My earliest memory of a biryani is from childhood Eid days when Bapa’s friend Badruddin uncle sent big steel tiffin boxes of Eid ki daawat. I would strain on my toes to reach the kitchen platform to peep into the boxes as Bou unpacked the boxes….one after another… sevaiyyan, aromatic zarda, red mutton curry, crispy chicken fry and the hero of all dishes… biryani. It was light brown in colour.. grains of rice cooked to perfection with succulent mutton pieces… drizzled with birista( fried onions) and nuts. In those days, biryani was hardly on any restaurant’s menu in Jamshedpur.
As we grew up and moved to college, biryani was available everywhere. It was the easiest meal … rice and chicken together… food that satisfied the stomach, soul and the pocket. My now husband and then boyfriend have had countless biryani dinners and lunches…in Kerala, Bangalore, Chennai. I have also packed biryanis for him and taken it on flights from Lucknow and Chennai while travelling back from work assignments. That is how much we loved biryani.
After getting married, I graduated to making biryanis. Thanks to my master-chef sister who decoded all cuisines in her kitchen in Kuwait and Bahrain… simplified the recipe for the lesser mortals like me and parceled boxes of Shan and National biryani masalas from the Gulf. Thus began my tryst with biryani. My small one room apartment in Mumbai was the laboratory for all the biryani experiments… Prawn chettinad biryani, dindigul chicken biryani, lucknowi mutton biryani, Bengali version with potato and eggs, cooker biryani…. our friends and family loved them all.
So today here is the tried and tested version of my sister’s chicken biryani.
Ingredients :
1/2 kg basmati rice
1/2 kg chicken – big pieces 6
4 onions – 2 sliced , 2 chopped
One handful dhaniya patta
One handful pudina patta
2-3 green chillies
Handful of cashews and raisins
Salt
Oil
Boiled potatoes and eggs(optional) – for the Bengali/Odiya soul
For the chicken marination :
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 tbsp hung curd
1tsp salt
1tsp chilli powder
2tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp dhaniya powder
For the masala :
2 sets of whole garam masala( one for flavouring the rice and one for the chicken masala)
1 inch stick dalchini
1 clove
1 big elaichi
1 star anise
2 peppercorns
1 tsp shahi jeera (optional)
2 tsp biryani masala ( Any brand will do. National or Shan is what I prefer)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Process:
There are three steps to this – The preparation, cooking and layering. To get the biryani together takes a bit of practice … You will know once you do it!
Preparation :
1. For the chicken marination – best if it can be done overnight else for at least 2 hours Chicken should be washed and made completely dry. Add the lemon juice, salt, chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and dhaniya powder.
2. Deep fry 2 onions (birista). Drain and keep aside. They are the golden goodies that give the biryani the light brown ting. Deep fry any cashews and raisins you might want to add.
Cooking process :
1. For the chicken : In oil put 1 stick of dalchini, 1 elaichi, 1 clove, 1 star anise, 1 tsp shahi jeera(optional). Add in two chopped onions. Fry them to a light brown colour. Add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste. Cook the masala so that the raw smell of ginger and garlic evaporates. Add the marinated chicken on high heat so that the chicken gets sealed and does not release water. Add 2tsp of any biryani masala of your choice. I swear by the ones Shan and National( brands available in the gulf) but even Indian ones of Aachi are good enough. Taste and balance salt and chilli. After oil separates, add the dhaniya and pudina leaves.
2. For the perfect rice: Soak rice for 10 mins. Take a large pot and add water for cooking the rice. Salt the water so that it is salty. Add tej patta and whole garam masala(one stick of dalchini, one big elaichi, one star anise, 2-3 cloves, 2-3 peppercorns). Once the water comes to a rolling boil add the drained rice and cook till 3/4th done. Drain and keep aside. Keep some of the drained flavoured water. The rest of the magic happens later.
Layering (The last and famous process)
In a thick bottomed vessel(handi), put a layer of tej patta. Spread the chicken masala above it. Then goes a layer of dhaniya and pudina leaves. Cover with a layer of rice. Add the fried onions(birista), slit green chilli, saffron milk, fried cashews and raisins. Repeat depending on the vessel size and biryani quantity.
If you think the rice is dry, add some of the drained water in which the rice was cooked.
Then keep a tight lid. You could keep a layer of foil and then seal the cover. (I have also sealed the vessel edges with the atta dough when I had the leisure of time and help of cleaning up). Put on a low flame for 15 mins. Now this requires a bit of practice and skill to know how much to cook the rice. (But don’t worry, the biryani tastes as good even if it is a bit overdone. )
Once done, be ready to witness the magic. Open the lid/foil. Use a fork and gently aerate the biryani. All the hard work pays off as you experience the biryani through its aroma, look and taste….. Food for the soul indeed.
Optional additions : You could add boiled eggs, boiled potatoes to make the meal more wholesome and filling.
Foodforthesoul 