Chicken Biryani

INGREDIENTS

2 chickens, disjoint,wash and drain
3 cups sour milk/ yoghurt or half half
good pinch saffron
2 and ½ teaspoon coarse salt,to taste
1 tablespoon tumeric
4 tablespoon dhana Jeeru (Cumin)
5-6 tablespoon chilli powder
6 tablespoon plain ginger garlic paste
1 tablespoon crushed garlic with green chillies
2-3 tablespoon tomato paste
5 green chillies
1 tablespoon whole Jeeru (Cumin)
4-5 pieces of cinnamon
3-4 cloves
5-7 whole black pepper
3 Elachi (cardomom) pods
juice of half a lemon
3-4 onions sliced and fried till crisp and golden
10 med potatoes, cut in halves and fried
1 cup Masoor (Back lentils)
5-6 cups basmati rice
salt for rice, 5-6 full teaspoon,to taste

METHOD

Firstly marinate chicken with all the spices, chillies and yoghurt and a handful of the fried onions for 3-4 hours. Boil rice in salted water and add 2 pieces cinnamon and 1 elachie till half done, drain and keep aside.Boil Masoor (Back lentils) with a tablepsoon of vinegar and pinch bicarb. When almost done add ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon turmeric. Drain and set aside.Cook marinated chicken in ¼ cup melted ghee (Clarified butter) and the leftover oil of fried onion or add half cup oil. Cook till water burns out and ghee (Clarified butter) and oil skims up and remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.In a big pot, slice 2 red tomatoes thickly (about 4 slices from each tomato) and place around the center of pot to prevent scorching. Drizzle a little oil and ghee (Clarified butter), not too much as there is quite a bit in chicken.Sprinkle a handful of onions, 2-3 handfuls of rice and a handful of Masoor (Back lentils) over. then place your cooked chicken. Place half of the fried potatoes in chicken masala. Sprinkle onions,but leave a little for rice on top.Add Masoor (Back lentils), reserving about 2 tablespoons for decorating rice. Spread half of the rice over Masoor (Back lentils), now place the remaining potatoes and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the Masoor (Back lentils) over rice.Spread rest of rice, lastly sprinkle massor over and sprinkle a little water and add a little saffron water over. Cover with foil and close lid firmly by placing something heavy like a mortar on top.
Steam on medium heat for about 20-25 minutes turning pot every 5-10 minutes, Do not open before 20 minutes is up. Heat a little ghee (Clarified butter) and throw in remaining fried onions and quickly put it over rice or else the onions will burn,remember its fried onions. Cover , and if it needs to cook further it can be steamed in a preheatedoven of 150C for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with spiced yoghurt and salads and poppadoms and achaars.

INFO & TIPS

You will notice that I don't add tomato to my marinade,
if you wish you can add 3-4 liquidized medium tomatoes.
I prefer without, because I feel that the chicken biryani tends to go sour very quick,
especially in summer.
Hope this recipe is a success for you! IT seems really long but I have written it in full detail according to how I make it.
I've always been making my biryani this way.

My family loves it just as is!
You can halve the recipe.
The same recipe I use for mutton biryani, just adjust yoghurt by adding 1 more cup for 2kg mutton and 2 more Tblsp plain ginger garlic paste and 1 more Tblsp chilli powder.And add liquidised tomatoes for mutton.
All adjustments according to taste.

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