The weekend that went by was a nice loooong one. Most of the people I know be it family or friends made the most of it by heading out for a small getaway or a refreshing minication or Mini Vacation :) My health didn't permit me to travel so I didn't have much of an option. I knew motherhood would change a lot of things for me but didn't anticipate the changes to step in so soon (even before the baby arrives).
Under regular circumstances I would have sulked through the long weekend with an equally long face but these days I find myself a little more happy & cheerful than usual. I guess just the mere thought of the little one brings a smile to my face and makes it all worth it. So honestly I didn't mind chilling at home with hubby dear.
In fact I decided to make the most of it by continuing with some of my cooking experiments. Now Hubby and I spent the first year of our careers in Andhra Pradesh. And a lot of that time was spent eating out, I would be busy gorging on the awesome Hyderabadi Biryani and hubby was busy wooing me :) So just the thought of Biryani transports us back in time. I thought why not try my hand at it.
If you are a regular reader of my blog, you may have noticed that I like cooking stuff that is quick to prep and easy to make. Hence the thought of making Biryani never really crossed my mind earlier because it felt like too tedious a process. But given the long weekend, I had a lot of time on my hands so Biryani it was.
Now here is the link that I referred to for my inspiration.
As always, I did make a few tweaks to the Biryani I cooked. And I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that cooking Biryani wasn't all that difficult. Time consuming- YES, Difficult- NO. In fact its only the preparation which is a little time consuming so if you prep for it a day in advance the next day its only half an hour’s job.
So here’s my version of the Chicken Dum Biryani
 |
Ingredients
Marinade 1
800 gms – chicken (I used the Zorabian Pre cut Skinless chicken with Bones)
1 small raw Papaya
Marinade 2
1 bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves
2-3 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
1 bay leaf
1 ½ tsp cumin powder
1 ½ tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsp garlic paste
2-3 green chilli (you can use more if you like your food more spicy)
1 tsp red chilli powder (you can use more if you like your food more spicy)
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 onions chopped fine & long and then fried golden brown
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3-4 pepper corns
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 ½ cup yoghurt
Salt to taste
For the Biryani
300 gms – 2 ½ cup basmati rice (make sure you get the best rice because this can really change the whole dish)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Layers
3 fried onions (preparation similar to the marinade)
1 bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
2 pinch saffron, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
2-3 tsp of ghee
Instructions
Marinade 1
The first marinade is simply to tenderise the meat. Cut the raw papaya and puree it. Now add the pureed papaya to the chicken pieces and set aside for 30-45 minutes.
Then rinse the papaya off the chicken.
Marinade 2
To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl, add the chicken pieces to it, mix well and marinate in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours (or overnight).
Note: For the fried onions, simply chop the onions fine and long. Heat 2-3 tsp of oil in a wok and fry the onions till golden brown. Then drain them on a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil.
Assembling the Biryani
When you are ready to cook your biryani, prepare the rice. Wash it and soak it in cool water for 30 minutes. Fill a big pot with water (take more than the required quantity of water like in the case of pasta), add salt and oil and bring it to a boil. Cook the rice in it for 4 or 5 minutes. The rice should be about 3/4th Cooked. Now drain the excess water and set aside the rice.
Now take a heavy bottomed pot (a heavy bottomed pot prevents the chicken from burning), spray it with some oil and add the chicken and its marinade to the bottom. Make sure to spread it all around. Now spread the rice on top of the chicken.
Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves, the fried onions and the saffron water. Now pour the ghee over the rice.
Put a tight lid on & seal it with the help of some atta (wheat flour dough). Then put the pot on the fire, on top of a tawa or flat pan (this will help the heat to spread uniformly).
I cooked the Biryani in two batches since I wasn't too sure of the cooking time and was afraid to spoil the whole thing. So in case you are an amateur like me, I suggest you do the same.
Put the fire on high for the 3-4 minutes, then keep cooking the biryani on a medium fire for 15 minutes and on low for the remaining 5 minutes (it did not take more than 25 minutes for my Biryani to cook).
Serve warm with some raita & a salad of finely chopped onions and tomatoes on the side!
 |
| All cooked and ready to be devoured |
These days I avoid heavily spiced food to avoid acidity & heartburn. The above recipe as it is would give you a mildly spiced, well flavoured Biryani. In case you are one of those who love their spices you may want to increase the green chilli and red chill powder content in the Biryani. Happy cooking :)
 |
| Aah! the aromas of freshly cooked Biryani ( I had to hold my hubby back to get this shot because he couldn't wait to dig into the Biryani ) |
No comments:
Post a Comment