Boneless Chicken Biriyani

We get a lot of chicken thighs in our house. It makes a good choice for the cutlets and kebabs that are constantly made. A new addition to this list is this biriyani. We have a Hyderabadi restaurant where we usually order from. My children love that Biriyani. Now, since March well life has been a bit strange and different. So the task of making that biriyani has fallen on my already overworked shoulders. I would not say it is an exact replica, but hey, you live with whatever you can get. This is more time consuming than the regular chicken biriyani as we fry and then prepare the chicken gravy. But if you are craving for variety, and do not mind some extra leg time in the kitchen, then this is a good alternative. 

The usual chicken to rice ratio is 1:1. But since we are making the chicken and rice separately, you can decide how you would prefer it and mix the chicken and rice accordingly. I usually reserve a bit of the chicken gravy separately to go with the biriyani. Do as you see fit. 

Let's get on with the recipe. 

Chicken  Prep :  

We will first marinate and the fry the chicken. We will then make the gravy and add the fried chicken to it. Does it sound like a lot of work ? It is. It is not daunting if you focus one step at a time. Who said Management lessons cannot be applied in the kitchen ?

Step 1 : Marinating the chicken 

Chicken - 2 Pounds ( Washed and cut into medium sized cubes)

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp.

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Cumin Powder - 1 Tbsp. 

Garam Masala - 1 tsp.  ( I use the home made version, it is stronger so I use only 1 tsp.)

Smoked Paprika - 1 tsp. ( Optional - I love the color and flavor) 

Ginger Garlic paste - 1.5 Tbsp. 

Salt 

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Rub all the above ingredients into the chicken. Make sure all the masalas are well coated. 

Let the marinade sit overnight or at least for a minimum of 4-5 hours. 

Step 2 : Frying the chicken  : 

Oil for deep frying 

Corn flour - 1/2 Cup

All purpose flour - 1/2 Cup

Salt and pepper for seasoning the flour. 

Mix the flours and the seasoning and keep ready.

Heat Oil in a deep pan.

Take the marinated chicken and coat it in the flour and drop it in the hot oil. If you do not want to deep fry the chicken, you can shallow fry it too in batches. 

Deep fry the chicken on a medium high flame to get a crispy outside and also so that the chicken gets time to cook. 

Work in batches till you have fried all the chicken. Keep aside. 

Chicken gravy :

Oil - 3 big Onions - Chopped fine.

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1.5 Tbsp.

Green Chillies - 8 - Cut in to two ( Adjust to your spice levels)

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 2 Stalks

Curd - 1 Cup

Tomatoes - 2 big- Chopped fine. 

Garlic - 3 Pods - Sliced thin

Coriander Leaves - a big handful

Mint Leaves - 1/2 handful

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp ( Adjust as per your spice levels)

Coriander Powder - 1 Tbsp.

Garam Masala - 1 tsp. 

Oil - 2 Tbsp. 

Method : 

Heat a pan and add some Oil.

Add the Cumin seeds, sliced garlic, Curry Leaves and green chillies. Keep the flame on high and give it a good toss.

To this add the chopped onions and a bit of salt. Cook till the onions sweat. Keep stirring to ensure they do not burn. Now, lower the flame and cover the pan with a lid. Let the onions cook. 

Once the onions have turned soft, raise the flame to medium high add the ginger garlic paste. Cook till the raw smell dissipates.

Now, add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy. 

Add all the spice powders and salt. Sauté well. 

Once the tomatoes have cooked and the sauce has thickened, reduce the flame to low. 

Now add the curd and give it a good stir. Do this on low flame and constant stirring, else the curd will curdle. 

Add the chopped coriander leaves and Mint. Give it a good mix and cook till the oil separates.

Check for seasoning and adjust as you see fit. 

Now, add the fried chicken to this and give it a good mix. Adjust the gravy thickness as per your preference as the chicken will soak up the gravy. 

To make the gravy thin, warm up some stock and add to the gravy. Else just add some warm water. 

Switch off flame once the fried chicken is well coated with the gravy. 

Transfer the chicken to a oven safe deep dish and keep ready. 

Rice Preparation :  

Basmati Rice - 3 Cups ( Rinsed, soaked for 1 hour) 

Bay leaves -2

Cinnamon Stick - 2

Cloves - 5-6

Cardamom - 4-5

Star Anise -2 

Mace - 2-3 slivers

Shahi Jeera - 1 tsp

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1.5 tsp heaped

Chicken Stock - 2.5 Cups ( Optional See notes ) 

Water - 2.5 Cups ( 5 Cups water if you choose not to add stock)

Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp.

Method : 

Heat a wide pan and add water and chicken stock. 

Throw in all the spices, ginger garlic paste and bring the water to a boil.

Add the drained rice to the boiling liquid and give it a good mix. 

Add Lemon juice and allow the rice to cook for 6-7 minutes. 

We do not want the rice to be cooked fully, just about 70 percent. The rest of the cooking will happen in the Oven. 

Once the rice is cooked, drain the rice and transfer it to the chicken that is kept ready. If your chicken is not ready, just transfer to a wide plate. 

Layering :

Fried Onions - 1 large onion - sliced and fried to a golden brown.

Garam Masala - 1 tsp - to sprinkle on the rice.

Cashews  (lightly browned ) - 12-14 - roasted in oil 

Yellow color - Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp diluted with water.

Red Color - Natural food color diluted with water. ( Use saffron water if you do have it at hand)

Coriander Leaves - few stalks - chopped fine.

Mint Leaves - few leaves - Chopped fine. 

Rose Water - Few tsps. (Optional)

Ghee - 1 Tbsp. 

Method : 

Preheat the Oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit.

To the Chicken in the oven safe tray, add the rice spreading it all over the chicken gravy. Once the chicken is fully covered with a layer of rice, add some of the fried onions. Add some of the yellow and red color and the leaves. Sprinkle some garam masala and some cashews.  Sprinkle some of the rose water.

Now, add another layer of rice and repeat the process. 

Top it off with 1 Tbsp. of ghee on the rice. 

Cover it with 2 layers of foil and bake in the Oven for 25-30 minutes. 

Serve hot with Raita.

 Notes :

1. Since it is boneless chicken, I used stock to bring in the flavor. You can skip it and just cook the rice with water. If cooking with water, be more generous with the oil/ghee. 

2. This biriyani is spicier version than what I usually make, so adjust as per your spice levels. Do not skip the green chillies, (as you would miss out on the flavor )just reduce the count. 

3. You can use any Garam Masala of your choice. Notice that I did not use any Biriyani Masala, but my Garam Masala does the job for me. Taste test the gravy for seasoning and adjust as per your taste. 

4. My children do not like the fried Onions. What a disgrace, right ?  Let's count that as a major parenting fail. So I serve it just for the adults when I plate the biryani. That's why you do not see it in the picture.