Malabar Chicken Biryani

Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables.The name is derived from the Persian word berya(n) which means "fried" or "roasted".The Biryani originated in the South Asia in the kitchens of Muslim rulers.Biryani is popular not only in South Asia but also in Arabia and within various South Asian communities in Western countries. The dish has many local variants.







Ingredients:
 
Chicken 1 Small chicken of about 2-3 lbs
Onion 400 gm or 4 medium ones
Tomato 200 gm or 2 medium sized ones
Small Hot Green chilies 10 No.
Ginger - 50 gm or a 2 inch piece
Garlic pods 50 gm or 8 cloves(big)
Pepper Powder 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Plain Yogurt- 3/4 cup (thick)
Fennel Seeds(Saunf)- 1 1/2 tsp
Poppy Seeds (Khus khus) - 1 1/2 tsp
Mint leaves (Pudina) - 1 cup chopped
Cilantro leaves - 1 cup chopped
Curry leaves- a handful
Lemon juice- 2 tsp or juice of 1 lemon.(not lime)
Biryani Masala-1 tablespoon. Recipe is noted below.
Clarified butter (Ghee) - almost 1 cup or 1/2 cup mixed with 1/2 cup oil

For garnish :
 
Cashew nuts 20 gm or a small handful
Raisins- 20 gm or a handful
Finely chopped ripe pineapple 1/4 Cup
Saffron a pinch
Milk 2 tablespoon
3 Boiled eggs ( cut into halves)

For the rice :

Basmati Rice/Jeera Rice - 1 kg/ 4 cups
Cinnamon - 1 stick of 3 inch
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 4
Black Cardamom - 2
One bay leaf, salt
Lemon juice- 1 1/2 tsp or juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste

Biryani Masala : 
 
Cinnamon 2 inch piece
Cardamom 8
Cloves 8-10
Nutmeg 1
bay leaves- 1
Mace 5-6
Caraway seeds 1 tbsp
Star Anise-1
Dry roast all together and grind to a fine powder.

Method:
1. Clean the chicken and cut into medium sized pieces. Wash and drain well.
2. Soak the Saffron in 2 tablespoon milk and keep aside.
3. Soak the fennel seeds and poppy seeds in a bowl with water for at least a hour and grind with very little water to a very fine creamy paste. If you are having trouble to grind it add a tablespoon of grated coconut or a few cashew nuts to it to grind well. Keep it aside.
4. Grind together the ginger, garlic and green chilies into a very coarse paste.
5. Marinate the chicken with the poppy seed mixture, ginger-garlic-chili mixture, Pepper powder, yougurt, lemon juice, turmeric powder and salt .Keep covered for at least two hours .
6. Chop the tomatoes into cubes and slice the onions. (One onion should be sliced extra fine. This one is for the garnish.)
7. Heat three fourth of the ghee/oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add the garnish portion of the sliced onions and fry, till they turn golden brown and crisp. Remove the onions and stir fry the cashew nuts on medium heat till it turns light brown on all sides. Drain and remove. Add the raisins now and stir till they plump up. Remove onto paper towels. This ghee/oil is used for flavoring the rice so save it.
8. Heat up the remaining oil and add the rest of the sliced onions and saute it till it becomes translucent. Add just the marinated chicken, and saute it on all sides for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add the rest of the marinade, the biryani masala and the coriander, mint and curry leaves and mix thoroughly. Cook it uncovered on medium high heat while stirring constantly till the visible liquid is reduced to half.
9. Then keep it covered and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes. Check frequently to prevent burning and wait till the oil starts to separate. There should be some gravy left and the chicken should be almost cooked. Add water only if there is no liquid for the chicken to cook. Check taste and add more salt or lime, pepper etc if needed.
10. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
11. Clean and soak rice for 10 minutes. Keep aside. Heat 3 tbsp of the remaining onion ghee/oil and add the whole spices- cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves. Sauté for a second and add the drained rice. Stir fry the rice till it turns opaque and add 6 cups water . When the water-rice mix comes to a boil, cover and cook on slow heat till all the water is absorbed. This would take about 4-7 minutes. ( Rice should not be over cooked. It should still be firm.)
12. In an oven proof dish, spread half of the chicken masala(it should have some thick gravy)and place half of rice over it. Pour 1/2 of the ghee/oil(leftover from frying the onions) on top of it and sprinkle some garam masala, some fried onion, cashew nuts and raisins, pineapple pieces, Saffron milk and some finely chopped mint and corriander leaves .Again spread the remaining masala and top it with rice . Then repeat the process of pouring ghee/oil(leftover from frying the onions) on top of it and sprinkle some garam masala, fried onion, cashew nuts ,raisins, pineapple pieces, saffron milk and some finely chopped mint and corriander leaves . Place the boiled and halved eggs on top of this .
13. Close it with a layer of aluminum foil , crimp it along the sides and then put the lid and put it in the oven for  20 -25 minutes. Remove and let rest for another 5-10 minutes before opening.
14. If you don't have oven then prepare the biryani using the double boiling method . Layer the biryani as in step 11 in a vessel with a tight lid . Seal it with some wheat/Maida dough.

You can give dum to the biryani by either placing the prepared vessel on top of a flat pan (used for making chappati/roti) or griddle or take a vessel with a bigger diameter than the vessel in which you have set the biryani. Put some water in it and immerse the biryani vessel into it . Put it on low heat for about 1/2 hour.

15. Serve with Biryani dates chutney , Pickles, Yogurt and Papadam.







Tips:

1. Marinating is very important in the case of chicken to help it to absorb the flavors. (But don't marinate the chicken over night as the texture will change. If you have to marinate overnight, omit the salt, lemon juice and yogurt and add that the 1 hr before cooking.)
2. While frying the onions for garnish dust some corn flour to the sliced onion. The onions will fry quickly and they will come out crispy also.