Vellore Style Chicken Biriyani

Name: Vellore Style Chicken Biriyani
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mughlai (Delhi & Lahore)
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken; 1 tsp salt; 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste; 0.5 tsp turmeric powder; 0.75 tsp chili powder; 3 cup basmati rice; 1 cup water; 5 tbsp olive oil; 6 onions; 1 cinnamon stick; 10 cashews; 1 tbsp ginger paste; 1 tbsp garlic paste; 3 cardamom pods; 2 bay leaves; 2 tbsp mint leaves; 6 tbsp coriander leaves; 1 tsp chili powder; 1 tsp coriander powder; 4 tomatoes; 1 tsp salt; 1 cup yoghurt

Chicken, basmati rice and cashews come together in this South Asian biryani, fragrant with ginger and turmeric and baked in the oven.

40 min · Serves 6 · Medium

Method

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Time: Prep 20 min · Cook 20 min · 40 min total
Difficulty: medium

1
Mix the chicken with salt, ginger, garlic paste, turmeric powder, chillie powder. Cover and keep in the fridge.
2
Measure 3 C basmati rice. Wash and soak in 1 C lukewarm water. Heat the olive oil in a big pan.Add the sliced onions and fry until dark golden brown. This will take at least 10 minutes.
10 min
3
Add cinnamon, cloves and cashewnuts. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile mix the ginger and garlic paste with ground cardamom.
3 min
4
Add this to the pan and fry well. Add the bay leaves if using. Add the mint and coriander leaves and fry for a few minutes.
5
Add the chillie and coriander powders and fry well. Add the tomatoes and cook until the oil rises to the top.
6
Add the chicken pieces and fry for 5 minutes, then cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Stir well and add the salt.
7
Add 3 1/2 C water (double the amount of rice minus 1C yoghurt, 1C in the rice already,1/2 C from the chicken).
8
Bring to the boil. Pour the yoghurt in while mixing well. Add the rice and cook on low heat until the water is at the level of the rice.
9
Cover tightly with foil and put into an oven at 170* for 15 minutes. Turn off and do not touch until serving- upto 5 hours later.