Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Biryani is my favourite dish. Whenever I go out, I try to order Biryani. I have always yearned to cook Biryani the right away. My several endeavours never met the mark I would have liked. I tried to coax my friend's mom who is from Pakistan to teach me how to cook Biryani but lost the battle :) I wondered what people did that made this dish taste so delicious!

Recently, I got back in touch with one of my college friends who married a sweet guy from Hyderabad. While chatting away with her and catching up, she mentioned she cooks Hyderabadi cuisine. I jumped at the opportunity and urged she give me the recipe for Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani. What could be better? She did!! Thanks, Nidhi. This dish took dinner by storm.  Mr. Husband said it tasted like the ones at the restaurant! This time I hit the right note!


I tweaked the recipe to my taste, convenience, and ready availability of ingredients. Maybe I can call it my recipe based on my friend's. :)

Ingredients:
1. 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2. 3 pods of garlic, shredded
3. Ginger, a 2 inch piece, shredded
4. Cinnamon sticks 4
5. Cloves 4-6
6. 1 Bay leaf
7. 4-6 cardamom, whole
8. Salt to taste.
9. Oil
10. Yogurt, 2-3 tablespoons

11. Chicken malasa, 4-6 tsp

12. 1 tsp chili powder
13. Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
14. 1 tsp garam masala
15. 2 onions, thinly sliced.
16. 2 cup rice

Instructions:
1. Cut and wash chicken breast pieces

2. Put chicken in a bowl and add yogurt, turmeric powder, 2-3 tsp chicken masala, salt (I added 1 tbsp) and mix well.

3. Leave it to marinate.
4. Heat a wok and add oil, 2-4 cardamom, 2-4 cloves, 2 pieces of Cinnamon stick, then add onions, garlic, ginger, garam masala, 2-3 tsp chicken masala and fry till the onions turn golden brown.
5. Add the marinated chicken in this and a little bit of water.
6. Boil until the chicken is fully cooked. Stir occasionally.
7. In the meantime, wash rice and place it in a rice cooker. To the rice add water, oil, bay leaf, 2-4 cardamom, 2-4 cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1-2 cinnamon stick. Cook the rice until fully done.
8. Line an oven safe dish with aluminum foil. Add a layer of the cooked rice. Then top it with a layer of cooked chicken, then top it with a layer of rice and so on.
9. Cover the oven safe dish with aluminum foil
10. Cook in the oven at 350 deg c for 5 mins.
11. Mix the rice and then cook for 5 more mins in the oven at the same temp.


Serve warm with Raita and Salad