Chicken Biryani

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After 7 days of Christmas feasting, we were all craving something a little different and spicy on New Year’s Day. Typically, I serve more traditional food such as a Beef Wellington, a Venison Casserole or Beef and Guinness Pies. We’re normally in Switzerland at this time of year and I pick hearty food for hungry skiers which can be prepared in advance and popped in the oven when we get home.

In London this year, we fancied something different and definitely spicy. However, I still wanted something which could be prepared in advance – enter Chicken Biryani. All made in advance, this is Indian comfort food at its best; fluffy aromatic brown basmati rice layered with a rich chicken, tomato and onion sauce which packs a huge flavour punch. It is cooked in the oven with saffron soaked milk, lemon juice and butter with extra fried onions. Topped with coriander and served with some yoghurt and vegetables on the side, we all agree this was the perfect meal to start the new year and it would also work fabulously well after a day on the slopes. Maybe a new tradition has been born!

To compensate for going ‘off-piste’ with the main course, I returned to one of our family’s oldest traditions for dessert, and made Nana’s Lemon Surprise. A light and fluffy lemon pudding which I can remember my grandmother making for the whole of my life. She would be shocked to know it was the perfect dessert after a curry – I don’t think she ever ate any foreign food, let alone spicy, in the whole of her life! See here, for the recipe.

How to make Chicken Biryani

This recipe is slightly adapted from Vicky Bhogal’s fabulous book, A Year of Cooking Like Mummyji. The family recipes she shares are general British Asian as well as some specific to her Punjabi Sikh upbringing. A fabulous book – I highly recommend it!

I made a few changes – see below. Feel free to use my recipe or go with the original.

The changes I made include:

• replacing the green chillies with chilli flakes – using chilli flakes helps me control and guarantee consistent heat levels each time
• I reduce the oil from ½ cup to ⅓ cup
• Vicky uses ¼ cup canned tomatoes and I replaced this with 500g passata – I just love loads of sauce.
• Because of the extra tomatoes, I find the sauce needs a little sugar to balance the acidity.
• In the curry sauce, I replaced the 1 teaspoon black peppercorns with ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I do not like too many whole spices in my food!)
• I use brown rather than white basmati rice. I find it keeps it texture better given you will be pre-cooking the rice and then cooking again in the oven.
• I do not like too many whole spices in my finished food. In the rice I only use a stick of cinnamon which can be removed. The remainder of the spices, I use in powder form but I have given whole spice options in the recipe, if you prefer.

Start by making the chicken and tomato curry sauce.

Collect the ingredients together:

This is best made the day before you want to eat it. The flavours will infuse, deepen and develop overnight.

Spices –

• green cardamom pods, slightly split
• brown cardamom pods, slightly split
• cumin seeds
• coriander powder
• garam masala
• cloves
• freshly ground black pepper
• ground nutmeg
• cinnamon powder
• bay leaves
• cinnamon sticks

Sauce –

• vegetable oil
• onions, finely chopped
• natural plain yoghurt
• fresh ginger, finely chopped
• cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• chilli flakes
• skinless breasts of chicken
• passata
• fine salt, to taste
• sugar (optional)

How to make the chicken and tomato sauce:

1. Measure out all the spices and lightly crush the cardamom pods. Dry fry all the spices in a pan over a moderately high heat, stirring, for around 30 seconds or until aromatic. Tip out of the pan onto a plate or bowl.
2. Heat ½ of the oil in the pan and add the chopped the onions. Cook over a moderately high heat, stirring regularly until they are a deep, dark brown. This will take 20 – 30 minutes.
3. Whilst the onions are cooking, peel and roughly chop the garlic and ginger. Blitz in a mini food processor until finely chopped. Alternatively crush the garlic and grate the ginger or finely chop by hand.
4. Add the ginger, garlic, yoghurt and chilli flakes to mixing bowl and and stir to mix.
5. When the onions are cooked, remove around ⅕ and set aside in a separate bowl.
6. Mix the remaining onions with the yoghurt mix.
7. Chop the chicken breasts into cubes.
8. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the chicken cubes. Brown on all sides. You may need to do this in batches.
9. When the chicken has browned – this should take around 5 minutes – stir in the yoghurt and onion mix.
10. Pour in the passata, add all the fried spices and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour around 100 – 125ml water into the passata box/bottle and swish around to clean out the remaining passata – pour into the pan.
11. Stir to mix well and cook, covered, over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time.
12. When cooked, taste and adjust seasoning. I normally add a little sugar – around 1 – 1½ teaspoons. Your sauce is now ready.

NB The Biryani sauce is best made the day before you eat it. You can either make the whole dish or just make the sauce the day before. The flavours will develop, deepen and infuse overnight.

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Cook the rice

Collect the ingredients together:

• brown basmati rice (or use white rice if you prefer)
• bay leaf
• stick cinnamon
• cardamom OR green and black cardamom pods
• ground cloves OR whole cloves
• fine salt
• grinding black pepper OR black peppercorns

How to cook the rice:

1. Wash the rice and cook with the spices according to packet instructions. Cook until al dente.
2. The rice will further cook with the sauce in the oven, so it is preferable for the rice to be very slightly under-cooked. Brown rice normally takes around 20 – 22 minutes. If so, cook for 20 rather than 22 minutes.

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Prepare Toppings and Assemble your Biryani:

Collect the ingredients together:

• milk
• saffron threads
• lemon
• cooked onions you set aside
• unsalted butter
• PLUS
• the cooked rice
• the prepared sauce

How to assemble and finish the Biryani:

1. 30 minutes before you assemble the Biryani, mix the saffron with the milk and set aside.
2. Assemble the Biryani:
   • spread ½ of the chicken and tomato curry sauce on the base of the baking dish
   • add ½ of the rice on top
   • top with the remaining ½ of the curry sauce
   • finish with the remaining ½ of the rice
   • pour the lemon juice evenly over the top of the dish
   • also pour the milk and saffron evenly over the top of the dish
   • scatter the reserved fried onion evenly over the top of the dish
   • cut the butter into small pieces and spread out evenly
3. Cook, covered, in a preheated oven for 45 – 60 minutes or until piping hot throughout. If your lid is not close fitting, also cover with a double layer of foil.
4. To serve – sprinkle with plenty of chopped, fresh coriander. We like it served with some simply steamed green vegetables or a salad of tomatoes and cucumber with lemon juice and some natural, plain yoghurt on the side and lemon wedges.

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Made this recipe?

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