Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

Being a Hyderabadi, I wonder how I forgot to post this recipe. This is my hubby's favorite dish. He will not wait for a second form the time it get's ready. He will not allow me to decorate the plate either, he is that much eager to have it. When ever he have this Biryani, he remembers his college days. He says the he used to have it thrice a week when he used to study his B.tech in Osmania Engineering college. He loves a special type of Hyderabadi biryani that is available in a hotel named Bavarchi and the biryani is called Bavarchi biryani. I think if a person is a non-vegetarian, I bet there will be no person in Hyderabad who have never tasted this. Now coming to recipe.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
For marination:
1 Kg or 2.2lb chicken(boneless or with bones)

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil ( I prefer soybean oil)
• 2 large onions, chopped longitudinally and fried to golden brown with little oil.
• 2 tablespoon of gingergarlic paste
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 
• 1 tablepoon chili powder(Depending on the heat you require, this gives mild heat)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves/pudina
• 1/2 cup coriander/ cilantro chopped
• 1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken pieces cut into chunks
• 4 pods cardamom
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 (1 inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 1 mace/Javithri
 2 large bay leaves 1 table spoon salt 1/4 table spoon black cumin seeds( optional) Lemon juice-1 tbsp

Vegetable oil-4tbsp
• For Rice:
• 3 cups(260ml) of Basmati rice 
• 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt to taste
• water for cooking
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• Method:
• Cut the chicken in to medium size pieces, remove extra fat and wash it. Squeeze out all water in the chicken and take it in a bowl. Now add all the marinating ingredients mentioned above into the chicken and mix well. Keep this mixture in a refrigerator for about 30min to 24hrs. During marination all the juices and spices will enter into the inner portions of the meat and gives it a nice flavor. The longer you keep for the best the biryani tastes. So, you can marinate the day before you cook for better taste or else you can just marinate for 30min if you need to cook fast. 
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IN OVEN:

• Wash and cook the rice till they are 70% done, by adding salt to taste vegetable oil. When the rice is ready, filter water and keep rice aside. Now take a baking tray and line with silver foil, and arrange half of the chicken as a layer in the bottom and add rice on the top, next add the remaining chicken on the top of it, finally cover with remaining rice. In this way you prepare an alternate layers of chicken and rice where chicken is at the bottom. On top of it, you can just add fried onions, little pudina and coriander/cilantro and add some oil on top. cover tightly with silver foil.  Pre heat the oven at 350F and cook for 45-1hr. Check before you serve and cook for few more minutes if it is not done. 

In Cooker/ Vessel:

Wash and cook the rice till they are 70% done, by adding salt to taste vegetable oil. When the rice is ready, filter water and keep rice aside. Now take a cooker/vessel and line with silver foil, and arrange half of the chicken as a layer in the bottom and add rice on the top, next add the remaining chicken on the top of it, finally cover with remaining rice. In this way you prepare an alternate layers of chicken and rice where chicken is at the bottom. On top of it, you can just add fried onions, little pudina and coriander/cilantro and add some oil on top. cover tightly with lid. Cook under high flame for 5minutes, medium flame for 10 minutes and low flame for 30-40 minutes. Close the top of the cooker with some wheat flour but do not keep whistle on  it. And if you cook it in a vessel apply wheat dough on sides of the lid and seal it tightly with lid.


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