Sindhi Biryani
Ingredients
Chicken Marination
- Chickens 2 (biryani cut) I used two upon my hubby’s request. You can use just one)
- Yogurt 1/2 cup
- Ginger paste 1 tablespoon
- Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
- Red chilli powder 2 teaspoons
- Turmeric powder 1 teaspoon
- Salt 2 teaspoons
Rice
- Long grain basmati Rice 4 cups
- Black Peppercorns 10-12
- Cinnamon 1 big (or 2-3 medium sticks)
- Star anise 2
- Cloves 5-6
- Bay Leaf 2-3
- Green Cardamom 4
- Black Cardamom 2
Gravy
- Oil 1/2 cup
- Onions, sliced 4 very big size (or 6 medium sized)
- Tomatoes, 4 medium sized finely chopped
- Potatoes, 4-5 peeled and cut into chunks
- Dried prunes, 10, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes
- Green chilies, 4, chopped
- Yogurt, 1 cup
- Garlic paste 2 teaspoons
- Ginger paste 2 teaspoons
- Salt, 1 teaspoon (or more to taste)
- Red chili powder 1 tablespoon (or more to taste)
- Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon
- Cloves (loang) 10
- Green cardamoms (hari ilaichi) 4
- Black cardamoms (kali ilaichi) 4
- Whole black peppercorns 20
- Cumin seeds 2 teaspoons
- Cinnamon sticks (daar cheeni) 3-4
- Bay leaves (tez paat) 2-3 big
- Star Anise (baadyaan ka phool) 3
- Saffron, 1 teaspoon, crushed and soaked in warm water
- Oil for frying potatoes
Ingredients for Layers
- Lemons 2-3, sliced
- Prunes 8-10 (aloo Bukhara), soaked in water if they are too dry, mine were not that dry therefore I did not soak them.
- Mint chopped
- Coriander chopped
- Green chili thickly sliced
- Ginger julienne cut
- Tamarind pulp (imli soaked in water)
- Yellow food color mixed in water
Instructions
- Take 2 chickens (biryani cut). Thoroughly clean and wash.
- In a bowl, add yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, chili powder and turmeric powder.
- Mix and marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients for at least 2 hours or preferably refrigerate overnight. This helps tenderize the meat and builds flavour.
- Deep fry the potato chunks on low heat until they are fully cooked. Drain and set aside.
- Wash and then soak the rice for about 20-30 minutes. Boil them with black Peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, bay leaf, green cardamom and black Cardamoms. Do not cook it all the way. It should be about 80-90% cooked. Drain the water off.
- While the rice is cooking, heat the half cup of oil in a deep pan and then fry the onion slices until golden.
- Remove a quarter of the fried onions (these will be used later) and leave the rest in the pan.
- Add the whole spices (cumin, black and green cardamom, black peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon and star anise) to the pan containing onions.
- Sauté for 1 minute and add garlic paste and ginger paste and cook for a minute until aromatic. Next, add tomatoes, prunes, turmeric, salt and red chilli powder.
- Cover and cook until the tomatoes are completely mushy, all the excess moisture is gone and the oil begins to release from the sides.
- Add chicken along with its marinade and green chilies.
- Allow the meat to cook in the tomato mixture for a few minutes until the chicken just changes colour, then add the whipped yoghurt plus the saffron mixture and mix well.
- Cover and cook until fully done. You can add water if needed while cooking.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, turn off the flame, add fried potatoes and garam masala (1 teaspoon) and cover for a few minutes.
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add about 2 tbsp salt to it and 2 tbsp oil plus a few whole spices (two pieces each of cardamom, cinnamon sticks, cloves). Then drain the soaked rice and add it in. Cook until the rice is 90% done.
- Now lets start layering, put half of the rice in a big skillet, add some lemon slices, mint, coriander, green chilies, prunes, ginger, imli pulp and yellow food color. Remember to sprinkle the reserved fried onions.
- Add meat on top. Repeat the process for the second layer.
- Cover with a tight lid and place on very low heat for about 10-15 minutes to steam. Once done, open and fluff up the biryani gently.
- Serve with a salad and some cool mint and cucumber raita.
- Enjoy!