Chicken Biryani

Biryani is rice based food item made with meat, spices and of course rice. Although single dish it is a complete food. Tasty, aromatic biryani is a kind of food which is irresistible. 

Biryani was originated in Iran. The term is derived from Persian word berya meaning roasted or fried.  The dish has many local variants as Hyderabadi, Kacchi, Awadhi, Sindhi and so on.

We can easily get recipes of Biryani, but in many recipes there is long list of spices and other ingredients. To make required masala from the khada masala ingredients is a bit tedious process.  So we tend to use ready to cook mixtures available in the market. Although instructions on such items advise not to add anything, but many times it doesn’t give us a taste that we look for. My experience is; blending of traditional method and use of ready to cook items gives best results.

Lazeez chicken biryani masala is one of the best available items. Ready to cook biryani spice mix of Parampara is also available in the form of dry paste.       

To make biryani for 5 to 6 people; we need

• Rice Basmati: 1 kg
• Chicken: 1 kg – get leg/breast pieces as per your choice
• Lazeez Chicken biryani masala: 50 gm
• Parampara ready to cook spice mix: one packet
• Onion: 0.5 kg
• Tomatoes: 400 gm
• Curd: 100 gm
• Cashew (optional)
• Saffron for flavor
• Badi ilaichi, cloves, pepper and tez patta

Mix lazeez masala and parampara ready to cook spice. Add curd and mix it well, marinate the chicken with it. Cut the tomatoes and add it in the chicken and mix it well. Keep chicken marinated for at least one hour.  Wash rice, remove the water and also keep it for one hour. Actual cooking starts after one hour when chicken gets marinated and rice soaked.

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan and add ghee and fry the khada masala items. Add rice and salt and fry it. Add water and let the rice cooked. Add saffron and cover the pan. Generally quantity of water required is that of double to the rice but in case of basmati rice, little less water is required.   

Heat the oil in another pan and deep fry chopped onion. Add cashews and fry it. Put marinated chicken in the pan and add a handful of water. Let the chicken cook on sim flame.

Spread a layer of half cooked rice on chicken, add some ghee, cover the pan and let it cooked. Turn off the gas when remaining rice is cooked in the first pan. After chicken gets cooked, turn off the gas but keep the pan covered, let it cooked further on dum (steam) for 15-20 minutes. As you open the lid, kitchen smells fragrant with the rich aroma.    

Serve the biryani with papad, lemon and raita.