Authentic chicken biryani

As you probably know by now, I am not really into cooking that much. I eat whatever my mum cooks and don't really pay much attention as to what she cooks and how she cooks it.

In saying that, it doesn't mean that I am totally ignorant about anything to do with cooking. Its just that I really don't like it as much because I don't get to play around with it and have as much fun as to when I bake. However, I do thoroughly enjoy trying out new recipes from different countries all over the world. This type of cooking I love and can cook tirelessly for hours and still enjoy every bit of it.

This authentic chicken biryani recipe was given to me by my good friend at work. She is from Pakistan and this biryani as the name says it is an authentic Pakistani biryani. It is packed full of flavors with different spices. And speaking of spices, this dish has plenty of spice. So feel free to adjust the spices (in particular the chili powder and garam masala) according to your taste.



Chicken Biryani

For the Masala
Basmati rice - 2 1/2
Chicken - 1 medium size cut into pieces
oil - 1/3 c
onion - 3 medium
garlic - 1 tbs paste
ginger - 1tbs paste
yogurt - 1 1/2 c
Kewra water - 2tbs (can be found in Indian stores)
cloves - 10
black cardamoms - 2
cinnamon - 2 small sticks
whole black pepper - 1tsp
cumin seeds - 1tsp
green cardamoms - 10
mint - handful
green chillies - 6
prunes - 5-6
salt - to taste
red chili powder - to taste
coriander powder - 1tsp
lemon - 1

For the Rice
cumin seeds - 1/2tsp
cloves - 10
salt - 1 1/2 tbs

- Boil the rice along with the cloves and salt in enough water until they are done 3/4 way through and drain the water
- meanwhile, slice the onions and fry in the oil till they are brown, take half of it out onto a paper towel to dry the excess oil
- on the other hand while the onions are browning up, process the green cardamoms into powder and set aside.
- process the black cardamoms, cinnamon, black pepper and cumin into powder (garam masala).
- in the remaining onion, add the chicken, ginger garlic paste, salt, red chili powder, coriander and the garam masala
- cover and cook till the chicken is cooked
- while the chicken is cooking, cut the lemon into slices, chop the mint and the green chillies
- crush the remaining fried onions with your hand and add it to the yogurt and mix well
- when the chicken is cooked, add the yogurt mix and cook till the oil is separated and turn off the heat, add kewra water and the prunes
- in a rice cooker (a pot will do equally fine) add half the rice, top it with the chicken mix and then the green chillies, mint, lemon and powdered green cardamom
- top with the remaining rice and add a few drops of orange color to make it even more vibrant
- cover and cook on very low heat for 10-15 min


This dish is an absolute treat. Yes, it is a lot to take in and it takes a lot of planning and a heck of a lot of time, but hey, you can not ignore the end result. It is spicy and it is delicious.

I can have this even for breakfast!! No kidding, its yummy.

WARNING!! it is quite spicy, if you can't take the heat you might want to cut down on the chili powder and the garam masala. :)