Name: HOMEMADE CHICKEN BIRYANI WITH CUCUMBER & GREEN ONION RAITA
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: 8 pieces Mix of Chicken Thighs and Legs (cleaned, washed and skin on); 25 gms Biryani Masala (powder); 25 gms Ginger-Garlic (paste); 200 gms Low Fat Greek Yoghurt (beaten); 1/2 nos Lemon (juice); 1 tsp Chilli (powder); 1/4 tsp Turmeric (powder); 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds (freshly crushed); 4 nos Green Chillies (finely chopped); Few Fresh Coriander Leaves (finely chopped); Salt (to taste); Pepper (freshly crushed, to taste); 1 1/2 cup Basmati long-grained rice (cleaned, washed and soaked in water); 2 nos Bay leaves; 5 nos Cloves; 1 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick; Salt (to taste); Water (to boil the rice); 2 tbsp Pure Ghee; 12 nos Baby potatoes (cut into halves); 1 no. Red onion (sliced); Few Coriander leaves (finely chopped); 1 no. Tomato (cut into cubes); 1 tsp Turmeric powder; Salt (to taste); 2 nos Red onions (browned and caramelised in ghee); Handful Coriander leaves (finely chopped); 4 tbsp Warm Milk (with few strands of saffron soaked in it); 2 tbsp Pure ghee; 1 no. Cucumber (whole, cut into small cubes)

This homemade chicken biryani is a flavour-packed wholesome comforting meal. It is served with some freshly-made, cucumber & green onion raita, which is spiced and served cold, as a bonus, with the chicken biryani.

**HOMEMADE FLAVOURFUL AROMATIC CHICKEN BIRYANI SERVED WITH SOME SPICED FRESH COLD CUCUMBER & GREEN ONION RAITA**

Hey Hi folks, how’s it going? 💁🏻‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️

Some homemade chicken biryani is cooking in my kitchen today. What’s cooking in yours?

I know it’s been a few days without any blog post, SORRRRRRRRYYYYYY!!!! 🙈🙈🙈

It’s been crazy, the last couple of days…

Work, work and only work… 🙇🏽‍♀️

But no, I haven’t forgotten y’all, my lovely people… 💗

Anyway, I’ve got a mind-blowing recipe for you guys to try out… a little lengthy but so worth it..TRUST ME!!! 😍 And, with Easter coming soon-maybe it could be the perfect Easter Sunday meal for some of you… Do give it a try, though!!!

Homemade Chicken Biryani with Cucumber & Green Onion Raita ready to serve!

This Biryani is definitely ‘my-kinda’ Chicken Biryani. It contains juicy chicken, caramelised onions, and POTATOES!! 😍

I think and believe that you can make the perfect biryani only if you give the process time, let it cook at its own pace… DO NOT RUSH!!

STORY TIME

I have a little story to share about how I started loving Biryani so much…

Some years back, while I was still in India I used to HATE Biryani- the taste of it, the smell of it, just everything about it. I understand using the word hate is a strong emotion while describing a humble chicken biryani. But, i still strongly disliked it only because of the crispy caramelised onions which are generally served on top of it, and mint leaves added to it.

I was quite kiddish then…

I gradually started liking the taste of biryani when I began eating it at home on the festival of Eid and especially when our friends invited us over for lunch or dinner…Every Eid we had a feast at home, as my grandmother couldn’t go out (because she’s quite old). Food was normally sent for her and all of us at home, by our Muslim friends and neighbours. It was normally some mutton or chicken Biryani, with some chicken gravy dish and some Sheer Kurma!

Oh! I just love that, and our Muslim friends are such pros at cooking it all…💝

Also, while I was living in Mumbai, in the hostel, that whole experience played a major role is making me like and crave for Biryani…

Our hostel food wasn’t too bad, after all. We could survive living there by eating whatever was served… But, the days when chicken biryani with boondi raita or Fried rice with chicken Manchurian was served were some of the best days, like bonus days…😃 We all eagerly waited for those days!!!

Chicken Biryani served with Cucumber & Green Onion Raita

Besides that, I enjoyed going to Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai during Ramzan or sometimes with my uncle, aunt and cousins for Muslim weddings or Eid celebrations, etc. where they were invited. I always tagged along for the food mainly 😁 and of course their lovely company❤️…

Oh! How I miss them!! 🙁

So, then fast forward to two years back, when I moved to London…

Our friend Betney cooks amazing biryani-love it… Getting the recipe from him continues being such a task but probably one day he’ll surely share it with me, so that i can share it with you all… Hopefully soon- fingers crossed* Maybe he should be our next guest blogger, what do y’all think?

I hope y’all have tried his other recipe…

HARISSA CHICKEN

Lamb ribs in red wine

Last year, was quite hectic with a lot of overtime at work, wedding planning-prep and normal day-to-day chores at home. I just wouldn’t have enough time to cook and so we used to buy a lot of takeaways. My go-to one used to be the chicken biryani from Punjab Grill and also their Rasmalai…I highly recommend the food from this place if you live around Harrow.

However, we spent a lot on just takeaways last year, besides the fact that I tasted a variety of different cuisines like Afghani food, Pakistani food, Indian food- ofcourse, Chinese food, Mexican food, Nepali food, etc. just to name a few. There was once when I spent almost around £700 in just 2 and half months only on takeouts… Can y’all believe it? I’m not proud of what I did. It made me realise how lazy I was being. It motivated me to cook more at home. And, I’m loving it.

Comment down below and let me know if y’all have done something like that before…I would like to know.

Enough of the rambling. Now, let’s get into today’s recipe

THIS RECIPE HAS 5 MAJOR STEPS TO IT:

1.MARINATING THE CHICKEN

2. COOKING THE RICE

3.COOKING THE CHICKEN GRAVY

4. ASSEMBLING THE BIRYANI & GIVING IT A DUM

5. MAKING THE RAITA

Enjoy the recipe!

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HOMEMADE CHICKEN BIRYANI WITH CUCUMBER & GREEN ONION RAITA

Vania Cotta

A flavour-packed Chicken Biryani served with some cold cucumber & green onion raita. This is a type of wholesome meal which you can eat over and over again without getting bored of it. It is definitely one of those amazing decadent comfort meals.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Dum Time 10 mins

Total Time 1 hr 45 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

TO MARINATE THE CHICKEN

8 pieces Mix of Chicken Thighs and Legs cleaned, washed and skin on
25 gms Biryani Masala powder
25 gms Ginger-Garlic paste
200 gms Low Fat Greek Yoghurt beaten
1/2 nos Lemon juice
1 tsp Chilli powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds freshly crushed
4 nos Green Chillies finely chopped
Few Fresh Coriander Leaves finely chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper freshly crushed, to taste

FOR THE RICE

1 1/2 cup Basmati long-grained rice cleaned, washed and soaked in water
2 nos Bay leaves
5 nos Cloves
1 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
Salt to taste
Water to boil the rice

FOR COOKING CHICKEN GRAVY

2 tbsp Pure Ghee
12 nos Baby potatoes cut into halves
1 no. Red onion sliced
Few Coriander leaves finely chopped
1 no. Tomato cut into cubes
1 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

EXTRAS FOR DUM

2 nos Red onions browned and caramelised in ghee
Handful Coriander leaves finely chopped
4 tbsp Warm Milk with few strands of saffron soaked in it
2 tbsp Pure ghee

FOR RAITA

1 no. Cucumber whole, cut into small cubes
1 no. Jumbo Salad Spring Onion finely chopped
1 tsp Cumin seeds dry roasted, freshly crushed
300 gms Low fat Greek Yoghurt beated
Few Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Pepper freshly crushed, to taste
2 nos Green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp Sugar

Instructions

MARINATE THE CHICKEN

Wash the chicken pieces well and apply enough salt.
Mix all the remaining ingredients together with the beaten yoghurt and marinate the chicken for at least 2-3 hours.

COOKING THE RICE

Bring enough water to a boil and add salt to the boiling water.
Add all the whole spices and the rice and give it a stir with a flat spatula.
Boil the rice for around 6-8 mins until partially cooked.
Strain the rice out and spread it well on a flat plate to cool down a bit, so that it doesn’t overcook.
Set aside.

COOKING THE CHICKEN GRAVY

Heat some ghee in a pot and fry in some sliced red onions. Let them caramelise partially.
Next throw in the tomato and fry until slightly mushy.
Add the salt and turmeric powder. Fry for another minute or two.
Now add the potatoes and fry them for another two mins on a medium flame.
Add the marinated chicken and half a cup of water and let it cook until the chicken is tender and cooked.
Let the gravy thicken a little.
Add the coriander leaves and boil further for another two mins.

FOR THE DUM

To a large pot, add some ghee to the bottom of the pot and spread it well.
Begin with adding the chicken gravy and some pieces of chicken at the bottom.
Next add in a layer of rice.
After that add a portion of the caramelised onions and some coriander leaves.
Continue from step one by adding the chicken and repeating the whole process.
Top it with rice.
Lastly, add the ghee and saffron milk together with some caramelised onions and some coriander leaves.
Cover it well with a lid and lock the top with a moist kitchen towel or with some dough so that the flavours are locked in and a steam is created.
Let it sit on a low flame for 10 mins.

CUCUMBER & GREEN ONION RAITA

Mix all the ingredients together and serve cold.
Adjust the spice or sweetness as per preference.

Notes

Soak the rice in hot water for 10 mins before cooking, if forgotten to soak earlier. OR soak in normal water for atleast 30mins. Soaking the rice prior to cooking it makes the cooking process move forward quicker and also helps in achieving long grained rice.
The trick to making a nice fluffy long grained rice biryani is do not press the rice when assembling it before the dum. Use a flat spatula to move the rice or a flat small plate.. Just lightly throw it in.
Try using an earthen pot if you’ve got one for the dum. It just enhances the flavour and gives it that authentic earthy flavour.
Serve the biryani hot but the raita cold.
Add mint leaves, if preferably, to the dum assembling.
Serve it with boiled eggs too, just for that extra wow factor and to make the meal more comforting.
Serve the biryani slowly without breaking the grain and also with a flat spatula.
Enjoy it with some chilled Coca-Cola.