Chicken Biryani (Using a Rice Cooker) – Fuss Free Cooking

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Biryani

is no ordinary one-pot rice dish. It is rich in spices along with beautiful fresh herbs, roasted nuts and raisins, which makes this a food fit for kings, literally. It is believed that this was created in the kitchens of the Mughal emperors. Today, this popular Indian subcontinental dish is a party favorite.

I’ve seen how my housemate’s mother did it in the kitchen a few years ago. It was laborious. He boiled the rice in a large pot until al dente (still biting him) and in a separate pot, he made the sauce (with chicken) and then placed the rice and sauce in a pot (like lasagna). The rice-sauce mixture was put back on the stove, covered with a lid, and cooked over very low heat until the sauce was infused well into the rice. This is certainly a great production. But at the same time, it is worth all the effort to create this tasty rice dish! 😉

The part he feared from the whole process was boiling the rice and then draining it. I don’t like to drain things, i.e. the possible splash of hot water, the heaviness that strained my weak wrists, etc. Tsk tsk, I am a drama queen! With my little melodrama aside, I worked on a solution which was to cook the rice with my reliable rice cooker. When it comes to using a rice cooker, it’s all about getting the right ratio of rice to water.

{This is the brand I used and was recommended by my friend’s mother. I’ve managed to buy it online here.)

Chicken biryani

(the

recipe is based on the Shan Bombay Biryani spice mixture with some modifications

)

What you will need for 6 – 8 servings

: – Rice: – 4 cups

• raw basmati rice, rinsed and drained 5 cups

water (to cook rice) 1

• tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (to cook rice)
• Equipment: rice

cooker

The sauce

:-

• 1.5 tablespoons cooking oil (I used canola oil

) 300g (11 ounces) medium brown onions (about 4

• medium onions), peeled and thinly sliced

1 kg (35 ounces)

• chicken breasts and/or thigh fillets, cut into 2 cm (one inch) cubes
• 4 fresh tomatoes (about 300 g / 11 ounces), approximately diced
• 32.5g (1 ounce) Biryani Spice Mix (see Note

2) 1 tablespoon garlic paste (25g / 0.88 ounces) – I used the store-bought version of Cabbages

• 3 tablespoons ginger paste / 2 inches per piece/25g – I used the store-bought version of Coles

1 cup

• plain yogurt 1 cup
• water

Garnish:

– A handful of mint leaves, finely chopped A handful

of coriander leaves,
• finely chopped A handful

of

• raisins (I substituted them with dried cranberries)

– optional

• 5 to 6 tablespoons almond flakes, toast – optional

Note: Prepare for an additional 2 hours to allow the sauce to infuse the rice into the rice cooker.

Note 2 – I used half a packet of the spice mixture even though the recipe on the package recommended a complete package that turned out to be extremely hot. I have tried it with half a package which turned out to be hot too but bearable. So if you have a low tolerance, I would recommend one tablespoon to two tablespoons at most.

Method:- Start

by rinsing the rice with water until the water becomes clear. Then in the rice cooker add 5 cups of water, turmeric powder and a teaspoon of salt. Turn on the rice cooker and let the rice cook. Meanwhile, start preparing the ingredients, that is, cut the onions, cut the tomatoes and chicken into cubes. In a large skillet, sauté the sliced onions until golden brown, which will take about 4 to 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Depending on how long it takes you to prepare the ingredients, around this time my rice was cooked. I used a large fork (the ones you would use to serve salad) to fluff the rice and make sure it’s fluffy. Set aside the rice while you continue cooking the sauce. Then add the diced tomatoes and mix with the onions. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until the tomatoes are somewhat dissolved and become salty. Add ginger, garlic paste, yogurt, biryani spice mix and chicken. Fry the mixture for 10 minutes or the chicken about 80% cooked. Add 1 cup of water and let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes or until the oil separates from the sauce. Try curry if additional salt is required. The spice mixture I used contained salt and therefore needed no more salt.

While you wait for the sauce to cook, it will be a good time to chop the cilantro and mint, which some of it will be used in the stratification process (see below). Store enough for the final garnish over the rice, as well as some for the yogurt, which will be an ideal accompaniment to balance the spiciness of the rice.

Once the sauce and rice are ready, it’s time to layer them.

Transfer half of the rice to a large bowl (salad or mixing bowl). Then pour half of the sauce into the rice in the rice cooker and spread some chopped herbs. Then transfer the rice from the bowl to the rice cooker and pour the remaining sauce over the rice. Spread the chopped herbs again. Put on the lid and turn on the cooking settings and let the sauce infuse the rice for 1 to 2 hours (until the sauce absorbs well into the rice). Side note: My rice cooker has only two settings (i) cooking; and (ii) warm. So I started from the kitchen setup, which will take about 20 minutes until I jump to the warm setting. So I basically got out of the kitchen and took care of her after 2 hours.

To serve: Use the large fork to fluff the rice and transfer it to a large plate. Spread chopped herbs, almond flakes, and raisins (if you use them) and serve with herbal yogurt.

For the herbal yogurt, I added the chopped mint and cilantro, a small amount of finely chopped fresh onion and a little lemon juice. Cucumber diced would be a good addition to yogurt if you have something on hand.

enjoy!