Chicken / Mutton Biryani

This was made by Husband all by himself. It takes a while to get things together and prepare but the result is delicious. We usually order biryani from a restaurant we like, but it is usually too oily or too spicy for our liking. Making it at home lets us tweak it to our preference.

Chicken/Mutton Marinade:
750 gms Chicken or Mutton (either boneless or whole if you prefer. We used a mix of boneless and leg pieces)
Marinate it in:
Ginger Paste 1tsp
Garlic Paste 1tsp
Salt 1/2tsp
Chilli powder 2tbsp
Tumeric powder 1tsp
Garam Masala 2 tbsp
Few sprigs of mint and coriander leaves
1 onion
Yogurt 3/4cup (go up to a full cup to ensure that the chicken is fully coated and is not dry)
Juice of 1 lemon
Oil 1/4 cup

Mix it all in and let it rest overnight or if you dont have the time then for an hour in the fridge.

Rice:

Use 2 cups Basmati (long grain) rice and wash it 2-3 times in cold water to remove starch. Then soak it for about 30 minutes. Cook this in a wide bottom vessel and do not stir it. Let it rest.

In a small bowl, put a few strands of Saffron in 4 tbsps of water and let it soak.

Take another saucepan on a high flame and bring 10 cups of water to boil. Then put in the following and cook for a minute:

4 Whole cardamom  

3 cloves

1/2 tsp black cumin seeds

2 bay leaves

4 black peppercorns

4 tbsp salt

1tbsp oil/ghee

Now gently add the cooked rice to this spiced water and cook for another 5 minutes. Drain the water and set aside the rice and spice mix.

Putting it all together:

• Take a large wide-bottom vessel and put it on a high flame so it gets hot.
• Put in the entire marinaded chicken. Then add the rice on top. DO NOT mix. This will cook in layers.
• Top it up with 2 tbsp oil/ghee and the saffron water
• Seal the vessel with aluminium foil. Or if you have a lid, seal the edges with dough.
• Then take a flat plan and put that on a high flame burner. Once it is hot, reduce the heat to a minimum and place the vessel with the food on this.
• Cook for approximately 30-40 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.
• Open the container just before serving and mix the layers so that all the rice is covered with the chicken mixture.
• Top it up with some fried onions and coriander.
• Serve with raita.

Raita:

In 2 cups yogurt add finely chopped

1 onion

1 tomato

1 green chilli

Few sprigs of mint/coriander leaves

Salt to taste