Biryani is sheer delight to non-vegetarians, known for its brilliant taste and amazing flavour, across the sub-continent. It has its rich tradition, originated somewhere in middle-east, traveled miles, loved by millions and reached far end of the globe. They say that preparing Biryani is a meticulous job, which needs an eye of an expert, precision of a chemist and experience of decades. Without having any of these virtues at their minimal, I give here a simple recipe of Chicken Kachchi Biryani, which can be prepared at your own kitchen, still bearing the good old flavour of traditional dum Biryani. The word “kachchi” implies “raw“. In this recipe raw chicken is cooked along with the rice. That’s why the dish got the name Chicken Kachchi Biryani. There is another recipe of biryani, Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani in which Chicken is precooked. If you are a mutton lover then go for Mutton Biryani.
Ingredients to serve 4 :
- Chicken (cut into 5 or 6 large pieces) – 600 gm.
- Basmati rice (good quality) – 1½ cups
- Potato (Â large) – 2
- Grated ginger & garlic – 1½ tbspoon
- Homemade Biryani masala – 1 tbspoon
- Chili powder – 1 teaspoon
- White pepper powder (samorich) – ½ teaspoon
- Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Milk powder – 1 tbspoon
- Cinnamon stick – 1½ inch
- Green cardamom – 4
- Caraway seed (sajeera) – ½ teaspoon
- Bay leaf – 2
- Plain yogurt – ½ cup
- Beresta (fried brown onion) – ½ cup
- Ghee – 3 tbspoon
- Cooking oil – 2 tbspoon
- Kewra water – 1 tbspoon
- Rose water – 1 teaspoon
- Saffron – 3 to 4 strands
- Milk – 1 tbspoon
- Yellow food colour (optional)
- Salt to taste
- Wheat flour –Â 1 cup
Procedure :
Chicken marination :
- At first soak grated ginger & garlic in ¼ cup of water for 10 mins. and then extract the juice
- Now marinate the chicken with salt, ginger – garlic juice, biryani masala, chili powder, white pepper powder, yogurt, milk powder, ½ tbspoon kewra water, ½ teaspoon rose water and cooking oil for minimum 2 hours. (For best result marinate the chicken overnight).
Preparing rice & other ingredients :
- Wash and soak the rice in cold water for 20-30 minutes.
- Soak the saffron strands in 1 tbspoon of warm milk.
- Make a soft dough with wheat flour and water.
- Peel the potatoes and cut into halves. Fry potato halves with salt and turmeric powder till half done. Keep them aside.
- Now put cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms, caraway seeds and bay leaves together in a clean cloth and tie it up well like a small bag.
- Then fill a large pan with sufficient water and place over medium-high flame.
- Add 3 tspoon salt and immerse the spice bag into the water.
- As the water starts boiling add rice and cook till 50% (take one grain of rice and press from the middle; if it breaks then it is cooked half). Then put the gas off. Do not drain the rice.
Assembling Rice & Chicken :
- While rice is getting prepared grease a heavy bottomed pan or preferably a Handi with 1 tbspoon of ghee. The biryani will be cooked in this vessel.
- Then spread the marinated chicken in the pan/handi. Pour ½ cup of warm water over it and sprinkle half of the beresta on the top.
- Now using a perforated ladle (chanta) start taking half cooked rice direct from the pan and spread over the Chicken. Use half of the rice to make the 1st layer.
- After that make the 2nd layer with remaining beresta, potatoes, half of the saffron milk, 1 tbspoon of ghee, few drops of kewra water and rose water.
- Then spread the remaining rice to make the top layer.
- Spread remaining kewra water, ghee, saffron milk and pinch of food colour over the top.
- Put the lid of the pot and seal with wheat flour dough to make it air tight.
- Now put a tawa on medium flame and keep the sealed pot over it. Cook for 10 minutes and then put the flame on low.
- Cook for another 30 minutes. The rich smell, a perfect blend of meat and rice with spices, coming out of the container will let you know that your Biryani is all cooked and ready to serve.
Note :
- You can also add boiled egg to your biryani if you like. Place them with the potatoes between the layer of two rices.
Anindita Chakraborty Mukhopadhyay
Very nice…….U r doing a wonderful job….I’ll definitely try your recipes. Keep it up……….
Jayeeta
Thank you very much Anindita di……..please try the recipe and let me know how well does it work……….
MyKabulKitchen
Dear Jayeeta,
Thank you for such a thorough Biryani recipe, I actually never have had it with potatoes this looks delicious. As I said I have never made Biryani, but I see it has a similar cooking method to Afghan rice, since you first cook the rice separately and then finish the cooking with the chicken. I would suggest that you:
1) Cook the marinated chicken, fry it with browned onions. Save the broth (this should be used to flavor the rice).
2) Use the saved chicken broth to add to the rice later.
3) Cook your rice with the spice bag until al-dente and then drain.
4) In a pot place your cooked chicken, half cooked potatoes, and add the al-dente rice. If you feel the rice needs more seasoning (because you cooked it with the spice bag for a shorter period of time) then mix some spices with the chicken broth. For every 2 cups of rice I would do about 1 cup of the chicken broth, just gently mix the chicken broth/spices with the rice (this is just to flavor the rice).
5) At the end gently make holes in the rice with the back of your ladle (careful not to crush the potatoes), just to check the liquid content. There should be barely any liquid, and then add a few tablespoons of the broth in the holes. Then cover and cook on high for about 10-15 minutes until steaming and on low for about 25 minutes.
***This is how I believe you will get perfect individual grains of fluffy rice. However when I have had Biryani it is a bit of a “smushy” rice which I believe is how rice is made in Pakistan (I have had Biryani made by only Pakistani friends, so I am not familiar how it is other places). I personal like my biryani softer so I think your recipe is probably the correct methodology. Maybe just add enough liquid to just barely cover the rice, and then let the rice cook and absorb all the liquid, just check the rice periodically and add liquid only if rice needs to be cooked longer. This will result in a more fluffy rice. Sometimes I feel people put too much liquid in the rice at the very beginning, and that results in rice that loses its texture and becomes too sticky.
**I hope you are not offended by my instructions, I just wanted to adequately respond to the questions you posted on my blog, I know you are a very accomplished cook so I hope this is of some assistance to you!!
Thank you once again for visiting, I will be trying this recipe as now it has caught my attention.
Take care 🙂
Jayeeta
Thanks a lot for such an elaborate reply. How could I be offended ?????
Biryani can be prepared in different ways. As you suggested to cook the meat first, it is also one of those methods of preparing biryani. In many places this technique is used and the outcome is really good and you described it exactly the way they do.
Actually I prefer this “dam” method as it requires less effort and time. But next time I will keep in mind your words, I will make holes between the rice and check the water level.
I never had Pakistani Biryani, but in India the biryani rice should not be sticky and soft, every grain should be identified. 🙂
Not only potato you can also add hard boiled eggs to your biryani. 🙂
I hope time, experience and the suggestions from friends like you will help me to make it perfect. 🙂
At the end I want to know your name. I didn’t find it in your blog.
Vegetable Dam Biryani | Cooking Delight
[…] back I have shared with you Chicken biryani recipes (Kolkata Style Chicken Biryani, Chicken Kachchi Biryani) which was much liked and adored. However, biryani should not necessarily be made with the meat per […]