Chicken and Veggies Biryani

Ever wondered what is it about biryani that we love so much? It is one the most liked and popular dish in Pakistan, no matter what age group you belong to..no matter what region you come from… as long as you are a pakistani….you are bound to love biryani. There are so many types and variation of biryani e.g sindhi biryani, bomby biryani, hyderabadi biryani, fish biryani, kachi biryani….. so the recipe I am going to share is a mixture of veggies and meat, the flavor of this biryani completely differs from the other biryani recipes I have posted in past.

Ingredients: 

500gm Bone less chicken (cut in strips or use mutton or Beef undercut, boiled and shredded)

750 gm rice (soaked for 30 minutes)

 1 large capsicum (cut in strips)

1 large onion (thinly sliced)

2 tomatoes (thinly sliced)

5-6 green chilli (sliced in half)

1 carrot (thinly sliced in strips)

1 tbsp ginger garlic

2 ½ tsp red chilli powder

 Salt to taste (I used 1 & ½ tsp)

½ tsp Turmeric powder

2 tsp cumin seeds (dry roasted and coarsely ground)

½ tsp garam masala powder

½ tsp coriander powder

1 cup yogurt

Half bunch Coriander

Mint 20-25 leaves

1 tbsp Kewra water

Zarda color 1 pinch (mixed in kewra water)

Method:

1) Take a large pan and bring the water to boil, add in 3-4 tsp of salt, along with one cinnamon stick, 3-4 cloves, 2-3 green cardamoms, and a tsp of cumin seeds.  Once the water starts to boil add in the rice and cook till rice are half done, drain and set aside.

2) Heat oil in a pan add in 1 tsp of black cumin seed  along with onions, and fry till it get translucent, then add in the ginger garlic paste, fry it for 2 minutes.

3) Add in the chilli powder, haldi powder, cumin seeds, salt, and a bit of water (1/3 cup), now fry the masala nicely.

4) Next add in the chicken pieces, fry for a few minutes and add in the yogurt and let it cook till the water from yogurt almost evaopartes, we don’t want all the water to dry.

5) Now add in the carrots along with garam masala powder and coriander powder, fry for couples of minutes, add in the sliced capsicum, sliced green chilies and tomatoes, cook for 2 more minutes and turn off the flame,  we want the vegies to stay crunchy.

6) Take another large pan, pour about 2 tbsp of oil and then make a layer of half of the boiled rice, next make a layer of the cooked chicken and veggies,  along with chopped coriander and mint leaves and top it with remaining boiled rice. Swirl over the kewra water and zarda color.

7) Transfer the pan to a hot tava (flat pan) to prevent the biryani from sticking to the bottom. Cook on high flame for 5 minutes, then let it cook on very low heat for 20-30 minutes.

 8) To serve, gently stir the rice and dish out in to serving dish, along with some salad, and raita.