tomatoes and cook till mashed up. Add in the masala powders and leaves and saute till well fried.
  • Add the chicken along with the marinade and cook till the chicken is almost done.
  • For dum ingredients - Fry the sliced onions in ghee/oil till browned. Drain and set aside. Fry the cashews till done. Set aside.
  • In a big saucepan, boil water along with the whole masalas and salt. Add the rice and cook till done.
  • Take a part of the rice and add the saffron soaked water. Mix well.
  • For dum, heat a chapathi tawa. On top of the chicken masala, sprinkle half the fried onions and cashews.
  • Put the rice along with the saffron rice and top with the remaining fried onion and cashews. Sprinkle the fried ghee all over.
  • Cover tightly with an aluminium foil and close the lid. Put on dum for 10-15 minutes.
  • For serving, open the pan, mix well to combine the rice and masala and serve warm with raita, pickle and papad!

Notes

While cooking rice, if you don't like whole spices in your biriyani, tie them in a small cloth like a pouch and drop into the water of the rice. Throw the pouch away when the rice is done. This is the way P does it. I love to see the whole masalas in my biriyani, so I skipped this step!