Pressure Chicken Biryani

Now days, Biryani is commonly cooked in most parts of India. And each state has its own version be it meat or vegetarian. The traditional Biryani hails from Awadh, and is cooked using the famous “Dum” technique which requires the dish to be cooked on a slow flame in a sealed container. The end product is fabulous but is a laborious process!

I started cooking Biryani when I was studying in UK and used to crave for good Indian food, which in the Midlands was only a dream. It was then I was introduced to Biryani masala’s made by Shaan which were commonly available in Indian stores. With a bit of practice, reading some recipes and a bit of hit and trial, I managed to understand the proportions and produce a decent tasting meal.

 It’s amazing how many version of Biryani are cooked across India. A few years ago, I came across a lovely book on Biryani’s written by an ex-IAS officer Pratibha Karan. This is a must read for anyone who is fond of Biryani and is keen to explore various versions of it served across India. She covers about a 100 in this one!

My household is full of biryani fans and that’s something we manage cooking very often. Since this task is usually entrusted with me, I thought of making it a little easier and shorter by not marinating the meat and relying on my good old pressure cooker to add the “Dum”. Additionally, I chose to add a combination of Chicken pieces and mince, as it just gives a great flavour and you don’t go hunting for that piece in every bite. So here goes my version of a shortcut chicken biryani.

Ingredients

250g Chicken Breasts cut into small pieces

150g Minced Chicken
350g Basmati Rice

Khara Masala

2 green cardamoms
3 black cardamoms
10 pieces of cloves
3 inch stick of cinnamon
5-6 Black Pepper Corns
1 Bay Leaf

4 large onions finely sliced

5-6 tbsp vegetable cooking oil (you could replace this with ghee as well if you prefer)
2 tbsp ghee
1½ tsp garam masala
1 ½ tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsp garlic paste
¾ cup yoghurt
2 tbsp dhania/coriander powder
½ tsp pudina/mint powder
2 tsp deghi lal mirch / red chilli powder
A hand full of chopped fresh coriander
Salt to taste (I used about 3 tsp in this recipe)


Method

 

·         In a large pressure cooker (I used the 5 ltr one), pour 5-6 tbsp of vegetable oil and heat it. Add the khara masala and let it crackle. Add the sliced onions and sauté it till it turns light to dark brown. Do this on a low flame to ensure you don’t burn the onions.

 

 

·         Add the ginger and garlic to the onions and sauté for 1 minute

·         Add chicken to the pressure cooker and the ghee and cook for 5 minutes. Add the yoghurt ,dhania powder, garam masala and red chilli powder and mix. Further, continue to stir and toss the chicken till the gravy starts changing colour -turning brown and has reduced to half (this could be another 15-20 min).

 

 

·         Once the chicken has cooked, add the washed rice to the chicken and stir well. Add enough water to just about cover the rice and chicken mixture (this would be about 450-500 ml). Add pudina powder and fresh coriander and bring the mixture to a boil. It’s tricky getting the water right, but trust me this should work!

 

 

·         Cover the pressure cooker and cook on a medium flame till you hear 4 whistles. Immediately shut the fire but do not open the pressure cooker till all the steam has naturally escaped. Note, the rice continues to cook even when the fire is off with the steam in the pressure cooker.  

 

·         Accompaniment : Garlic Yoghurt - To 1 cup of yoghurt add 2 big cloves of finely minced garlic, ½ tsp black salt, ½ tsp    cumin powder and whisk.

Serve with garlic yoghurt and onion rings.