Indian Moghul Chicken Biryani Recipes

Steps:

• In a large skillet, in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee) fry potatoes until brown, drain and reserve the potatoes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and fry onion, garlic and ginger until onion is soft and golden. Add chili, pepper, turmeric, cumin, salt and the tomatoes. Fry, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add yogurt, mint, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are cooked to a pulp. It may be necessary to add a little hot water if the mixture becomes too dry and starts to stick to the pan.
• When the mixture is thick and smooth, add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spice mixture. Cover and cook over very low heat until the chicken is tender, approximately 35 to 45 minutes. There should only be a little very thick gravy left when chicken is finished cooking. If necessary cook uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the gravy.
• Wash rice well and drain in colander for at least 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil (or ghee) and fry the onions until they are golden. Add saffron, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger and rice. Stir continuously until the rice is coated with the spices.
• In a medium-size pot, heat the chicken stock and salt. When the mixture is hot pour it over the rice and stir well. Add the chicken mixture and the potatoes; gently mix them into the rice. Bring to boil. Cover the saucepan tightly, turn heat to very low and steam for 20 minutes. Do not lift lid or stir while cooking. Spoon biryani onto a warm serving dish.

Steps:

• First you have to make the marinade for the chicken.
• Peel and coarsely chop 3 of the onions.
• Place the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger in an electric blender, along with the cloves, peppercorns, the seeds only from the 8 cardamoms, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, poppy seeds, mace, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the lemon juice. Blend all of these at high speed until you have a smooth paste. Place this paste in a large bowl. Add the yogurt and mix well.
• Now peel the 3 remaining onions. Slice them into very fine rings, and halve all the rings.
• In a 10 inch heavy bottomed skillet, heat the oil over medium flame. When hot, add the bay leaves and 4 black cardamoms. Fry for about 10 to 15 seconds. Now put in the onions and fry them, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until they get brown and crisp (but not burned). Remove them carefully with a slotted spoon, squeezing out as much of the oil as possible. Reserve all the onion flavored oil, the black cardamoms, and the bay leaves. You will need them later. Mix in 2/3 of the fried onions with the marinade paste. Place the rest on a paper towel to drain. Set aside for garnishing.
• Remove skin from the chicken legs and breasts. Cut the legs into two pieces each (drumstick and thigh), and quarter all the breasts. Pierce the chicken pieces with a fork and place in the bowl with the marinade paste. Mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Turn occasionally.
• After 2 hours (or more), remove the bowl from the refrigerator and place all its contents in a 3 to 4 quart heavy bottomed pot. Bring slowly to a boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove only the chicken pieces, place them in a 5 quart casserole dish, and cover. Set aside. On a medium flame, boil down the marinade paste, stirring, until you have about 9 to 10 tablespoons left. Spoon the paste over the chicken. Cover again.
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Soak the saffron in 2 tablespoons hot (not boiling) milk.
• Bring about 13 cups of water with 3 teaspoons of salt to a boil in a 4 quart pot, then add the rice. After it has come to a boil again, cook 5 minutes, timing very carefully (the rice must not cook through). DRAIN the rice in a colander, then place it on top of the chicken in the casserole. Pour the saffron milk over the rice, streaking it with orange lines. Spoon out the onion flavored oil from the pan, RESERVING a level tablespoon to fry the raisins if you like. Sprinkle the oil, cardamom, and bay leaves over the rice. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil, cut 2 inches wider than the rim of the dish. Now put the lid on and use the protruding foil edges to seal the dish as best you can by crinkling it and pushing it against the sides. Bake 1 hour.
• GARNISHES: There are several garnishes that can be used for biryani; you can use them all, or only what you like, but the fried onions are a must. If you wish to use raisins, you can fry them in a tablespoon of the onion flavored oil just after you have fried the onions.
• TO SERVE: As you lift the cover off your casserole dish you will see beautiful saffron streaks on the white rice. Spoon the rice and chicken out onto a large platter. Sprinkle fried onions and other garnishes of your choice over, and serve hot. With biryani, serve Koftas and some yogurt dish-Yogurt with Tiny dumplings, or Yogurt with Potatoes. If you wish to serve a vegetable, Cauliflower with Ginger and Chinese Parsley would be very good. Serves 6-8.
• Biryani is quite definitely not an everyday dish. It is served at weddings and important dinners. Try serving it at a late supper party. It was, and is, a dish worthy of a king.
• NOTE: This very expensive stigma of the crocus flower is used in Moghlai meat and rice dishes as well as in desserts. Ideally, saffron stigmas or "leaf" saffron should be lightly roasted in a hot skillet, crumbled, and allowed to soak in a tablespoon or so of warm milk for half an hour before being used.
• Madhur Jaffrey An Invitations to Indian Cooking.

Steps:

• Preheat oven too 200°C.
• Place chicken in bowl with, cumin, garam masala & tumeric and toss to coat.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in dutch oven (or casserole) add the chicken in batches and cook 3-4 minutes or until browned all over, adding a little more oil if necessary.
• Remove and set aside.
• Add the remaining oil, onion, ginger and garlic to the casserole and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and golden.
• Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes.
• Return the chicken in a single layer and pour over the stock.
• Put the lid on and place in oven.
• Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all the stock.
• Top with coriander before serving. I like to serve mine with cumin and mint yogurt.

Steps:

• Soak 300g basmati rice in warm water, then wash in cold until the water runs clear.
• Heat 25g butter in a saucepan and cook 1 finely sliced large onion with 1 bay leaf, 3 cardamom pods and 1 small cinnamon stick for 10 mins.
• Sprinkle in 1 tsp turmeric, then add 4 chicken breasts, cut into large chunks, and 4 tbsp curry paste. Cook until aromatic.
• Stir the rice into the pan with 85g raisins, then pour over 850ml chicken stock.
• Place a tight-fitting lid on the pan and bring to a hard boil, then lower the heat to a minimum and cook the rice for another 5 mins.
• Turn off the heat and leave for 10 mins. Stir well, mixing through 15g chopped coriander. To serve, scatter over the leaves of the remaining 15g coriander and 2 tbsp toasted almonds.

Steps:

• Mix goat meat, yogurt, prunes, ginger, garlic paste, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, cumin, black pepper, turmeric, red chile pepper, cinnamon, and cloves together in a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator, 8 to 14 hours.
• Rinse the rice under lukewarm water 2 times. Place rice in a pot and cover with enough cold water to reach 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches above rice; soak for 1 hour.
• Melt unsalted butter in a large skillet over low heat; cook and stir onions until translucent and golden, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook and stir until oil separates and rises to the surface, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix marinated goat meat mixture and potatoes into onion mixture; cook and stir until meat is browned and cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. Pour 1 1/2 cups cold water (or enough to cover) over goat meat mixture and cook until meat is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until oil separates from the mixture, about 5 minutes. Decrease heat to low and keep warm.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Bring 12 cups water, 3 tablespoons salt, and 1 tablespoon butter to a boil in a large pot for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain rice and add to boiling water; cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully drain water.
• Spoon 1/2 the rice into the bottom of a large baking dish; top with 1/2 the goat meat mixture. Arrange 1/2 the bay leaves over goat meat mixture. Repeat layering with remaining rice, goat meat mixture, and bay leaves. Cover dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until rice is fully cooked, 30 to 40 minutes.