BEAUTIFUL BIRYANI

INGREDIENTS (makes enough for 4 people)

4 x chicken breasts cut into bite size chunks (boneless and skinless) you can also use chicken thighs or legs if you prefer, I just like
chicken breasts.

2 x large cooking onions diced

1 x teaspoon of chopped ginger

! x teaspoon chopped garlic

1 cinnamon stick

2 x bay leaves

3 x cardamoms

3 x cloves

dash of olive or sunflower oil

1 ! mugs of basmati rice

a few saffron strands

For the marinade

! pot or 250ml of plain natural yogurt
1 ! x teaspoons of ground turmeric
3 x teaspoons of ground coriander
4 x teaspoons of garam masala
1 ! x teaspoons ground cumin
1 x teaspoon of salt
4 x freshly chopped rocket chillies or whichever chillies you prefer (this is totally optional, if you dont like your food too spicy, just omit
all the chilli from this recipe!)
Handful of fresh chopped coriander

COOKING TIME Roughly 15 minutes preparation between 30 minutes to 24 hours of marinating and then between 2 to 12 hours of slow
cooking depending on your preferences.

METHOD
1)

2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

7)

8)

Combine all of the spices together in a bowl and mix well with the yogurt add the chicken and coat them in the spiced yogurt mixture.
You can leave this to marinate overnight if you have the time, I actually only leave mine for a short while as by cooking the chicken in a
pan first it infuses the spices into the meat really well (as opposed to just cooking the chicken in the oven later)
In a pan add the oil and then the onions, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Cover and leave to brown for
approximately 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes remove the cover and add the garlic and ginger. Cook through for a minute stirring frequently
In another pan bring 4 mugs of water to the boil add the rice and cook for 4 6 minutes maximum (essentially you are part cooking
the rice) drain the rice and leave to one side.
Add the Chicken marinade mix to the onion mix cook through on the hob until the chicken is browned and cooked through.
In your slow cooker, add a small amount of oil to the base of your pot then layer the cooked chicken mix on to the base of the pot.
Optional I like to add a sprinkling of fresh coriander, a drizzle of yogurt and a sprinkling or turmeric on top of this mix. Then on top of
the chicken mix place all of the part boiled rice. Pat this down so the surface is smooth. Optional Sprinkle the top of the rice with some
saffron fronds
Cover and cook on a low heat setting for 3 12 hours. If you are cooking in an oven and not a slow cooker follow the steps outlined in
point 6 and then cover and cook on 140 degrees for 2 to 3 hours. If the mixture looks very dry when you check it, add a tablespoon or
two of milk or water to the top of the pot (I prefer milk for this recipe)
To serve mix the rice and chicken using a large spoon or fork to combine all of the flavours, sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve
with Cachumbar and breads. This is delicious served with Dahl as this is a relatively dry dish.

SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES

Its important to not over cook the rice a mistake I have made many times myself, unfortunately! It wont be an absolute disaster but if you
overcook the rice at the beginning, when you then leave this to cook in the oven / slow cooker the rice can become very stodgy.