Mint Chicken Biriyani By Soma Chaudhuri
Soma Chaudhuri
Associate Professor,
Michigan State University Department of Sociology
Soma has been supportive since the inception of BitebyByte. As a friend in need, Soma has always believed in me and BitebyByte.
Ingredients —
- Rice: 5 cups of basmati or any long grain rice.
- One tray of chicken: thighs and breast meat (skinless)
- Potatoes: small red potatoes, peeled and cut into halves
- Onion: 4 medium red onions, sliced
- Garlic: one whole (14 cloves), peeled and grated
- Ginger: 4 table spoons of grated ginger
- Cumin: whole 2 table spoons
- Ground cumin: half a cup
- Bay leaf: 2
- Cilantro: one bunch
- Mint: one bunch
- Parsley: half a bunch
- Pepper: 3 spoons
- Salt
- Yogurt: non-fat one cup
- Oil: Canola
- Butter: 2 table spoons
- Few drops of rose water: optional
Method:
- Wash and clean the chicken. Cut them into 3 inch thick pieces.
- Beat the yogurt, and keep aside. Put it in a food processor with cilantro, parsley and half a bunch of mint leaves. Blend it together.
- Heat the canola oil (4 table spoons or according to your preference) on a cooking pot, and add cumin seeds, onion, ginger and garlic along with 2 bay leaves.
- Sauté the onions till it starts to sweat. Add the chicken, along with ground cumin, salt and pepper.
- After a few minutes add the yogurt paste. Add half a cup of water if necessary. Cover and cook for at least 2 hours, or till all the liquid gets cooked into the meat. The meat should not be dry. It should be juicy and falling off the bones.
- Cover fry the potatoes till tender with canola oil. Add them to the meat in the last 15 minutes of the meat being cooked.
- Cook the rice according to directions and add salt and butter.
- Mix the rice, meat and potatoes with lots of chopped mint and a few drops of rose water.
- Serve with mint raita (yogurt beaten with chopped mint) and fresh salad.