Chicken Biryani

Recipe for a spicy and tasty rice dish from Northern India

Chicken Biryani is a delicious Indian and Pakistani rice dish which is often served on very special occasions such as weddings or parties. It has a lengthy preparation, but the work is definitely worth it.

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

1 chicken (about 1 kg)
3 cm fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves
4 onions
4 small potatoes
2 tomatoes
2 fresh chillies
7 tbsp ghee (Indian butterfat)
1 pinch saffron
1 pinch nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
5 pods cardamom
1 tblsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
50 g raisins
2 tblsp plain yoghurt
2tblsp milk
5 tblsp almond leaflets
400 g Basmati rice
Fresh coriander for garnish

Preparation

Peel the chicken, wash, pat dry and cut into 8 pieces. Peel ginger and garlic cloves and finely chop. Core chillies and chop finely. Combine the cardamom capsules, ginger, garlic, yogurt, cumin, chillies and salt, coat the meat with the mixture and marinate for at least 2 hours in a refrigerator.
Peel the potatoes and quarter them. Peel 2 onions and finely dice them. Clean the tomatoes and cut into pieces.

In a large skillet heat 3 tblsp ghee and brown the onions. Add gloves, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, coriander and sauté until fragrant. Then add the chicken and marinade and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over very low heat until the chicken is tender, while stirring from time to time and adding some water if necessary.

Meanwhile heat the rice in 2 tbsp ghee in a pot and fry for about 2 minutes with stirring until all rice grains got transparent. Add water, salt and simmer together with the raisins until the rice is soft. Rinse and drain.

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Place chicken with sauce in an oven-proof form (ideally a Roman pot). Spread the raisin rice over it. Heat the milk with 2 tblsp ghee, dissolve the saffron. Pour the saffron milk over the rice. Close lid or cover with aluminum foil. Cook in the hot oven (160 °) for 45 to 60 minutes.

Peel the remaining onions, cut in half and cut into fine strips. Heat the rest of the ghee and the almonds flake to light brown. Stir onions in and brown. Gently fluff up the rice using a fork and garnish with the fried onions and almonds.

Image source: Fotolia - # 71170957 © Joshua Resnick