Recipe: Kerala Chicken Biryani

Thalaserry Biryani or Malabar Biryani is one of the most loved dish from the tradational Kerela cuisine. It is a dum biryani style recipe made by layering the spicy, aromatic and soft chicken pieces with white and fluffy rice, fried onions, select nuts and ghee in a huge pot. It is a heaven for non-vegetarians.

Cookd

For chicken masala

1. Grind the shallots and green chilli into a fine paste.

2. Heat oil and ghee in a pan. add the onion and saute until translucent.

3. Add the ginger-garlic paste, shallot green chilli paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt.

4. Cook until the oil starts getting released from the sides, around 10 minutes.

5. Add the mint leaves, coriander leaves and curd. mix well.

6. Add the chicken pieces and stir. cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.

7. Add the sliced tomatoes and biryani masala. cover and cook for 10 more minutes. take off the heat.

For the rice

1. Wash and soak the rice in water for 15 minutes.

2. Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan. add all the whole spices except bay leaf and saute until aromatic.

3. Add the water and bring it to a boil. season with salt, sugar and add the bay leaf. add the soaked rice and cook until the rice almost reaches the level of the water.

4. Cover tightly and cook for 10 minutes.

Layering the biryani:

1. Spread the chicken in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed vessel. add half of the fried onion and coriander leaves.

2. Add the rice on top. top with fried onion, cashews and raisins, coriander leaves and ghee. cover tightly with aluminium foil and a lid.

3. Heat a tawa and place the vessel on top. cook on a low flame for 10 minutes.

Notes

Stir the biryani gently from the sides after opening to prevent any rice from breaking.