Easy Breezy Chicken Biryani

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Filed Under Chicken, India - Kerala, Recipes, Rice Or Biryani

I know easy is a relative term. Making Biryani is never that easy, it is normally a multi step process - prepare the meat and the gravy, fry the rice, cook the rice, mix the rice with the gravy and bake for a while… give or take and mix and match some steps here and there, it is a slightly complicated process! So when I found a recipe in one of my cookbooks where the process is made much simpler, really just a two step process, I was a little skeptical, but wanted to give it a try anyway.

This recipe is adapted from Mrs.B.F. Varughese’s Recipes for All Occasions Part 2. What makes this an easy recipe is, there is no frying rice beforehand, or baking afterwards. Prepare the chicken gravy, add some coconut milk and water to get the desired quantity of liquid to cook the rice, add the soaked rice and leave it on the stove on low heat till you are ready to eat! Isn’t that simple? There is no oven or pressure cooker involved in this process. All you need is a Dutch oven or any deep pan with a heavy base and a tight lid.

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

2 cups Basmati rice
1.5 lb chicken with bones (I used two whole legs)
1.5 tbsp ground ginger
1.5 tbsp ground garlic
1.5 tbsp ground shallots
1.5 tbsp coriander powder
1 cup yogurt
2 cups water
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 cups coconut milk
3 cups thin onion slices
10 whole black peppercorns
1 star anise
8 cloves
8 cardamoms
1″ piece of cinnamon
4 green chilies sliced thin (I used the Serrano chilies, if using a smaller variety, add more according to desired spiciness).
1 cup diced tomato pieces
1/2 cup minced mint leaves
1/2 cup minced coriander leaves
Salt to taste
cashew nuts and fried onions for garnish
5 tbsp ghee (I use oil, doesn’t really make a big difference in taste to me)

Method

Wash and soak the rice in water for about an hour.

Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces. I cut each leg into three pieces.

Mix the ground ginger, garlic and shallots with the coriander powder to make a paste.

Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a pan large enough to cook the chicken pieces. Add the ground paste and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and fry till the pieces start to brown. Add the yogurt and 2 cups of water and cook till chicken pieces are about half cooked and more than half the gravy is gone. Mix the lemon juice and remove from fire, there will be about 1 cup of gravy remaining at this point. Make sure you don’t overcook the chicken.

Heat the remaining oil in the Dutch oven. Add the star anise, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon and saute for a minute. Add the sliced green chilies and saute for another minute. Add the onion slices and fry till they start to brown. Drain the prepared chicken pieces from the gravy and add to the onions along with the tomato pieces and saute till the juice dries up.

In the mean time measure the remaining gravy from the chicken, add the coconut milk and enough water to make the total amount of liquid into 4 1/2 cups. Add the liquid into the Dutch oven and bring it to a boil. Add the mint and coriander leaves and stir well. Add salt to taste.

Now drain and add the soaked rice to the Dutch oven. Bring the liquid again to a boil on high heat. As soon as it starts boiling, reduce the heat all the way to the lowest setting and cover with a tight fitting lid.

Leave this on the stove for about an hour or more, till you are ready to eat. Do not by any means remove the lid in the mean time. I know, you will be tempted to open and check if the rice is getting ready. But the rice is being cooked by the steam and you don’t want to waste away any of the steam do you? Just trust me and trust the steam to do its job.

After an hour (or more if you have the time), open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork. Garnish with fried nuts and fried onions and serve with a side of plain raitha.

This biryani was delicious! Siv even commented that this is the best chicken biryani he’s ever had, which doesn’t really mean anything, but he did polish off a lot of it.

The best thing I like about this recipe is the process. The recipe and the ingredients are very versatile. You can stick with your normal biryani ingredients, make the gravy and just follow this process, you won’t make out that the rice is not fried and baked. This involves a slightly longer cooking time than the regular biryani, but the majority of the time is spent on the stove without you having to do anything with it. So you can concentrate on more important activities like blogging during that time.

Technorati tags: Biryani, Chicken Recipes, Chicken Biryani, Kerala Recipes

Comments

32 Responses to “Easy Breezy Chicken Biryani”

Meeta on April 24th, 2007 5:26 am

WOW! This one is a keeper SIG! I wish I could hug you for sharing this recipe. Well a virtual one will have to do! I love Biryani and get a bit put off by the amount of work that goes into it. I think now we can have it on a more regular basis! Thanks to you!
Sig on April 24th, 2007 5:33 am

Meeta, hugs to you too girl… You know I was so excited when I saw this recipe and even more after I tasted it, it really turned out great!
Richa on April 24th, 2007 12:26 pm

hey sig, loved the biryani (and the bowl)! BEAUTIFUL picture!!!! I was about to taste it, but the screen is a bit of a hindrance I love biryani and try to make it often, will try your version next time! Love that caramelised onion on top! BTW did you know that fried onion is available in desi stores, it is ok but comes in handy when in a rush.
thanks girl!
Richa on April 24th, 2007 12:29 pm

and i totally agree with you on concentrating on the more important activities in life…….
Asha on April 24th, 2007 12:30 pm

Easy is relative term indeed looking at all the ingredients!!:D
Looks gorgeous.I love the caramelized color of the whole dish.YUM!! Thanks Sig,we love Biryanis for Sunday lunch.
Paddukoti on April 24th, 2007 1:08 pm

Hey Sig!!
My Hyderbadi Biryani takes ages to make u know and so i rarely make that dish but u’r chicken biryani looks yummy and yet so simple!!
Sig on April 24th, 2007 2:42 pm

Richa, wow, I didn’t know that you can buy caramelized onions from Indian stores!!! Frozen or does it come in a can?

Asha, I know, I typed that list up and thought that looks like a lot, but a typical biryani or Indian curry will take all that anyway right?

Padmaja, Hyderabadi biryani, yummmm…. It is totally worth it though, you should post a recipe for that.
Richa on April 24th, 2007 3:16 pm

it comes in a regular plastic wrap. i think it is some mediterranean brand, once opened it lasts for a long time in the refrigerator. one of my friends, from Hyd makes biryani almost once a week & she told me about it. It is dry and gets hydrated when you put it in biryani. You can check it out if you like.
Sig on April 24th, 2007 3:20 pm

Thanks Richa, I will check to see if our Indian stores have it.

BTW, can I get the number for your hyd friend? I would love to be friends with anyone who’d make biryani once a week
Bharathy. on April 24th, 2007 4:16 pm

mmmmmmmm Yummy…great..a real feast(burp).
musical on April 24th, 2007 4:45 pm

Wah wah! whatta biryani.
easy breezy indeed, Sig. i’ll make it soon (ofcourse with my standard veggie replacements)

i also prefer the baking, easier for me :).
KeralaFish on April 24th, 2007 7:12 pm

Awesome,ill try it and post feedback.
Reena on April 24th, 2007 7:19 pm

sig, do you have a dutch oven? i simply love this presentation and i am sure it tasted like heaven. we are a biriyani loving family:)) and i try out various recipes. one such took me 3 hours..phew!!! i am going to try this for sure.
Sheela on April 24th, 2007 7:30 pm

wow, looks good sig… i have to try this one for D; you are right - i rarely attempt biriyani due to frying and baking involved in most recipes.
Sig on April 24th, 2007 9:19 pm

Bharathy, that is always the host’s dream, a happy burp

Musical, yeah this should work perfect with veg biryani, it will be much easier , no need to precook the veggies!

Keralafish, super… let me know how it turns out!

Reena, I have two dutch ovens, not the one like in the wiki article, but a calphalon hard anodized and a calphalon non stick. Both are good, though I used the non-stick for the biryani.

Sheela, I know, I never used to make biryani that often just because of all these steps. BTW you should try the veg biryani with this technique…
Mishmash ! on April 24th, 2007 10:04 pm

hahah…easy biriyani is an oxymoron but the first biriyani i ever tried was one with a short cut method in pressure cooker which my friend taught, and it used to be a sunday regular in our house as I could just make this one with raitha and call it a day

Shn
Susan on April 24th, 2007 11:47 pm

I smiled when I read this, Sig. My sister-in-law, who is just learning to cook, says that my mom’s famous last words to her after sharing a recipe is, “It’s so easy.” Needless to say, when someone’s been cooking something for 40 years it is pretty easy. I’ll take your word for it re: your Biryani. It looks fantastic, and must have smelled and tasted divine!
Sig on April 25th, 2007 2:41 am

Shn, who are you calling a moron? just a line from a show I watched yesterday…
Biryani and raitha, love it… but my spoiled husband always wants to make a chicken or mutton curry to go with it :)..

Susan, you are so right When I first started cooking everything was tough… It does get easier with practice, so using the term easy with any recipe is never accurate, I’m sure someone is going somewhere “Yeah Right!”
Pravs on April 25th, 2007 12:50 pm

Easy breezy biryani looks very tempting. Been a while since i made biryani…will give this a try
Sharmi on April 25th, 2007 4:14 pm

now that never gets old! the pic looks so good. very tempting in fact.
your biriyani reminds me of hyderabad:))
Sandeepa on April 26th, 2007 12:45 pm

Beautifully presented Biryani Sig. Great picture.
I love Biryani and D makes agreat one but he add quite a bit of Ghee, so it doesn’t happen that often. But have never added coconut milk to it
shilpa(Aayisrecipes) on April 26th, 2007 1:09 pm

Oh wow…simple biryani, I would love to try this. I spend almost an hour to make biryanis, so these days I have stopped cooking biryanis. Thanks for a great recipe Sig. And the picture looks so beautiful, I wish I could take a spoonful from that
RP on April 26th, 2007 1:35 pm

Early morning, tempting biriyani picture, easy recipe, and………one hungry stomach! I am printing this out.
Nandita on April 26th, 2007 4:49 pm

Babes,
This is TRULY brilliant stuff, though i dont do chicken etc, i can make out the aromas and flavours just by looking at your pic…WHile im sprawled out on the floor reading this post, S caught a glimpse of your biryani from his sofa and asked me what on earth is that fabulous stuff!!! That means a lot coming from someone who aint too expressive

I promise Im going to do a veg version of this, small quantity for a trial and then the whole yard for my next party, shall post my trial version as soon as i manage it…

way to go sweetie!!
Inji Pennu on May 1st, 2007 11:49 pm

The color looks soooo good…did you add saffron. Didnt see that on your recipe listing and if you got that color without saffron,wow!

Adding coconut milk to biryani I think is exclusively Kerala type preparation. Usually biriyanis are supposed to stay fresh without refrigerationeven after one day. With coconut milk, that can never happen. But it tastes very good with coconut milk. right?

btw, “Siv even commented that this is the best chicken biryani he’s ever had,” Oy, Oy, you have been writing the same on too many posts. Poor Siv! looks like bechara is not eating out or from other kitchens…hehehe.. Just kidding okay.:)
Sig on May 2nd, 2007 12:22 am

Inji, I didn’t add saffron, guess the color is just from the masalas in the gravy. You are so right abt coconut milk, I don’t make biryani without it.
And abt Siv, hmmm…I just realized he says that often, poor thing, guess he is really afraid of me…
Chinni on May 2nd, 2007 8:09 pm

I love biryani and i will try your version next time.
Shella on September 7th, 2007 7:24 am

This recipe seems like a whiff of fresh air, where biriyanis are so tiresome to cook.

Thanks
Rajya on October 17th, 2007 12:12 pm

Hi Sig,

I have been visitng this website couple of days for now… and just love loooove the chicken biryani, I tried it and came out sooo well…every time I read this recipe feel liek eating it..it was awesome…thanks for the recipe

Thanks
Rajya

Thanks for the feedback Rajya! I am soo glad you loved it…
Divya on December 14th, 2007 2:12 pm

What I love about this one is it doesn’t take 10+ onions and 4+ hours of frying to get the Maillard reaction to work it’s magic. I’m planning on trying it this weekend. Thanks for sharing!

I know what you mean… Try this and let me know how that turns out… Good luck….
Divya on December 17th, 2007 4:52 pm

Turned out pretty good. Great aroma & taste.

Glad to hear that Divya!
ann on May 30th, 2008 2:04 pm

i make biriyani a lot usually the hyderabadi style for which i use only about 3 cups of water for 2 cups of rice n it just turns out great evenif its more harder method>>so i wanted to try your easier recipe but i had a feeling its too much liquid but then i did add about 4 and a quarter cup total bec i thought it might work ur way since the rice is not fried or anything..but unfortunately it end up like baby food:) but it tatse soo good i cant deny that:)..and i did add 2 tsp of homemade garam masala too which i normally add for biriyani>> i will surely try this again but with less liquid>> or do u think i did something wrong? bec i followed ur method except that i was too scared to add total of 4 and half cups liquid>>your response would be greatly appreciated>>>thank you

Hi Ann, Sorry your rice turned mushy. I think it depends on the type of rice you use. I use basmati and also turned down the heat completely and let it cook on the lowest heat setting. It has worked for me all the time! I guess you need to reduce the amount of water and even the cooking time next time.