Chicken Biryani
Photo: Ranjith Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0
This chicken biryani builds its flavor in layers, with yoghurt-marinated chicken sandwiched between cooked rice and slowly baked. Five large onions fried to deep gold sweeten the meat, while whole cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and pepper perfume the rice. Saffron strands go on top before the pan goes into a low oven for an hour or more. Basmati keeps the grains separate, and a bowl of cold yoghurt cools the spice at the table.
Instructions
Wash the rice and soak it, then cook it until done. Set it aside while you prepare the chicken.
Mix the chicken with the yoghurt, ginger, garlic, salt, turmeric, cumin, cloves, chiles and the tomato purée. The source also lists lemon juice in the marinade, so add a squeeze if you like. Leave the chicken coated in this mixture.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chopped onions until they turn golden brown. Stir them into the marinated chicken.
Grease a deep, wide, heavy-bottomed pan. Spread in a layer of rice, spoon the chicken mixture over it, and cover with the remaining rice. Scatter the saffron strands over the top.
Bake in the oven at 150°C (300°F) for 1 to 1½ hours. Cut into a piece of chicken to check that it is cooked through before taking the pan out.
Serve the biryani hot, with yoghurt on the side.
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