Chicken Donne Biriyani

Ingredients (Serves 3 – 4)

1. Jeeraga Samba Rice / Kaima Rice – 1.5 cup
   Hot water – 1 3/4 cup
2. Chicken, bone-in –  500 – 600 gm, cut into medium pieces
   Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
   Lemon juice – 2 tsp
   Salt – As required
3. Oil + ghee – 3 tbsp
4. Whole spices- Green cardamom – 5, cloves – 5, cinnamon stick – 1 inch broken, star anise – 2 small, dagad phool / stone flower – 2 small, bay leaves – 2, mace/jathi pathri – 1/2 of 1
5. Onion – 1 medium, thinly sliced
6. Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tbsp
7. Green chilies – 8 – 10, roughly chopped and ground in a blender
8. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
   Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp
   Cumin powder – 3/4 tsp
   Garam masala powder – 2 + 1 tsp
9. Tomato – 1 small, sliced
10. Mint leaves and cilantro – 1/2 cup each
11. Salt – To taste
12. Ghee – 1 + 1 tbsp
    Lemon juice – 1 tbspMethod
    
    1. Combine chicken pieces with turmeric powder, lemon juice and salt. Set aside for an hour.
    2. Heat oil + ghee in a pan and add whole spices numbered 4. Cook for a few seconds till fragrant. Add thinly sliced onion and saute till translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste, crushed green chilies and cook for a few minutes till their raw smell completely disappears. Next add spice powders numbered 8 and cook over low heat till their raw smell disappears. Add sliced tomato and cook for a few minutes.
    3. Meanwhile grind mint and cilantro to a fine paste adding little water. Add this to the pot. Mix well and cook for a few minutes over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and mix well. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and mix gently. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken is almost cooked through. Taste-check for salt.
        
    4. Meanwhile soak jeeraga samba / kaima rice for 20 minutes.
    5. Remove the chicken pieces from the gravy.  Measure the gravy, I had around 1/2 cup. For 1.5 cup jeeraga samba rice, you’ll need 2 1/4 cups of water).  So add the remaining 1 3/4 cup hot water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Add chicken pieces to the gravy. Sprinkle 1 tsp garam masala powder. Mix gently. Bring to a boil. Taste-check for salt. Drain jeeraga samba rice well and add to the pot. Add 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp lemon / lime juice. Mix gently. Cover and cook for 4 – 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Mix gently and again cover and cook for 6 minutes over very low heat until the moisture is mostly absorbed. Now cover the pot with an aluminium foil and cover with lid. Place a weight on top.
    6. Meanwhile heat a tawa to medium flame. Bring down the heat to low. Place biriyani pot on the tawa and cook on the lowest flame for 8 – 10 minutes. Switch off. Let rest for 10 – 15 minutes. Open the biriyani pot. Add a tbsp of ghee. Mix everything gently. Cover with lid again and let rest for 5 – 6 minutes. Yummy and flavorful donne chicken biriyani is ready to enjoy. Serve with raita and pickle.