Chicken Biryani Recipe

Method

1. To a bowl, add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, ½ tsp salt, garam masala, turmeric, lemon juice and red chili powder.
2. Mix up well and taste the marinade. Add more salt and spice if needed.
3. Make slits on the chicken pieces. Add it to the marinade and mix well. Cover and set aside for 1 hour to overnight. 
4. Rinse basmati rice three times and soak for 30 mins. Drain to a colander after 30 mins.
5. Heat ghee or oil in a pot.
6. Add whole spices – bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, shahi jeera & mace. 
7. When the spices begin to sizzle, add onions and fry them evenly stirring often until uniformly light brown but not burnt.
8. Add chicken and saute until pale for 5 mins on a medium heat. 
9. Cover and cook on a low flame until the chicken is soft cooked or tender. Saute to evaporate any excess moisture in the pot.
10. Taste test and add more salt if needed. Add ¼ cup yogurt (curd), 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves, 1 chopped green chili and 1 teaspoon garam masala.
11. Mix everything well and layer chicken evenly at the bottom.
12. Spread drained rice in a layer over the chicken.
13. To a separate bowl, pour 3 cups water. If cooking in a pot use 3 ½ cups water.
14. Add ½ to ¾ tsp salt and mix. Taste the water. It must be slightly salty (Very important).
15. Pour 2 cups of this water across the sides of the cooker or pot. Gently pour the rest on top of the rice.
16. Level the rice if needed. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons mint leaves. Optionally add 2 tablespoons fried onions & saffron soaked milk if using.
17. Cover and cook on a low flame until rice is cooked through and chicken is done. Add a little water if it becomes too dry.
18. Serve from top to the bottom layer. Each serving gets biryani rice from top and chicken from the bottom layer.
19. Enjoy chicken biryani with raita and sliced veggies, papad and shorba (biryani gravy).