Karachi Chicken Biriyani

Karachi Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients (Serves 6)

1. Chicken – 1 – 1.25 kg, cut into medium pieces

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder – 1/8 tsp

Chilly powder (regular + kashmiri chilly powder) – 1 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste – 1.5 tbsp

Lemon juice – 2 tsp

Green chilies – 1 – 2, slit

Yoghurt – 3/4 cup, beaten

Tomato – 1 medium, finely chopped

Salt – To taste

2. Potato – 2 medium, cut into large pieces

3. Oil – 1/4 cup + 1 – 2 tbsp

Onion, thinly sliced – 1 large or 2.5 cups, thinly sliced

3. Garam masala powder – 1.5 tsp or to taste (recipe below)

Green chilies – 2 – 3, slit

Mint and cilantro – 2 – 3 tbsp, chopped

For the rice

4. Basmati rice – 3 cups, soaked in enough water for at least 30 minutes and then drained

Whole spices – bay leaf – 2, cloves – 6, green cardamom – 3, black cardamom – 1, cinnamon stick –1 inch broken, kala jeera – 2 pinches

Ghee – 1 tsp

Salt – To taste

To layer

5. Fried onion – 1/2 cup

Lemon slices – 4 – 5

Tomato slices – 4 – 5

Kewra water – 1 – 2 tsp

Saffron – 1 pinch soaked in 2 tbsp hot water

Dried plums – 1 – 2 (optional)

Melted butter / ghee or hot oil – 1 – 2 tbsp

Red / orange color – 1 pinch (Optional)

Method

1. Combine chicken pieces with all the ingredients numbered 1. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat 5 – 6 tbsp oil in a kadai / heavy bottomed pan. Add sliced onion, a pinch of salt and fry until golden brown. Remove 1/2 cup fried onion for garnish.

2. In the remaining oil, add marinated chicken and the remaining fried onion. Mix well. Cook for 6 –  8 minutes over high or medium-high heat , stirring in between. Cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes until half cooked. Add the large potato pieces. Mix well and continue to cook covered for 15 minutes or until completely cooked and oil separates, stirring in between. Make sure you do not overcook the potatoes. Add 1 – 1.5 tsp garam masala powder, few slit green chilies, chopped mint and cilantro and mix well. Switch off.

3. While the chicken is cooking, boil water in a large vessel adding the remaining ingredients numbered 4. Taste-check for salt. The water should be slightly salty. Add drained rice and cook until the rice is  85 – 90 % cooked. Drain well.

5. In a heavy-bottomed vessel or oven-proof vessel (you can use the one in which you cooked chicken, if it is oven-proof), smear 2 tsp ghee and spread half of the cooked chicken at the bottom. Top it with half of the hot cooked rice. Sprinkle fried onion, 1/2 tsp kewra water, saffron water, 2 – 3 tomato slices, lemon slices, dried plum and red color, if using. Spread the remaining chicken on top followed by the remaining rice. Top with fried onion and the the other items for garnish. If there is any extra chicken gravy, pour on top. Cover tightly with an aluminium foil. Bake at 400 F for 20 – 25 minutes. OR Heat a wide tawa over high heat for a few minutes. Once hot, bring down the heat to low. Place the biriyani pot and cook for 10 – 15 minutes. Switch off. Let it rest unopened for another 10 – 15 minutes in the biriyani pot. Yummy chicken biriyani is ready to enjoy! Serve hot with  green chutney / kachumber salad/  pickle etc.

 

Karachi Chicken Biriyani

Garam masala powder recipe

  1. Cumin seeds – 2 tbsp
  2. Black pepper – 1 tsp
  3. Cloves – 8 – 10
  4. Black cardamom – 1
  5. Green cardamom – 4 – 5
  6. Cinnamon stick –  1/2 inch
  7. Javithri / mace – A tiny piece
  8. Nutmeg – 1/8th of one nutmeg

Grind the above ingredients to a fine powder. You need only 1.5 – 2 tsp for this recipe. Store the remaining in an air-tight container to use later.

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Maya Akhil

Wife, Mother, Blogger and above all, an ardent lover of good food. I cook, serve, and eat with almost the same passion. The divine aroma that fills the kitchen when I cook or bake is simply what keeps me going!

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Maya Akhil

Wife, Mother, Blogger and above all, an ardent lover of good food. I cook, serve, and eat with almost the same passion. The divine aroma that fills the kitchen when I cook or bake is simply what keeps me going!

Every Recipe Since 2010

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