Brown rice chicken biryani

Chicken biryani is one of the favourite luxury dishes in my home. My childhood friend, Anjali whatsapped me the photo of the Thalassery biryani that she cooked. I have been thinking of cooking biryani since then. This is a one pot recipe which involves slow cooking so that the chicken and rice soak in the spices and gravy. My sister, Ann suggested marinating the chicken in yogurt. It works like a charm because the meat is tender and soft when the biryani was done.

Biriyani is derived from the Persian word berya, meaning fried. There are so many different types of biriyani in India itself, each specific to the region from where it originates, like Kolkata biriyani, Hyderabadi biriyani...

Ingredients are :

Olive oil - 1 Tbsp
Star anise - 1
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1
Onion - 2 medium, thinly sliced

For marination :
Chicken drumstick - 5 or Chicken - 500 gms, curry cut pieces
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chicken masala - 2 tsp
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Brown rice - 1 and 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups
Green chili - 2, slit into two
Coriander leaves - a handful

Clean rice. Soak for 45 minutes.

Clean chicken. Cut a quarter inch slit in each of the chicken pieces.

In a glass bowl, add yogurt. Beat to make smooth. Add spices kept aside for marination and squeeze juice of half a lemon. Add marinade to chicken. Keep aside for 30 minutes.

Keep pressure cooker on slow cook setting. Add oil. Add aniseed, cardamom and cloves. Saute. Add onion. Saute till soft and golden brown. Keep half of the sauteed onions aside for garnishing.

Add marinated chicken. Cook, 15 minutes. Add green chili, rice, water and a drop of oil. Close lid. Slow cook, 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to rest for 30 minutes. Garnish with caramelized onions and coriander.

Recipe credits : cure.fit and inspired by Anjali Nararyan and Ann Jacob.