Kerala Chicken Biriyani

Biriyani is very popular all over the world.The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) which means "fried" or "roasted". It is a very delicious dish usually prepared for special occasions such as weddings, parties and holidays. Very time consuming but definitely worth cooking. 


Preparation of Rice 
Basmati rice - 4 cups
Water - 7 cups
Cardamom pods - 4
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon sticks - 2 pieces
Bay leaves - 2
Butter or Vegetable shortening - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 Tbsp

For Masala
Chicken - 1 Whole chicken cut in to big pieces
Onion - 3 - 4 medium chopped
Ginger - 1 small piece
Garlic - 1/2 tbsp
Tomatoes - 2- 3 medium
Green Chillies - 5 - 6
Yogurt - 1/4 cupCoriander/ Cilantro leaves - A bunch
Mint leaves  - a bunch
Garam Masala- 1 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste

For garnish
Cashews - 10 - 15
Raisins - 1 pack (small)
2 medium onions sliced thin and fried
Biriyani essence - 1 or 2 drops
Pineapple - 1/4cup chopped
Tomatoes - 1/4cup chopped

How to prepare Rice
Wash rice 2 - 3 times and keep it on a colander to drain off the excess water. Add butter or Vegetable shortening in a large vessel. Add the spices and then the rice. Saute for 5 minutes. Add boiling water to the rice. Sprinkle salt and let it boil for sometime. Keep it on medium flame for another 10 minutes. As soon as the rice is cooked, remove it to another vessel. Add chopped cilantro and close it with a lid. If you follow the instructions correctly, you should get good textured rice that doesn’t stick to each other.


How to prepare Chicken
Wash chicken well and keep it in a colander to drain off the excess water. Put Onion, chilli, ginger and garlic in a mixer and grind it.  Heat oil in a pressure cooker. When it is medium hot, throw in the onion mixture and saute for a while. Add the chicken to it along with the spices. Add the chopped herbs and tomatoes. Pressure cook it for one whistle. Keep it aside.If there is lot of liquid, remove the chicken pieces and boil the gravy until it becomes thick.

How to layer biriyani
Add half of the chicken masala to a big vessel. Pour rice on top of it. Add the rest half of the masala and complete the layering by adding the remaining rice. Sprinkle with cashews, raisins, pineapple and tomatoes.Cover the entire vessel with foil or tissue paper and close the lid tightly.This is to infuse the flavor of the biryani masala into the rice and the process is called "Dum". After some time, you can see steam coming from the top Garnish with fried onions and boiled eggs.


The secret ingredient is lemon juice. The key to make a good biryani lies in the way how you cook the rice. Adding the juice of a lemon to the boling water will prevent the rice from sticking.