Chicken Biryani
- Thread starter aroy
- Start date
Last few weeks, I have been experimenting with Chicken Biryani
- Smaller batches
- Faster turn around
- Parellel processing
One version I tried is as follows
. Fry the onions in the Dum Vessel
. Mix marinated chicken with onions
. Pour soaked raw rice
. Dum
The total time was reduced a bit, and it was a hassle free. As the rice was not cooked with spices, it was not as great as the traditional method. But if you want Biryani in One hour fifteen minutes, this is it.
- Smaller batches
- Faster turn around
- Parellel processing
One version I tried is as follows
. Fry the onions in the Dum Vessel
. Mix marinated chicken with onions
. Pour soaked raw rice
. Dum
The total time was reduced a bit, and it was a hassle free. As the rice was not cooked with spices, it was not as great as the traditional method. But if you want Biryani in One hour fifteen minutes, this is it.
Yesterday's effort
- Marinated chicken a couple of hours before
- Fries onions, boiled rice spices and heated rice water simultaneously. Rice also cooked by the time onions were fried
- Dum for One Hour only - came out perfect
One thing that I do for small batches is to cut the chicken into small pieces. The pieces flake off when you mix the Biryani, so you get rice with chicken pieces uniformly mixed in it.
Spices - Left = Herbs, Right = dry
Chicken, 4 drumsticks and 4 wings
Spices, Chicken and Curd mix
Onions
Fried Onions
Fried onions mixed with marinated chicken. A bit of water added for extra moisture. This water is what will cook the rice, so the total quantity of moisture has to be regulated perfectly. Too little the rice will be hard, too much and the rice will over cook and be sticky
First Layer of Rice layered over the Chicken. Added a few fried onions for extra taste. The second layer comes over this.
Set up for the Dum. The Tawa at the bottom gives gentle heat. The stone presses the lid down, so that the Atta sealing is tight, else with steam build up the seal will leak.
Cooked Biryani after mixing
On the plate.
- Marinated chicken a couple of hours before
- Fries onions, boiled rice spices and heated rice water simultaneously. Rice also cooked by the time onions were fried
- Dum for One Hour only - came out perfect
One thing that I do for small batches is to cut the chicken into small pieces. The pieces flake off when you mix the Biryani, so you get rice with chicken pieces uniformly mixed in it.
Spices, Chicken and Curd mix
Fried onions mixed with marinated chicken. A bit of water added for extra moisture. This water is what will cook the rice, so the total quantity of moisture has to be regulated perfectly. Too little the rice will be hard, too much and the rice will over cook and be sticky
Set up for the Dum. The Tawa at the bottom gives gentle heat. The stone presses the lid down, so that the Atta sealing is tight, else with steam build up the seal will leak.
Cooked Biryani after mixing
On the plate.
For every day experiments, normal Basmati Rice we have daily, around Rs.50/kg in supermarkets (there is always a buy one get one free offer)
For Parties, Extra Long Grained Basmati, about Rs.120/kg. Adds additional aroma to the Biryani. Also add a cap full of Kewda Water.
Made chicken Biryani after a long time. Relatives decided to come over for the evening, and I had only a few hours to make the preparations. Started at around 5pm and ended before nine.
Spices for marinade
For marinade
Used the mixer to grind all the ingredients. The liquid is curd. Added enough to make a liter of paste.
Mixed 3kg of chicken with the marinade. Added Sahi Jeera, Kasturi Methi and Kashmir Mirch to the mix.
Around a kilo and a half of sliced onions
Fried onions in three batches. First two for garnish and the last to be mixed with the chicken
Two batches down
Last batch
Mix the last batch of onions with the chicken. Taste the marinade and add salt if required.
Spices for the rice
Rough grind the spices
Boil the spices in water for 15 minutes. The colour deepens as the spices are dissolved.
Strain the spices, and use the liquid for rice.
Heat the spiced water for rice
Rice ready
First Layer - rice, coriander leaves and fried onion
Second layer- rice, coriander leaves and fried onion
Third layer- rice, coriander leaves and fried onion. Top it up with a few fresh green chilies.
Add generous amount of Keora Water
Seal the lid with atta
Put the pot on heat with a Tawa between the pot and the burner
The Biryani cooked in 1 hour 15 minutes. Keep the lid on for another 15 minutes for it to stabilize.
Served
Spices for marinade
For marinade
Used the mixer to grind all the ingredients. The liquid is curd. Added enough to make a liter of paste.
Mixed 3kg of chicken with the marinade. Added Sahi Jeera, Kasturi Methi and Kashmir Mirch to the mix.
Around a kilo and a half of sliced onions
Fried onions in three batches. First two for garnish and the last to be mixed with the chicken
Two batches down
Last batch
Mix the last batch of onions with the chicken. Taste the marinade and add salt if required.
Spices for the rice
Rough grind the spices
Boil the spices in water for 15 minutes. The colour deepens as the spices are dissolved.
Strain the spices, and use the liquid for rice.
Heat the spiced water for rice
Rice ready
First Layer - rice, coriander leaves and fried onion
Second layer- rice, coriander leaves and fried onion
Third layer- rice, coriander leaves and fried onion. Top it up with a few fresh green chilies.
Add generous amount of Keora Water
Seal the lid with atta
Put the pot on heat with a Tawa between the pot and the burner
The Biryani cooked in 1 hour 15 minutes. Keep the lid on for another 15 minutes for it to stabilize.
Served
Last edited:
Fascinating! The quantity of onions sliced thin. Man or machine? 
Man. I did it in les than 10 minutesFascinating! The quantity of onions sliced thin. Man or machine?
Gosh, I'll have to be drunk to believe this! You are faster than a machine!
The onions were pealed. All I had to do is slice them. If you have a good technique you can slice onions very fast.
Gosh, I'll have to be drunk to believe this! You are faster than a machine!
I once watched a young Nepali helper slicing onions at a dhaba. Unbelievably fast - at least two to three times I could ever achieve. The trick is to guide the knife against bent fingers. Instead of chopping motion you lever a long knife at its tip.