Chicken Biryani
_Biryani is my favorite dish. There are many types of biryani and when I
lived in Los Angeles, we would go to a Pakistani restaurant and they
had the best. So some may say this is an India dish and others will say
it is Pakistani, but for me the recipe is similar to one I was given
from India. Either way it is very delicious and quite worth the work
involved in preparing the dish. Saffron is a must and do not buy the
cheap stuff.
Ingredients:
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Directions:
- Rinse the rice and place in warm water for 30 minutes. Put the saffron threads in a cup and add in 4 tablespoons of hot water to soak the threads.
- Put 7 to 8 cups of water in a saucepan with 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 teaspoons of oil. Let the water come to a fast boil and then add in the rice after it has been rinsed of the soaking water. Cook the rice for 5 minutes only. Drain the rice and set aside.
- In a medium heavy bottom saucepan add in the ghee and heat. Add in the onions and saute until translucent. Add in the ginger and garlic and cook for one minute more.
- Add in the chicken pieces and brown on both sides. Add in the minced tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups of water and the spices and cook the chicken until done (around 45 minutes.)
- While the chicken is cooking prepare the vegetables. Use a separate pot and add in 3 tablespoons of oil and brown the potatoes. When the potatoes are brown remove them from the pan and set aside. Now put the carrots in the oil and cook them a few minutes. Do the same thing with the peppers.
- Add these vegetables to the chicken mixture and mix well. Take a new pot and put half the rice mixture on the bottom.
- Then add the chicken mixture on top of the rice. Now add the other half of the rice on top of the chicken mixture.
- On top of the rice sprinkle the saffron water. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 20 to thirty minutes.
- Invert the biryani on a serving platter and serve with salad and yogurt dishes.
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