Rice: ½kg

Chicken: 1

Yoghurt: 3/4 cup

Ginger: 1″ piece

Garlic: 8 cloves

Green chillies: 6

Onions: 3

Mint leaves: 1/2cup

Coriander leaves: 1/2 cup

Chilli powder: 2tsp

Coriander powder: 1tsp

Turmeric powder: ¼tsp

Biryani masala: Grind 6 cloves, 1″ piece cinnamon, 3 cardamoms, 6 peppercorns

Cloves: 5

Cinnamon: ½” piece

Cardamom: 3

Bay leaves: 2

Saffron: Few strands mixed in 1/4glass of warm milk

Ghee

Salt to taste

Let’s get cooking

1. Clean and wash the rice. Drain and keep aside.

2. Clean and cut the chicken into medium sized pieces.

3. Slice the onions and finely chop the mint leaves and coriander leaves. Grind the ginger,
garlic and green chillies to a paste.

4. Fry the onions and keep aside.

5. Marinate the chicken with yoghurt, ginger, garlic, green chilli paste, chilli powder,
turmeric powder, coriander powder, biryani masala, mint, coriander leaves and salt for at
least an hour.

6. Prepare the biryani rice. Add the whole spices to a big pan along with 6-8 glasses of water,
2tsps of salt and the washed rice. Bring to a boil. Let it for for 2 minutes. Drain and keep the
rice aside.

7. Assemble the biryani. In a thick bottom an add a tablespoon of ghee and half of the
marinated chicken. Cover the chicken with half of the rice. Top with half of the fried onions
and few spoonfuls of the saffron milk.

8. Continue with the rest of the chicken and rice in the same manner, until its used up ( makes
upto 2 layers) Top with fried onions.

9. Cover tightly and seal the pan with dough, so that water does not escape.

10. Cook on a low flame until the chicken is cooked. Approximate time is around an hour.

11. Serve hot with onion raita or chicken gravy.

Approximate preparation and cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes (excluding marination time)

Serves: 4