CHICKEN BIRYANI

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Looks yummy doesn't it;

This is how I made it.

1/3 packet of shan biryani masala

1/2 tsp salt

1 boneless chicken breast (or 1/2 chicken with bones)

1 big capsicum

1 big red onion

3 small tomatoes

1/3 cup yogurt

A little green onion and cilantro

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

3 cloves gralic (paste/ground)

1 inch ginger root (ground)

1 tsp salt

1+1/2 cup long grain basmati rice

Oil ; about 1/8 cup

Yellow food color

Cut onion in the direction perpendicular to that of the fibres. Brown onion in oil on medium/low heat. If you do it on high heat it will give a bitter taste to onion. Add chicken and fry it with onion until it turns golden brown.Also add ginger and garlic. Cut tomatoes into small cubes. Now add them into the same cooking pan that has chicken, onion ginger and garlic. Heat should be med-low by now. cover and let cook for seven minutes. After 7 minutes, tomatoes will be tender and would have given off a lot of water. Remove the lid. Add tamarind paste, lemon juice and Shan bombay biryani masala. Mix and let it cook. Also add 1/2 tsp salt. Now add 1/3 cup yogurt. You can increase the heat now, as there will be plenty of water in the curry that needs to dry up. Stir periodically to see the gravy doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. If it does, lower the heat. Curry is done when it looks like  asolid paste and oil separates from it, and there is no water left.

As the water in the curry dries, take another deep pan, and add about 4 cups of water to it. Also add 1/2- 2/3 tsp salt to water. When it starts boiling add rice to it. let it cook. This is how you check when the rice is done; Take one rice in between you index finger and squeeze it. If it breaks into 2 pieces, it is not done. If it breaks into three, it is done. Remove it from heat, and drain the water using a sieve.

Now in a clean pan, layer rice at the bottom, then layer the curry you prepared earlier on the rice, then put a layer of rice on it. Repeat the procedure until you use up all of the curry and rice. Make sure the top layer is rice. Now sprinkle yellow food color on about 1/4 of the top layer of rice, then sprinkle the capsicum/bell pepper cut into very small cubes and cilantro and green onion. Cover with a lid. Put the pan on the stove, under the minimum possible heat. This process is called "dum." The idea is to create a steam filled environment for the rice to cook,and also, for the flavor of the gravy to be incorporated into rice. Make sure the lid is closed properly, and the heat is low. Too high heat will cause the rice to stick to the bottom of the pan and it will be a pain to wash later on.

Let the dum go on for 10-15 minutes depending on your stove. For gas stoves, and coil top electrical 15 is ok, but for smooth top 10 minutes is enough, after that the rice starts sticking to the pan.

After 10 minutes, remove pan from heat and let it sit on a cooler surface for 5 minutes. Then open the lid (be careful of the steam coming out). Take a good long handle spatula and mix the layers. Be careful not to break the rice. Serve hot with Yogurt raita and salad.

Yogurt raita: take 1 cup yogurt, 1/2 small white onion (cut into cubes and washed with water), 1 small tomato (cut into cubes) and a pinch of black pepper. Mix all ingredients.

Salad:   1 Persian cucumber cut into small cubes, a small tomato cut into small cubes, 1/2 small white onions cut into small cubes and washed and 4-5 drops of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix all the ingredients.

Note : You can substitute chicken for any other meat, recipe remains the same, but with lamb and beef it is convenient to pressure cook them (lamb; 10 minutes, beef; 15 minutes) before adding them to browned onions. Also for lamb and beef add ginger garlic paste while pressure cooking ; to get rid of the smell of the meat.

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