Malabar Chicken Biryani

Chicken biryani was never my cup of tea- hours and efforts put in all turn futile. With my in-laws visiting us just for a day- i had to stack something in the fridge so that i didnt have to toil in the kitchen and can spend some quality time with them. Biryani was the best option but i was not really sure- how good i could make it- and did i ever mention that my mother-in-law has a doctorate in “Nutrition and Diet’s”-so all put together- i was really nervous about my menu for lunch- “The Ambitious Malabar Chicken Biryani”.

After going through the many recipes for the biryani i decided to conjure something where i could use my favourite kerala chicken masala and then mix with the rice and hence that would really leave very little room for me to mess up

It turned out very well. My father-in-law gave me 99 out of 100 and even better, my mother-in-law borrowed my recipe.

You Need:

For the Rice

1. Basmati Rice- 4 cups

2. Water- 10 cups

3. Cardamom- 5 nos

4. Cloves- 5 nos

5. Cinnamon- 1 small piece

6. Bay Leaf- 1 nos.

7. Pudina Leaves- A small bunch

8. Ghee- 2 tbsp

9. Salt- To taste

For the Chicken Masala

1. Chicken- 1 kg (Cut in to bite pieces)

2. Onions- 5 Medium nos (Thinly Sliced)

3. Tomatoes- 4 Medium nos (Chopped)

4. Red Chilly Powder- 2 tbsp

5. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp

6. Crushed Pepper- 1 tsp

7. Garlic Pods- 8 pods

8. Ginger- 1 inch

9. Cardamom- 5 nos

10. Cinnamon- 1 inch

11. Cloves- 5 nos

12. Curry Leaves- A handful

13. Coriander Leaves- A handful

14. Mustard Seeds to splutter

15. Salt to taste

16. Cooking Oil- 1/4th Cup

For Layering

1. Onions- 2 Medium nos (Thinly Sliced)

2. Mint Leaves- 1/2 Cup

3. Coriander Leaves – 1/2 Cup (Finely chopped)

4. Cashews- 1/4th Cup

5. Biryani Masala Powder- 1 tbsp (Recipe below mentioned)

6. Milk- 1/4th Cup

7. Saffron Strands- 1 tbsp

8. Ghee- 4 tbsp

For the Biryani Masala Powder

1. Cloves- 4 nos

2. Cinnamon- 1/2 inch

3. Cloves- 4 nos

4. Curry Leaves- 5 leaves

5. Ghee- 1 tsp

This is how you make it:

Preparing the Biryani Rice

1. Wash the biryani rice till the water runs clear.

2. Heat the ghee in a large vessel and add the cloves, cardamom, cloves and the bay leaves.

3. Stir the whole spices for just a minute or till you can smell the nice aroma of the spices.

4. Add the washed rice to the ghee and the whole spices and mix for approximately 3-4 minutes or again till the aromas come.

5. Pour the water in to the vessel, add the mint leaves and cook till the rice is done.

6. Drain the excess water by pouring the rice in to a colander.

7. Spread the rice and set aside.

Preparing the Chicken Masala

1. Marinate the chicken pieces in 1 tbsp red chilly powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and a little salt. Set aside for atleast 30 minutes in room temperature.

2. Heat 1/4th cup oil in a large vessel.

3. Add the onions and fry till it turns golden brown and crispy on medium heat.

4. Remove the onions from the vessels. Slightly mash the onions. A quick whip in the food processor or a mixer would be enough. Set aside the mashed onions.

5. In the same oil, add the tomatoes and fry for around 5 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the vessel and set aside.

6. Grind the coriander leaves, curry leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric powder, crushed pepper and the red chilly powder to a fine paste.

7. Add the ground paste to the vessel (the same vessel which was used for frying the onions and the tomatoes). The leftover oil would be sufficient and hence there is no need to add anymore oil.

8. Saute the paste till it is well cooked and the oil breaks out from the paste. You may add the salt at this stage.

9. At this stage add the marinated chicken pieces and mix well with the ground paste.

10. Mix well and stir for 5 minutes.

11. Add the fried onions and tomatoes and mix well. Stir for 5 minutes.

12. Add 1/4th cup water to the chicken.

23. Cover and cook till the chicken is well done. The masala/gravy will be pretty thick.

24. Set aside the chicken masala.

Preparing the Garnish for Layering:

1. Add 1 tbsp of ghee to a frying pan and brown the cashews. Set aside the cashews.

2. Add rest of the ghee and shallow fry the sliced onions. till hey are brown and crispy. Make sure that you do not burn the onions. Set aside the fried onions

3. In the same pan add the mint leaves and saute for 30 seconds. Remove from fire and set aside.

4. Warm the milk and mix the saffron strands and set aside.

5. For the Biryani masala powder- In a different pan add 1tbsp of ghee and saute the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and the curry leaves. Saute till the fragrances comes out- this should take about 30-40 secs. Set aside and let the whole spices cool. Grind the whole spices to a fine powder and set aside.

At this stage pre-heat the oven to 200 degree Celsius.

Final Layering

1. Take a deep oven proof dish and grease it with a little ghee.

2. Complete the first layering with a couple of chicken pieces and gravy.

3. Complete the second layering with the basmati rice.

4. Sprinkle some biryani masala powder, fried onions, chopped coriander leaves, sauteed mint leaves, cashews and 2 tsps of saffron milk.

5. Repeat the layering in the – chicken-rice-garnish, sequence.

6. Finish off with the rice as the final layering, sprinkle some generous amount of gravy over the rice and add the garnish.

7. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Removes from oven and slightly mix over the rice with a large spoon/spatula. Place the dish back in the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and wait for atleast 15 minutes before serving.

9. Serve the biryani with some mint chutney, raitha, papaddam and lime pickle.

Good Reading

1. Chicken Biryani from Kerala Recipes

2. Kerala Style Kozhi Biryani from Hackorama

3. Annita’s Kerala Chicken Biryani

4. Gini’s Chicken Biryani- Malabar Ishtyle

5. Malabar Chicken Biryani from Red Carnation