A no fuss Chicken Biryani for a mid week extravaganza

When talking about biryanis , I have seen many people confuse it with pulao. The basic difference between the two-pulao is rice ,meat and spices cooked together from scratch and biryani is where both the cooked rice and meat are brought together and cooked in layers. The Hyderabadi Kacchi Biryani is a slight variation wherein the meat is not cooked before being mixed with the rice.

This recipe is one of those which has been passed among friends.My mother learnt it from her friend Ghosh Kakima who learnt it from one of her Hyderabadi neighbors. It might not have all the spices of the Nizam's kitchen, but its a quick make and it does not require too many ingredients. The parts of cooking involved here is the rice, the chicken and the layers of flavors.This Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani is quick and simple and will make your mouth water from the fragrance of all its ingredients.

Ingredients:

For the rice:

3 cups basmati rice

5-6 cardamoms

1 teaspoon salt

4-5 cups water

For the chicken:

1 whole chicken cut into large pieces

2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

1 cup plain yogurt

Salt to taste

For the spice layers:

4 onions thinly chopped

20-30 mint leaves coarsely chopped

4 chili peppers slit vertically

2 tablespoon butter or ghee

• Combine all the ingredients for the rice and cook it in a rice cooker. Alternately you can cook it in a saucepan.Make sure its partly cooked and not too soft.
• Whisk the yogurt with the ginger garlic paste and the salt.
• Marinate the chicken in the yogurt mix for 30-40 minutes.
• Meanwhile in a pressure cooker, add 1/2 cup of vegetable or canola oil and fry the onions till they are brown.
• In the hot oil add the chicken, then add a layer of rice with the spices.
• In the next layer add the chopped onions, mint leaves and green chili with 1/2 tablespoon of butter or ghee.
• Repeat the step above.
• Finally add the final layer of rice and top it with one tablespoon of butter or ghee.
• Shut the pressure cooker lid and cook in high for 8 minutes.
• Wait for the steam to come out of the cooker before opening it.
• Stir the chicken and the rice together.
• Serve it garnished with mint or boiled eggs.

This dish can be a quick weekday meal accompanied by raita. It can be a part of your party as it is quick and easy to make.Please be assured that this is old style cooking -so there is nothing fat free about this dish.