This is a simple version of biryani, where the rice and meat are prepared separately, and then assembled.
This recipe contains three parts:
marinate chicken in brine water
prepare the rice
fry the chicken
You’ll need a pressure cooker,
a deep pot for deep frying / a fryer,
a deep serving bowl / salad bowl to assemble,
and a plate that’s big enough to fit on top.
Ingredients
PART I - Chicken marinade
800 g chicken thigh pieces
salt to taste
water
PART II - Rice
bay leaf 1 piece
cloves 3-4 pieces
cardamom 3-4 pieces
cinnamon 1 piece
star anise 1 piece
caraway seeds 1 tsp
ground ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp
green chillies to taste, sliced
coriander 1 bunch
mint 1 bunch
rice 2 cups
water 4 cups
salt to taste
ghee 1 tbsp
PART III - Extra things for rice
yoghurt 1 cup
ghee 1 tbsp
biryani masala 2 tsp
chili powder 2 tsp (or to taste)
coriander powder 2 tsp
black pepper 1 tsp
saffron a few strands
warm milk/water 3 tbsp
lemon juice from half a lemon
PART IV - Fried chicken and onion slices
salt to taste
chili powder to taste
ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp
curry leaves (optional), about 1 sprig
garam masala 1 tbsp
flavouring salt (optional) to taste
coriander powder 1 tsp
cumin powder 1 tsp
all purpose flour / corn flour 1/2 cup
2 red onions
frying oil
Preparations
PART I - Chicken marinate
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Leave chicken pieces in salt water for at least 15 minutes.
PART II - Rice
Make ginger garlic paste (1 + 1 tbsp for both part II and part IV).
Wash the rice well.
Slice green chilis.
Chop up the coriander and mint leaves.
In a pressure cooker, mix all ingredients for part II and bring up to full pressure. Cook for 1 minute, turn off heat and let it cool naturally.
PART III - Extra things for rice
Leave saffron in warm water / milk to extract the color.
In another bowl, mix yoghurt, ghee, biryani masala, chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper.
When the pressure is released from part II, add the spice mix, saffron water/milk, and lemon juice. Mix slightly.
PART IV - Fried chicken and onion slices
Thinly slice the onions.
Drain water from chicken, and pat dry.
In a big bowl, add chicken pieces, salt, chili powder, black pepper, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves (optional), garam masala, flavouring salt (optional), coriander powder, cumin powder, all purpose flour / corn flour. Mix well.
Heat up the frying oil to around 180 degrees Celsius.
First fry the onion slides until golden. Reverse.
Fry the coated chicken pieces, make sure they are not stuck together.
Assembly
To assemble, take a large and deep serving dish/salad bowl, put fried chicken on the bottom layer, then lay the fried onions on an even layer on top, and finally the rice on top on the onions.
Put a big plate on top of the serving dish, flip it upside down, and remove the serving dish. Now you should be left with a beautiful upside-down biryani.