Kerala Chicken Biriyani

KERALA CHICKEN BIRIYANI

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken
• 4 cups of basmati rice
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• salt
• 10 big onions thinly sliced
• 10 cashew nuts
• dried grapes / raisins
• ghee
• 1 tbsp Garlic
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 3 green chillies
• pepper corns
• pepper powder
• inch cinnamon
• cardamom
• jeera / cumin powder
• 2 big tomatoes
• 1 tsp coriander
• water
• biriyani powder if available
• cloves
• nutmeg mace

Marinating:

First marinate the chicken pieces with chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and keep it for 2-3 hours.  

Fries:

In a fry pan fry 5 big thinly sliced onions until brown. After the onions are fried, fry enough amount of cashew and dried grapes and keep these aside. 

In the same oil, just half fry the marinated chicken and also keep it aside

Curry : 

1. Saute 5 big onions (you can use the same oil used to fry the chicken)
2. Using a grinder, make a paste of garlic, ginger, green chilli and the mixture of spices like pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin and add it to the sauted onions. 
3. Add two big tomatoes.
4. Add enough coriander, chilli and turmeric powders and salt. Mix well and add enough water to make it a bit gravy and make it boil. 
5. Add the fried chicken pieces to the gravy and simmer in low flame (don’t cook fully) 

Rice : 

1. Boil the rice until it is half cooked.  
2. Add enough salt to taste. 
3. Sieve it and keep the rice ready

Prepare biriyani

1. Take  the big cooking pot with cover to make the biryani and add some ghee 
2. Spread the first layer of rice.  
3. Spread one or two small pieces of each of the following spices: pepper corns, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin seeds, nutmeg mace
4. Spread half teaspoon of biriyani powder (if you can get it) 
5. Spread a thin layer of the fries (onion, cashew, dried grape). Please note that half of the fries are to be kept for garnishing the top of the biryani) 
6. Then spread one third of the chicken curry.  
7. Continue this process with the second layer of rice, spices, fries and chicken curry. You can make three to four layers.  
8. Top layer should be rice, (no more chicken)
9. Spread the bigger part of the fries, spice pieces and some more ghee and close the pot tightly. Keep the pot on the oven until it is cooked