This biryani recipe will change your life

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter)
• 500g of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed (or beef or lamb)
• 2 cups of Basmati rice
• 1 medium brown onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp of garlic and ginger paste
• 2 tsp of garam masala
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of salt
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped (Roma or gourmet tomatoes preferred)
• 1 cup of chicken broth (low-sodium or sodium-free)
• 1 cup of Greek yogurt
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 whole curry leaf
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 pinch of saffron threads or 1/2 tsp of yellow food colouring (optional)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 5-6 peppercorns
• 1/4 cup of fried shallots (for garnish)
• 1/4 cup of fresh coriander and mint, finely chopped (for garnish)
• 1 lime, thinly sliced (for garnish)
• 1 puff pastry sheet (optional)

Instructions

Preparing the rice:

1. Wash and soak the rice for 10 minutes. Drain the water and add the rice to a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add 2 cups of water, and 1 cup of chicken broth to the pot, and bring to boil.
3. Once the water begins to boil, add the saffron strands, or food colouring.
4. Once the rice is cooked, turn down the heat to low, and gently fluff up the rice using a fork or a rice paddle.

Preparing the chicken gravy:

1. Add the oil or ghee to a separate large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Once the oil has heated up, add the garlic and ginger paste, and chopped onion.
3. Slightly brown the onion, then add the chicken, chopped tomatoes and Greek yogurt.
4. Add the garam masala, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt, cardamom pods, star anise, curry leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and peppercorns.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

Assembling the biryani:

1. Once the chicken is cooked, carefully remove the cardamon pods, star anise, curry leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and peppercorns using a spoon.
2. In an ovenproof serving dish, layer the rice and then the meat in several layers until complete. Allow the layers to sit for 2 minutes and seep into one another. After 2 minutes, fold the meat gravy through the rice until each grain is fully coated with the spices.
3. Sprinkle with fried shallots, freshly chopped coriander and mint leaves, and arrange the slices of lime on top.
4. Cover the dish with a sheet of puff pastry and tuck the edges into the sides of the dish.
5. Bake in a fan-forced oven at 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and is golden-brown.
6. Carefully remove the dish from the oven and serve as is, or crack open the pastry sheet and serve with side dishes.

Recipe by

Fatima