Ingredients

To marinate the chicken:

• 800g chicken breast cut into chunks or chicken with bones cut into inch size pieces
• 1 cup or 250g natural yoghurt
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Juice of half lemon

To grind the masala:

• Handful bunch of fresh mint leaves
• Handful bunch of fresh coriander leaves
• 2 red onions chopped (preferably red onions if not normal white onions will do)
• 10 fresh green chillies (can be reduced)
• 1/2 cup of water

To cook:

• 600g of basmati rice (approximately 4 cups)
• 5 cups of water (hot boiled from the kettle)
• 7 to 8 tbsp ghee or sunflower oil
• Salt to taste
• Hard-boiled egg to serve (optional)
• 2 star anise cloves
• 1 whole nutmeg
• 2 cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp saunf
• 10 to 12 whole peppercorns
• 7 to 8 cloves
• 5 to 6 bay leaves
• 2-inch cinnamon sticks

To serve:

• Hard-boiled eggs (optional)
• Raita (recipe below)
• Fresh slices of cucumber
• Slices of onion (optional)

For raita :

• 1 fresh cucumber cut into small pieces
• 1 medium-size red onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander finely chopped
• 1 tub or 500g natural yoghurt
• Salt to taste

Tools

• Multipro Excel Food Processor

Method

For the Raita:

1. Mix everything together and set aside or refrigerate until use. Method

For the biryani :

1. Marinate the chicken using the spices under marination and set aside for at least 30 mins or overnight.
2. Wash the rice at least twice and keep it soaked in a bowl of water until use
3. Add ingredients under - To grind masala into your Kenwood Blender jar add just 1/2 cup of
   water and blend until smooth. Set aside. The masala should be a thick paste, don’t make it
   too watery.
4. In a heavy bottom deep pot, heat the ghee or oil, add all spices, and fry on medium heat for about 1 to 2 minutes until it turns aromatic but not burnt.
5. Add the ground masala paste into the pot, get all the masala from the blender, you can
   add a splash of water to get it all out. Mix and let it simmer on medium-low heat until the
   water evaporates and oil separates. This process should take about 4 to 5 minutes.
6. Add the marinated chicken and mix well. Stir everything well combined. Let it simmer for
   about 6 to 8 mins on medium-high heat.
7. Now drain all the water from the rice and add it to the pot. Stir well, mix everything
   together. Add the hot water, add salt to taste and cover and let it cook on low heat until the
   rice is done. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure the rice and chicken is well cooked.
8. Serve warm with raita, fresh cucumber and a hard-boiled egg. Enjoy

Chef's Notes:

1. Note - You can adjust the green chillies as per your tolerance of heat