Amma's Chicken Biryani

Name: Amma's Chicken Biryani
Total time: 3600 s
Yield: 6 people
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 cups Sona Masoori rice; 1 1/2 kg Fresh skinless chicken medium cut; 200 gm coriander leaves coarsly chopped; 2 big vertically and finely sliced onions; 4-5 big juicy tomatoes coarsly chopped; 3-4 big chunk of ginger Coarsly chopped; 1 big garlic bulb Coarsly chopped; 10-12 Mint leaves; 10-12 green chillies; 6 tbsp coconut oil; as needed Water; as per taste Salt; 1 pinch turmeric powder; 1 inch cinnamon stick broken into pieces; 1 mace; 2 star anise; 1 Bay leaf (tej patta); 4 cloves; 2 cardamom pods

Prathi's Zaaika.. @prathiszaaika

UAE

#GA4 #week15
I tasted this recipe prepared by my mother during my high school days. Being a Pescatarian, she tried preparing this chicken biriyani for me in her own way. I still remember her using coconut oil instead of ghee! Sona masoori rice instead of Basmathi rice & no mint leaves at all ! Though not an authentic biriyani recipe, and having eaten varieties of biriyani in the past few decades the taste of amma's biriyani still lingers in my taste buds, craving to have more of it.

Prathi's Zaaika.. @prathiszaaika

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Ingredients

1hr approximate

6 people

2 cupsSona Masoori rice
1 1/2 kgFresh skinless chicken medium cut
200 gmcoriander leaves coarsly chopped
2big vertically and finely sliced onions
4-5big juicy tomatoes coarsly chopped
3-4big chunk of ginger Coarsly chopped
1big garlic bulb Coarsly chopped
10-12Mint leaves
10-12green chillies
6 tbspcoconut oil
as neededWater
as per taste Salt
1 pinchturmeric powder
1 inchcinnamon stick broken into pieces
1mace
2star anise
1Bay leaf (tej patta)
4cloves
2cardamom pods

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Steps

1hr approximate

1

Finely grind the coriander leaves, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chillies, half of broken cinnamon sticks, 1 star anise, 2 cloves together in a mixer jar without adding water. Set it aside. Wash the mixer jar with little water (1/4 cup) and retain this masala water for cooking rice.
2

Wash the rice thrice in clean water, strain it & and transfer it to a cooker. Add the masala water retained earlier and also add around three and a half cup of water. Add salt as required. Set it to high flame and cook the rice for 1 whistle. Immediately place the cooker to the lowest gas burner & simmer it and cook for another 5 mins.
3

Switch off the flame and remove the cooker from the stove and keep it aside to cool. When the pressure goes down, open the lid and slowly mix the rice once with the spatula & let it rest with lid partially open.
4

Keep a clay pot or heavy bottom pan under medium flame & add the coconut oil. Add in the remaining cinnamon sticks, mace, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaf, star anise & fry well. Then add mint leaves followed by onions & fry well till the onions become translucent.
5

Add the ground masala and turmeric powder. Give a good stir. When the masala comes to boil, add the cleaned chicken pieces and give a thorough mix. Add halfcup of water & salt as required and cook well in high flame till it comes to a boil. Simmer it & then cook in low flame until the chicken is cooked well (around 10 - 15 min) with occasional stirring. Switch off the flame.
6

Add the cooked chicken masala to the rice cooked earlier and give a thorough mix. Set it aside for 15 min. The rice will absorb all the masala and the essence. When it is well absorbed each rice kernel will standout separately. The chicken biriyani is ready to be served hot.