Chicken Biryani -Kerala Style

  
Ingredients:

For Cooking Rice:

• Basmati Rice-2 cups(I use Tilda)
• Cinnamon Sticks-2-3 small 1/2''pieces
• Cardamom pods-4
• Cloves-5
• Bay leaf-2
• Water-4 cups
• Lemon juice-1tbsp,freshly squeezed
• Ghee-2tbsp
• Salt to taste 

 For Marination:

• Chicken-750gm,medium pieces
• Turmeric powder-a couple of pinches
• Chilly powder-1/2tsp
• Black Pepper-1/2tsp,crushed
• Garam masala-1/2tsp,freshly crushed
• Salt to taste  

For Masala:

• Onion-3,thinly sliced
• Ginger-1tbsp,crushed
• Garlic-1tbsp,crushed
• Green Chilly-10-12(adjust as per ur tolerance level)
• Tomato-2,big size,chopped
• Turmeric powder-a couple of pinches
• Coriander powder-2tsp
• Garam masala-1tsp
• Mint leaves-1/4cup,chopped
• Coriander leaves-a handful,chopped
• Lemon juice-1tbsp
• Oil/ghee-as required
• Salt to taste

Method:
For Masala Preparation:

• Clean and wash the chicken pieces.Drain out the excess water completely.
• Marinate the chicken pieces with marination ingredients.Keep aside for at least 30 minutes.
• Shallow fry the marinated chicken pieces in oil,not more than 5 minutes,including both sides.Keep them aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, add crushed ginger,garlic and green chillies.Stir fry for 1-2 minutes.Add sliced onion and saute till it turns light golden colour.
• Add chopped tomatoes and saute well.Add turmeric, coriander,garam masala powders and mix well with all the ingredients and saute until the raw smell of the spices disappears.
• Once the raw smell is gone,add the shallow fried chicken pieces,mix well .Add some water and cook covered in medium-low heat until all the water is absorbed and the chicken pieces are coated with the masala.
• Add chopped mint leaves,coriander leaves and combine well.Sprinkle a pinch of garam masala and add 1tbsp fresh lemon juice and mix well.Switch off the heat.

 

 For Cooking  Rice:

• Wash and soak the rice in water for20-30 minutes.Drain the water completely.
• Heat ghee/oil in a pan and add half the quantity of whole spices and add the rice.Saute the rice for few minutes.
• Boil the required amount of water in a vessel with the remaining whole spices,bay leaf,salt.Add the sauteed rice to this and cook covered till the rice is done and the water is completely dried.Sprinkle a few drops of  lemon juice over the rice.Allow to cool and keep aside.

• Take a greased vessel,spread the chicken pieces along with the gravy in the bottom.Now add a layer of cooked rice over this.Drizzle ghee and sprinkle  garam masala powder,fried onions and chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves in between the layers.Repeat this process 3 or 4 times,depending on the quantity of the rice and chicken.
• You can also bake this in a  preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.Cover the vessel with aluminum foil.
• Reserve some nuts,raisins and fried onions for final garnishing before serving.Mix thoroughly.

NOTES:

• Do not overcook the rice.Once it is cooked, allow it to cool by spreading it in a tray or big vessel.
• You may use  crushed shajeera along with your garam masala powder in chicken masala.
• Make sure that the chicken masala should not be watery.
• you may use ground poppy seeds while making the chicken masala.  

Serve hot with Raita,Pickle and Mint-coriander chutney.....