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Cook Time :20 Min | Servings : 2 Persons

Tamilnadu Chicken Biryani This is my 50th Post, am happy !! Hoping to add more. Biriyani is one of the famous foods in India. The way of making differs all over India with slight taste variations. Taste of the biriyani lies in the ingredients added and mainly depends on the order in which they are added. This is a very simple recipe used mostly in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.The same procedure can be used to make Veg, Mushroom Biriyanis taking out the Chicken and related marination stuffs. Taste and Flavor of the biryani comes well when you trial it for more number of times. I added Orange Food Color- 1/4 tsp to get this color.

Ingredients :
Chicken 1 lbs
Basmati Rice 2 cup
Ginger Paste 2 tsp
Garlic Paste 4 tsp
Onion 3 nos
Tomato 4 nos
Green Chili 2 nos
Oil 5 tbsp
Coriander Leaves/ Cilantro 1 1/2 Cup
Mint Leaves 1 Cup
Lemon Juice 2 tsp
Ghee 1 tbsp
Water 3 cups
To Grind :
Cinnamon 5 ( 1 inch Sticks)
Cloves 6
Cardamom 8
To Marinate Chicken :
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Curd 3 tbsp
Red Chili Powder 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Directions:
  1. Step 1

    Cut Chicken into small pieces and mix with the ingredients given to marinate. Marinate the chicken for 2 or more hrs or overnight. Keep this in Refrigerator. This gives a nice flavor to the chicken when cooked. Grind Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamom into a fine Powder. Soak Biriyani rice (Basmathi Rice) for 10 minutes. If soaked more than 10 min reduce the water quantity while cooking so that the rice doesn’t stick together. Finely chop onion, tomato, green chili, coriander, mint leaves.

  2. Step 2

    In a pan or pressure cooker, add oil, chopped onions and fry for a minute. Add Garlic Paste and 1 tsp or little more of the ground cinnamon powder. Fry till the raw Garlic smell is gone. Add Ginger Paste and fry for few more minutes till a point you don’t get the raw smell. Add Marinated Chicken,Chopped Cilantro and Mint leaves, Chopped Tomatoes, Slit Green Chili. Do not add water at this point. Water drained from the Chicken is enough for cooking. Cook this for about 3-5 minutes until the Chicken is almost Cooked. If required add 2 cups of water and let the Chicken cook nicely.

  3. Step 3

    Add the water in the ratio of 1 cup rice : 1 1/4 water. If you have already added 2 cups of water add only 1 cup now else add 3 cups of water for the specified proportions in the ingredients. Add rice and check for Salt and adjust. Add lemon juice and allow it to boil for 3-4 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    If the rice is cooked in pressure cooker, close the lid and allow it for 2 whistles, lower the flame and leave for 10 min. If you are afraid of burning the bottom, take out an another bigger pan than the pressure cooker and fill 3/4 with water, keep it on the stove and keep the pressure cooker inside this vessel and allow it to sit for 15-20 minutes.

Another Method:
  1. Step 1

    It can be cooked in Conventional oven as well. Preheat Oven to 375 Farenheit. Take a oven tray with Aluminum foil covered in the bottom. Spread the rice evenly. Cover this tray with an another Aluminum foil sheet and seal it properly. Keep this in the oven for about 15 minutes and take out and stir lightly to mix the water if it’s stagnant. Add ghee at this point and stir gently as not to break the rice grains. Keep it inside for 10 more minutes and take it out.This would be soft rather like the one you get in hotels.

Tips to get wonderful Aromatic Biriyani :
  • Chicken Marination is essential if you want the chicken to be very juicy and mixed well with the rice.
  • Use the Chicken with bones to get more flavorful biriyani.
  • Adding Water in the correct ratio is the main point to get nice non sticky Chicken Biriyani. Always add water in the ratio of 1 cup rice : 1 1/4 water for nonsticky biriyani or 1 cup rice : 1 1/2 water for little sticky biriyani. If you want more non sticky biriyani reduce water accordingly. Note that the chicken leaves some water while cooking.
  • Use a non stick pan while cooking, as it would avoid burning the masala while cooking.
  • Add Mint leaves for nice aroma.
  • Grind the Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom in a large quantity, multiplied with the numbers given and store it. This can be used for any kind of dishes. This is the key step to a nice aromatic Biriyani.
  • Always use fresh Ginger paste and Garlic paste for better taste. Fry them till the raw smell leaves else the taste wont be as you expect.
  • If cooked in a pressure cooker, leave it on stove atleast for 10 15 min in low flame after the 2 whistles. This gives a nice aroma to Biriyani.
  • Do not soak biriyani rice longer than a 10 minutes as you would get a sticky biriyani. Always soak for 10 or less minutes.
  • Cook chicken nicely before adding rice. This way Chicken blends well with the rice.

(*) This is a very wonderful Chicken Biriyani recipe from one of my Friends. Serve with Raitha.