• To make biryani, start by marinating the chicken by mixing it with the ingredients listed under “marinade” in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate the marinated chicken for up to overnight. Take it out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before cooking. Next, rinse the rice and soak it in water.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil, ghee, and onions over high heat. Sauté the onions until they turn golden, which should take around 15-20 minutes. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of water. Once the water has dried up, add the whole spices, garlic, and ginger, and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Add the marinated chicken and sauté until it changes color (about 2-3 minutes). Next, add the tomatoes, green chili pepper, and dried plums, and stir to coat. Add ½ cup of water (the water should cover about 1/3 of the chicken) and bring to a gentle boil.
• Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and let the chicken cook for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice. In a medium pot, bring 7 cups of water to a boil. Add salt, oil, and lemon juice/vinegar, and stir. Once the water comes to a boil, drain and add the Maza Basmati rice. Stir, and bring it back up to a boil. Once it comes to a boil again, boil for 5 minutes, or until the rice is just cooked with a bite to it. Drain and set aside.
• Uncover the chicken and raise the heat to medium-high to sauté out any excess water for 2-3 minutes. Add salt, garam masala, and red chili flakes (if desired). Turn off the heat, and add kewra water and lemon juice and stir to combine.
• To layer the biryani, oil the bottom of a Dutch oven or stock/soup pot. Layer half of the drained rice, sprinkle 1/4 tsp of chaat/garam masala on top of the rice, add the chicken, and top with the remaining rice. Drizzle colored milk and oil, sprinkle cilantro leaves, mint leaves, and arrange lemon slices on top. Place a heat diffuser, flat griddle, or tava underneath the pan to diffuse the heat. Layer the lid with a kitchen cloth (or aluminum foil) and seal tightly. Turn on the heat to medium and allow the biryani to develop steam for 4-5 minutes. Turn down to the lowest heat and allow it to cook in its steam for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the biryani to rest with the lid on for 10 minutes. Do not stir or mix. To serve, gently move on to platter with rice paddle or small plate. Serve hot with yogurt or raita.

Enjoy your delicious Chicken Biryani served with cucumber raita!

1. Soak Maza Basmati Sela rice in enough water for 45 minutes. Drain the rice and set aside. In a large pan, bring water to boil, add around 2-3 teaspoons of salt to the water as it boils. [Don’t worry rice won’t be salty as we drain all the water]
2. When water comes to a boil, add the soaked & drained rice to it. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring at regular intervals in between. We don’t want to fully cook the rice and it must not turn mushy. The rice should be cooked to a point when it’s still firm. If you soak the rice for 45 minutes to 1 hour, it should not take more than 10 minutes for rice to reach that stage.
3. Remove the pan from heat as soon as rice is done and then drain. Set aside.
4. While the rice was cooking in step 1, heat vegetable oil in a pan. Add sliced onions and fry till golden brown.
5. Add the pre boiled lamb, and spices and cook for a bit.
6. Then add 2 tablespoons of sugar and mix.
7. In the meanwhile, transfer the cooked rice back to the pan again.
8. Once the color of the sugar starts changing to brown, pour it over the rice. Mix the rice well.
9. Next, steam the rice on low heat for 20-30 minutes and this ensures that rice doesn’t burn.
10. Sprinkle cardamom powder on top of the rice and then place the cover tightly and let the rice steam on a low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Remove rice from the pan and transfer to a serving bowl.  

PREP TIME: 45 mins
COOK TIME: 45 mins
TOTAL TIME: 1 hr 30 mins

COURSE: Main Dish
CUISINE: Afghan
SERVINGS: 4
CALORIES: 564 kcal

1. Soak basmati rice in enough water for 45 minutes. Drain the rice and set aside. In a large pan, bring water to boil, add around 2-3 teaspoons of salt to the water as it boils. [Don’t worry rice won’t be salty as we drain all the water]
2. When water comes to a boil, add the soaked & drained rice to it. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring at regular intervals in between. We don’t want to fully cook the rice and it must not turn mushy. The rice should be cooked to a point when it’s still firm. If you soak the rice for 45 minutes to 1 hour, it should not take more than 10 minutes for rice to reach that stage.
3. Remove the pan from heat as soon as rice is done and then drain. Set aside.
4. While the rice was cooking in step 1, heat vegetable oil in a pan. Once oil is hot, add the shredded carrots.
5. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then add 2 tablespoons of sugar and mix.
6. Once the color of the carrot starts changing, add raisins and cook for another minute or two. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel. Don’t drain the oil that you used for frying the carrots and raisins, we will use it the next steps.
7. Once removed, add pre boiled lamb in the same pan with the mentioned spices.
8. Now take a large sheet of aluminum foil and place the fried carrot and raisins in the center.
9. Close all sides to form an aluminum foil packet with the carrot and raisins inside.
10. In the meanwhile, transfer the cooked rice back to the pan again.
11. Steam the rice on low heat for 20-30 minutes and this ensures that rice doesn’t burn.
12. Sprinkle cardamom powder on top of the rice and then place the prepared aluminium packet on one side of the rice.
13. Cover the pan tightly and let the rice steam with the carrots and raisins on low heat for 20-30 minutes. In the meanwhile, in a small bowl, soak some saffron in a tablespoon of milk.
14. Remove rice from the pan and transfer to serving bowl. Pour the soaked saffron all over the rice. Sprinkle some cumin powder.
15. Open the aluminum foil packet and top the rice with the carrots and raisins.

Tips

1. Cumin powder is optional; you can even sprinkle some garam masala on top.
2. Do not use the ready-made cardamom powder that you get in stores. Use green cardamom pods, take out the seeds and crush them using mortar and pestle to get the powder. It makes a huge difference.