This recipe is from Vahrehvah.com. The biryani is cooked in layers. First is the chicken layer, followed by the rice. The half-cooked rice cooks from the steam of the chicken gravy, resulting in an aromatic rice. Mix it up and you get the perfect hyderabadi biryani. The chicken is very tender and will just fall off the bone.
Ingredients for Caramelized Onions:
- Onion – 1 and a half big onion, Julienne
- Oil – 2 tbsps
Ingredients for marinating chicken:
- Whole chicken – 1.5 lb Or a little more, washed and drain the water
- Ginger garlic paste – 1 inch ginger + 4 cloves of garlic, grind into a fine paste.
- Serrano pepper – 1 and a half pepper cut into big chunks
- Mint leaves – 1/4 cup, chopped, plus more for garnishing
- Cilantro leaves – 1/4 cup,chopped, plus more for garnishing
- Whole peppercorns – 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds – 3/4 tsp
- Red chilli powder – 2.5 tsps
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
- Cumin powder – 1.5 tsp
- Corriander powder – 1.5 tsp
- Bay leaf – 2
- Cinnamon stick – 1 big stick
- Jathipathri – 1 tbsp
- Cloves – 2
- Cardamom – 5
- Cashews – 10
- Oil -3.5 tbsps
- Lime juice – juice of 1/2 a lime
- Curd – 1 cup + 1/4 cup
- Salt – to taste
Ingredients for cooking rice:
- Water – as required
- Oil – 2 tbsps
- Salt – to taste
- Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
- Basmathi Rice – 2+ 1/4 cups
- Orange food color – as required or saffron soaked in water
- Cilanto and Mint – for garnishing
Method:
- Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions until they turn a bit darker than golden brown.
- Set them aside.
- Mix all the ingredients specified in the marinate list above. Let the chicken mixture marinate for 1 hour to 4 hours if you have the time.
- Add 1/4 cup of the caramelized onions to the chicken marinade.
- Soak basmathi rice in water for 30 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken marinate to a heavy bottomed vessel with a tight-fitting lid.
- Boil water in a big vessel to cook rice.
- Add salt to taste to the water you are going to cook the rice in. Try tasting the water and add salt accordingly.
- Add oil and cumin seeds to the water.
- When the water boils, add the soaked rice. Cook rice till half done.
- If you smash the rice using your finger, it must crumble.
- Drain the rice using a colander( save the drained water) and transfer the drained rice to the vessel that contains the chicken marinate. Do not mix. We have to create layers. Gently even out the rice.
- Sprinkle the remaining caramelized onions over the rice. Do not mix.
- Top the onions with chopped mint and cilantro. Do not mix.
- Mix orange food color in water and sprinkle it over the rice. Or add saffron water. I use both food color and saffron.
- Add 1/2 cup of rice water.
- Cover the vessel with a clean kitchen towel and close the vessel with the lid. Make sure that the lid fits tightly.
- Cook the biryani for 5 minutes on high heat, 15 minutes on medium heat and 8 minutes on low heat.
- Transfer the biryani to a big serving dish and mix gently.
Uma's Kitchen 