This recipe was given to me by one of my Chennai colleagues after she asked her mum to write out how she made her biryani. I've had this recipe for quite a while, and keep forgetting to put it on the plan for dinner, but I finally got round to it today.
As I haven't made it before, I thought I would add a few more photos than usual
Ingredients
5-6 tbsp cooking oil (I used sunflower oil)
2 tbsp ghee (use butter if you don't have ghee)
Spices - 2 bayleaf, 2 cloves, 2 pieces cinnamon and 6 black peppercorns
2-3 large onions sliced lengthways
1-2 green chillis sliced lengthways (I used red as that was all I had)
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
4-5 medium tomatoes chopped
2 tsp chilli powder
Pinch turmeric
2 tsp salt (I only used one, I don't like too much salt)
5-6 tbsp plain yoghurt
Handful mint leaves, chopped
Handful coriander leaves, chopped
450g chicken, bone in (I used chicken thighs)
300g basmati rice soaked for 30 minutes and rinsed in cold water
Instructions
In this case it was easier to prep everything in advance, rather than my usual of prepping as I go along. The photos below are of the ingredients (except the chicken)
1. In an open wide bottomed pan add 5-6 tbsp oil and the ghee on a medium heat
2. Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices and bayleaves and cook for a few seconds
3. Add the onions and fry until translucent
4. Add the chillis and ginger garlic paste, and fry for a few seconds
5. Add tomatoes, salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder, stirring everything together. Cover and cook until the tomatoes have cooked down
6. Add the chicken, yoghurt, mint leaves, coriander leaves and 450ml warm water to the pan (the water is for the rice to cook in later). Stir well, reduce to a simmer and cover
7. When the chicken is almost cooked, add the rice to the pan, stir it through, then place a piece of foil over the top of the pan before replacing the lid to seal the steam in and cook for approximately 10-12 minutes until the rice is cooked
8. To serve, garnish with fried onions and coriander leaves, and serve with an onion raita if you like
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did
