Manjali Special Chicken Biriyani – With Video

Wishing all my readers a very Happy and Blessed New Year!

Manjali Special Fried Chicken Biriyani Recipe

Recipe courtesy –   Adapted from here

Ingredients (Serves 8)

1. Chicken – 1.5 kg, cut into medium pieces

2. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder (regular and kashmiri chilly powder) – 2 tbsp

Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp

Garam masala powder – 1 tsp

Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Salt – As required

3. Oil / ghee (vegetable oil or coconut oil) – Around 1/2 cup

Onion – 1 – 1.5 cup, thinly sliced

4. Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Green chilies – 2 – 3, slit

5. Onion – 1.5 large, thinly sliced (Around 3 cups)

6. Tomato – 1.5 small, thinly sliced

7. Ginger – 1 inch, crushed

Garlic paste – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

8. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder (regular + kashmiri) – 1 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

9. Biriyani masala powder –1 tbsp (recipe below)

10. Cilantro – 1/4 cup, chopped

Ghee – 1 tsp

11. Salt – To taste

For the rice

10. Jeerakashala / kaima rice – 3.5 cups (Soak rice in enough water for 30 minutes and drain well)

11. Ghee –  3 tbsp

12. Whole spices – Bay leaf – 1, Cardamom – 6,  cloves – 8, cinnamon stick – 3/4 inch, whole black pepper corns – 1/4 tsp

13. Onion – 1/2 cup, thinly sliced

Garlic paste – 1 tsp

14. Salt – To taste

15. Carrot – 1/4 cup, thinly sliced

Pineapple, thinly sliced – 1/4 cup

Ghee – 1 tsp

Rose water – Few drops or 1/2 tsp kewra water (For a nice aroma)

Cilantro – 2 tbsp, chopped

16. Hot water –  7 cups

To layer

17. Fried onion – 1/2 cup

Cashews – 1/4 cup fried in little ghee

Raisins – 1/4 cup fried in ghee

Cilantro – 1/2 cup, chopped

Mint leaves – 1/4 cup, chopped

Pineapple, thinly sliced – 1/2 cup

Biriyani masala powder – Few pinches

Ghee – 1 – 2 tsp

13. Hot water –1/4 cup (optional)

Saffron – 1 pinch  (optional)

Rose water – Few drops (optional)

Add saffron and rose water to hot water and set aside for a few minutes.

Method

1. Marinate chicken pieces with ingredients numbered 2 for at least 2 hrs or overnight in the refrigerator. Take it out 30 mts before you are ready to cook.

2. Place the chicken pieces in a large kadai or any heavy-bottomed pan and add 1/4 – 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook for around 15 – 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring once or twice gently in between. Switch off.

3. Meanwhile, heat around 1/2 cup oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Fry 1 – 1.5 cup thinly sliced onion adding a pinch of salt and set aside. To the remaining oil, add half of the chicken pieces (reserve the gravy) using a slotted spoon and shallow fry until browned (do not over fry, it will turn hard). Remove to a plate lined with paper towel.

4. Remove all but 3 – 4 tbsp oil from the pan. Add thinly sliced onion, a pinch of salt, curry leaves, 2 – 3 green chilies and saute until golden.  Add sliced tomato and cook until soft. Add crushed ginger, garlic paste and saute for a few minutes until their raw smell completely disappears. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder. Continue to cook for a few minutes over low heat until their raw smell completely disappears and oil separates. Add 1 tbsp biriyani masala powder and mix well. Immediately add the reserved chicken gravy. Taste-check for salt. Add the fried chicken pieces and mix well. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes until the chicken pieces are well-coated with the masala. Add a tsp of ghee (optional) and mix well. Switch off the stove.

3. To cook rice –  While the chicken is cooking, soak the jeerakashala rice for around 30 mts.

Heat a large pressure cooker (Cook rice in two batches if you dont have a large cooker or vessel) or any heavy-bottomed vessel with 2 – 3 tbsp ghee. Add the whole spices numbered 12. Stir for a few seconds until fragrant. Add sliced onion, garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes until onion turns transparent. Add drained rice. Cook for a minute. Add 7 cups of hot water, enough salt and bring to a boil. Taste-check for salt, the water should be slightly salty. Add 3 tbsp thinly sliced carrot and pineapple, a tsp of ghee and 2 tbsp chopped cilantro. Cover with lid and cook until steam starts to come out profusely. Put on the whistle(if you are using pressure cooker). Bring  down the heat to low and cook for  2 – 3 minutes. Switch off. Open the lid after 10 minutes. Fluff the cooked rice gently using a fork.

4. To Layer

For layering, you need a cookware which can be put on stove or which is oven-safe.

Smear the base with ghee. Then add some chicken pieces, fried onions, cashews, raisins, cilantro, mint leaves, saffron in water. Now add the rice and repeat the process. Sprinkle some biriyani masala powder, little saffron water and 1 – 2 tsp ghee on the rice. The top-most layer should be that of rice topped with the items under garnish. You can pour any left-over chicken gravy over it. Now seal the cookware with an aluminium foil (so that moisture won’t escape), cover with a lid and bake it at 350 F for around 10 – 15 mts (depending on the cookware you use). If you are using stovetop, keep it on a tawa over low flame for around 8 – 10 mts. Set aside for 15 minutes. Manjali Special chicken biriyani is ready to serve! Serve with boiled eggs, raita, papad, biriyani chammanthi and lemon pickle.  Enjoy!!

Biriyani Masala Powder Recipe

Fennel seeds – 2 tbsp

Cloves – 6 – 8

Green cardamom – 5

Cinnamon stick – 1/2 inch

Kus kus / white poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp

Whole black pepper corns – 1/4 tsp

Star anise / thakkolam – 1

Jathi pathri / mace – a small piece

Grind the above spices to a powder in the small jar of a blender or in a coffee grinder. Store in an air-tight container.