Wednesday, September 7, 2016

SOUTH INDIAN CHICKEN BIRYANI


Wow!!! The name Biryani itself makes your mouth water & my god what a smell. Its amazing that the smell of biryani can be identified specifically even though the varieties are different. There is Mughal biryani, dum biryani & simple varieties of chicken or mutton biryani too. I love them all but this south Indian style chicken biryani is the one I have eaten growing up & its my all time favorite. Very obviously I learned it from my mom & cant beat this one.

Biryanis are cooked in different ways. Every region in India have modified in their own way. The colors of it depend on the way its cooked. saffron makes it orange or yellow. Chili oil makes red. red curry in the biryani makes it brown & my version is with lots of mint hence its green. Its the authentic way to do the biryani & you can never forget the taste. Its spicy & delicious.


My version of Biryani has 2 stages. First the Biryani & next the chicken fry or pieces for the biryani.
I cook them both separately coz some how I feel cooking chicken pieces along with rice doesn't give Biryani lots of flavor & also the chicken pieces seems dry & not so tasty to eat. So cooking them separately in 2 stages makes it really delicious.
First stage I make broth with the bone part of chicken & make Biryani with it
second I make nice chicken fry with the remaining pieces to go along with the biryani.

RECIPE:

INGRIDIENTS:
Biryani:

1.5 KG chicken
2 1/2 cups of basmati rice
5 cups of water
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 bay leaf
2 Tbs ginger garlic paste
2 cups of fresh mint
7 green chillies
1/4 Tsp turmeric
1/4 cup of curd/yogurt
1 large onion
1 small tomato
1 cup of coriander leaves
1 Tbs of garam masala
Juice of a whole lemon
salt to taste

Chicken fry:
Chicken pieces from the whole chicken
2 Tbs ginger garlic paste
3 tbs oil
1 small onion
1/2 Tsp turmeric
1 small tomato
1 Tbs red chilli powder
1 Tsp coriander powder
1 Tsp Garam masala
Salt to taste

METHOD:

1.Take the whole spinal cord & back bone of chicken completely to make chicken broth. Take all the pieces & put it in 5 cups of water. Add turmeric & salt & cook it for 40 min. Turmeric should always be added to any non vegetarian dish you make coz it kills if there are any germs & also gives good color. Later after 40 min strain the broth & set a side. There is very little flesh attached to the bone so you can discard that as it has no taste & all the taste is in the broth.
2. Take the mint leaves & grind it with green chilies just until its cores & not pureed. Set a side.
3. Now we r ready to make the biryani. Take a non stick vessel on a stove add oil  & bay leaf, once it sizzles add the whipped mint & green chili. Stir it for a while then add ginger garlic paste sauté for a min & add long chopped onions.



4. After the onions are cooked for 5 min add tomatoes & cook for 2 more min. Then add curd & garam masala.

5. Now after 2 min add the washed & drained basmati rice stir & cook for 2 min. This makes the rice really fluffy & the rice will soak all the flavor. Add very little salt since there is salt in the broth.
6. Now add the cooked hot chicken broth measuring properly. It should be total 5 cups. If its less you can add water to make it 5 cups. Then cook it for 15 min in medium low heat. At this stage u need to taste the seasoning & add salt if you want. Then add chopped coriander leaves & lemon juice & stir cook for 5 more min & switch off. The biryani is done.
7. Now for the chicken fry. You take another non stick pan, add oil  let it heat then add onion & cook for 3 min. Then ginger garlic paste sauté for a min.
 
8. Add tomatoes & cook for 3 min. Now add coriander powder & stir.
9. Add the chicken pieces & turmeric powder & cook for 10 min. It releases lots of water that's okie just cook it with lid on for 20 min & check if its tender.
10. Then add remaining spices & salt. now without the lid cook on high flame till all the water evaporates & the masala coats the chicken. Its done

Now assemble the Biryani & the pieces over each other & enjoy. The pieces are tender & juicy with all flavors  & the biryani is just amazing.

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