Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

During my college days we used to be excited during the auspicious day of Eid, as one of my Best friend would invite us over for Biryani and famous Sheer Korma. We used to eagerly wait for that day to have the most delicious Biryani made by  her mother. I have tasted many variations of Biryani after that but nothing compared to even got close to what Aunty made. My recipe is not the same but a different version which I found online after browsing through multiple recipes. 

Before we have a look at the recipe, a little bit of history behind this rich, extremely delicious and loved by all dish is a must. A lovely trivia that I came across while looking for this dish history is that, thousand years ago people in Central Asia added meat to the rice thus calling it "Pulao", and a precursor to the modern day "Biryani". As per the sources, the modern day Biryani originated in Persia and was brought to India by Mughals. Contradictory to this, a theory claims that the dish was known to India before the first Mughal emperor Babur came to India. So there are still contradictory researches as to when and who introduced Biryani in India. The only thing that can be said without a doubt is that Biryani in the Indian subcontinent is made in a  large metal dish with a narrow mouth called a "Degh".
All said and done at the end we all bless that soul who introduced this lovely dish filled with spices and meat to India.

Let's have a look at the recipe:

Ingredients for Marination:
1 Whole Chicken (Cleaned well medium pieces)
2 large Fried Onions
1 tbsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsp Red chili powder
3 tbsp Biryani Masala
2 tbsp Thick Curd

2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste

1 cup Chopped Coriander

1/2 cup of chopped Mint Leaves

Salt

Ingredients for Rice
3 Cups Basmati Rice
2 Bay Leaf
4-5 Pepper Corns
4-5 Clove
1 inch Cinnamon stick (2 each)
2 tbsp Ghee
Salt
Saffron Water (Garnishing)

Fried Onions

Coriander and Mint Leaves for Garnishing

Method:
Before you start the whole process of biryani, take 2 teaspoon of warm water in a small container and add few strands of saffron to it. This colored water will be used for adding color to the process.

Marination:
Clean, wash and pat dry the chicken in a container. Marinate the chicken 

Meanwhile take a pot and add 6 cups of water and let it come to a boil.

Once the water is hot enough add salt, 1 bay leaf, 4 peppercorns, 4 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick and1 tbsp Ghee to the pot. Mix well
Wash and clean rice simultaneously and strain the water with the help of a strainer.
Once the water boils completely add rice to it, mix it and cover. 

Make sure the rice cooks 80%. We don't need fully cooked rice as the rice will cook later too when added with meat.
Strain out all the water and spread it in a big plate or bowl.
Now in the metal pot or any available big pot add 2 tbsp of ghee/butter and let it heat on medium flame.
While selecting the pot, keep in mind we are going to layer the biryani in the same utensil.
Once the ghee warms up, add marinated chicken at the bottom of the pot by spreading it evenly.
Add all the rice over the chicken and making sure all areas are covered.

Garnish it with coriander, saffron water, fried onion and butter/ghee and mint leaves. 
Cover the pot with Aluminium foil and cover the pot with the lid.

Let it cook on low flame for 20 mins.

Remove the lid after turning off the flame. With the help of spatula now try mixing the biryani carefully.

Serve hot with Raita.