Chicken biryani

Chicken Biryani




Ingredients:

1kg Chicken (cut into portions)
3 Onions (sliced thinly)
3 Tomatoes (chopped or blended)
2-3 Garlic cloves (pounded or ground to a paste)
Fresh Ginger root - amount similar to the garlic (grated or pounded to a paste)
Dried whole spices - 1 Cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon of Cardamoms, 3 Cloves, 1/2 teaspoon Black peppercorns  (brown slightly in a dry pan, then grind in a grinder or pound in a pestle and mortar until the spices can go through a sieve)
1 teaspoon of salt
Fresh Chilli Peppers (red or green, sliced, chopped, or left whole, according to taste.
2 -3 tablespoons of Yogurt or a little buttermilk
1/2 cup of chopped fresh Coriander leaves (use fresh parsley if coriander is not available)
2-3 cups of Basmati rice (soak in water while preparing the other ingredients)
Oil and butter / ghee for frying
A pinch of saffron soaked in a little boiling water or 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
Pine nuts or almonds fried until golden to garnish the finished dish

Instructions:

Fry the onion until well browned taking care not to burn.
Add the chopped coriander and fry a little longer.
Add the tomatoes continuing to cook a few more minutes.
Add the chicken, ground spices, garlic, ginger, chilli pepper, salt and cook for a few minutes before adding the yogurt
Let the mixture simmer for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour after adding the chicken.
When the chicken is almost cooked start cooking the rice. When it is half cooked, strain in a sieve and tip onto the chicken sauce, cover and continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes on a low heat to complete the cooking of the rice.
Pour the saffron over the rice so that some of the rice becomes stained yellow ( if you don't have saffron you can add turmeric with the other spices)
Stir to combine the rice with the chiken mixture and turn into a serving dish, sprinkle with the nuts and serve!