Sunday 6 February 2011

Katchi Chicken Biryani

How are you all my lovelies??? Been a while isn't it? Well I'm back in London and except for the weather (from glorious 30C to freezing 4C) and a wee bit of home sickness, I'm pretty alright. I mean I do go into these mood swings because my house right now is unbelievably quiet except for Ro's annoying banter on and off and coming from a house that was so full of noise and laughter and chaos, this silence is quite deafening. I had a brilliant time back home and although I thought 2 months was a mighty long to be at home initially, now that I'm back, I wished it was longer. I had put up a few pics on FB and so not going to rant about my vacation here.

On the other hand, I was really pleased or rather surprised at how many people actually went through my blog back home. Everyone I saw at the wedding or otherwise had something to say about my blog and was a wee bit taken aback that I had no clue it was doing the rounds. As much as I'm embarrassed that they all now know about my bitching sessions here, I am also happy that you guys actually read  go through it...even some of my brothers friends (thank you girls...you know who you are!). 

Now back to cooking..well, I'm still in my 'I dread cooking mode' (well..when have I not been right?) and so have been doing just basic stuff for over a week. Also, the rich mallu food for 2 months has shown a nice round effect on both of us and I'm on a salad and cereal diet while Ro wants to be weaned off the rich full delicately (seriously, those were his words). So he's been having curries and dal and all that jazz which yours truly made one day (and cried while doing it) and stored it for the whole week. 

However, yesterday I was so in the mood for some biryani and its been going on for the past 2 months if I may be precise. Wherever we went to eat, I ended up ordering the biryani and that too just chicken biryani and was always happy with my choice. It got so annoying to the point Ro started calling me 'my biryani-obsessed wife.' I was having biryani withdrawals and so decided to go ahead and make one yesterday. Also since Ro was at home, the cleaning, chopping bit was gladly taken over. I saw a Kachi biryani on Deeba's blog and another recipe here and decided to mix and match, thinking for sure it would be a disaster since I'm not the 'do-according-to-your-instincts' kinda person..especially when it comes to cooking. I also went unconventional by making it with chicken since I'm not a big mutton fan. But boy was I surprised when it actually turned out awesome and had to pen it down before I forgot (like a whole lotta other recipes on this blog). Otherwise you think Id jump into blogging this soon after a looong break? No frikkin way!

I have also not been dropping by your spaces, but I promise I'll start doing so this week itself. Pardon the photographs as well since I'm not that enthu about styling and stuff at the moment.
For the marinade:
Chicken- 500 gms, cleaned (I used thighs and legs, skinless and bone-in pieces)
Ginger paste- 1 tbsp
Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Onions- 3 medium, thinly sliced and fried till crisp (use only half for the marinade)
Chilli powder- 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Yoghurt- 3/4 cups
Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- to taste

For the rice:
Rice- 250 gms (about 2 1/2 cups)
Water- approx. 5 cups or more
Cloves- 3
Cinnamon, 2 inch stick, broken in half
Cardamom- 3, crushed
Whole black peppercorns- 1/2 tsp
Salt- to taste

For layering:
Coriander leaves- 1/4 cup, cleaned and finely chopped 
Mint leaves- 1/4 cup, cleaned and finely chopped
Ghee- 2 tbsp
Onions- half of the fried onions from the marinade
Green chillies- 3, slit
Lime juice- 1 tbsp
Saffron- a generous pinch dissolved in about 1/3 cup of warm milk
Wash and soak the rice.
Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients mentioned in the 'to marinate section. Keep aside for at least 3 hrs (I kept it aside for maybe half an hour). 
Note that you use only half of the fried onions for the marinade. 
Heat the water for the rice in a large enough pan. I used a kettle and then poured it into the vessel.
Once its starts to boil throw in the whole spices, rice and salt.
Stir and cook till about 3/4th done..about 5 to 6 minutes.
Drain in a colander. Remove the whole masala (which I forgot) and keep aside.
Clean the same vessel and melt the ghee. 
Remove about 2 tsp's of ghee and keep aside.
Into the pan put the marinated chicken and stir well. Close and cook for about 10 minutes. At this point it becomes semi- gravy like..which is fine.
Open the lid and layer the chicken with coriander leaves, mint leaves, the fried onions, slit green chillies and drizzle the lime juice as well.
On top of that spread the half cooked rice followed by sprinkling the remaining melted ghee and the saffron milk.
Cover with a tight lid and cook on medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes.
Lower the heat and cook for 15 more minutes for the dum effect (I completely omitted this stage..was waay too hungry)
Serve in layers itself or mix it up for all you care:)
I served it with some raita, pappad and pickle.
Notes: My final cooking time was a total of half an hour and I'm assuming its cos its chicken and not mutton.
The spice level was a tad too high for us but it still tasted good nonetheless
Getting the onions crisp was a task i didn't enjoy that much. But somewhere you have to sacrifice right..so yeah do it anyway!

38 comments:

Finla said...

Wowo the biriyani looks so so perfect and so yummy. Wish I had this for dinner.

Prerna@IndianSimmer said...

Very recently I and Some from eCurry were talking about biryani. She had asked me the recipe for Kachi Biryani. I'm she'll be very happy to see this post!
This is the type of biryani I grew up eating and everytime I make it or see it it brings back all the memories.
Hope u had a gr8 time at home and happy to see u back!

Unknown said...

Very tempting biriyani...u r making me crave for some biriyani now :)

. said...

this looks lovely ! it so happens that its my hubs b'day today and i'm looking for a way to cheat my way into impressing him, so I am gonna make this for lunch. Only thing is I've jut got sour cream at hand ( do you think it might be a decent sub ?)

Asha said...

Hai.... welcome back.... I was thinking about making Biriyani today!!

Unknown said...

Good to see you back Darling! had been missing to wit filled bitching :P I too eyed Deeba briyani will keep it for future. good that you are trying to get back to cooking days...ha ha i have one more cooking free month :D

Padhu Sankar said...

Wow! Well written and Biryani also looks fabulous .I love your style of writing .

divya said...

Soooo delicious and simply superb biryani......

Binys Recipes said...

Perfect dear the grains are so beautifully cooked......great job

Daisy Roshan said...

good read, nice pics & yummy biryani

Anonymous said...

Looks so yumm.. The presentation is a poem. And this is making me hungry now

Pari Vasisht said...

Hi!

Welcome back, I can understand how much u must be missing the family.
The biryani looks good.


FOODELICIOUS

Akila said...

wow what a yummy and delicious briyani....

Torviewtoronto said...

delicious aromatic biryani looks wonderful
welcome back

Satrupa said...

Welcome back Sweety. I was missing one of my fav blogs :-D..... I am glad you had a wonderful time back home, Lucky Gurl.
Time flies when we are at home and 2 months looks like 2 days .... The biryani looks delicious :-)

Cheers,
Satrupa

Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy said...

I hope you had a lovely vacation.Biryani looks perfect!

Priya Suresh said...

Seems u r back with a bang, hope u had a wonderful vacation Nisha..

Briyani looks absolutely delicious..

Suji said...

Biriyani looks awesoem Nisha..

Prema said...

U r Rocking Dear! delicious Briyani...Clicks are awesome!

Ria Mathew said...

Welcome back, Nisha! The biriyani looks delicious!

Priyanka said...

your biryani is super attractive :)

Vineetha Sush said...

Good to see u back Nisha..
I guess u r coping well after ur Holidays!
I am not moving far,just in the same area (west wimbledon).If u ever have plans to move I will reccommend this area,very nice and safe with friendly people, I can also comover to taste ur delicious cakes !

Suja Manoj said...

Biryani looks awesome..aromatic and perfect,makes me drool.

aipi said...

Welcome back Nisha..hope you had a lovely vacation..
Biryani looks great!

US Masala

Monet said...

Hello my friend! Welcome back! What a lovely recipe to share with us. This looks just perfect on a cold winter day. Thank you for sharing your words, your photos and your thoughts. I'm blessed to have you in my day! I hope you have a wonderful week, my friend!

Kulsum@JourneyKitchen said...

Hey! welcome back. What a great way to start back...biryani! :) Loved the first picture. And kudos to you that you don't care about rambling when people (specifically relatives) are reading it. I need to master that kind of outlook.

Malar Gandhi said...

Wow, biriyani looks too good, very inviting clicks.

Sunitha said...

The pictures are crip and the biriyani looks scrummy. I am so jealous you had such a long holiday in Kerala and then you come back and cook biriyani? J, J, J!

Unknown said...

Welcome back, Nisha :)I have never tried a katchi biriyani before..These pics are tempting me to try it soon..Great recipe!

Namitha said...

miam..delicious..I could have this any time any day :D

arthi said...

looks so delicious..

Unknown said...

Wonderful recipe don't eat chicken, but I am sure we can sub the bird for paneer -

. said...

Hi, Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a note on my Q. In the end I did'nt make it for my hubs B'day, but I am making it for lunch tomorrow and I shopped for the mint and cilantro this afternoon...no skimping on ingredients !! I can't believe I am attempting to make a biriyani without the usual store bought mix ! :p

Ps : not sure if you remember me...we met way back last year around march...I used to have a food blog but had to close shop because with life, kids work etc everything was so hectic, but I'm back now.

Also...don't you write on your other blog anymore ? You really ought to as you really have a flare for captivation in your style, and I also love your sincerity. Bye for now, Natalie ~

Nithu said...

Wow!Absolute divine. Lovely dish.

. said...

Hi again ! Yes yes..thats me. So sweet that you remember ! :) ...Thanks again...and if all turns out well I will post a pic of the biriyani later this afternoon. ( Its just after 10am in ny). Also me looking forward to more of those spirited writing out bursts ! :)

PreeOccupied said...

Biryani never fails to impress. Your chicken version looks so yummy!

Sarah Naveen said...

Its so tempting Nisha!!!
i have heard a lot about this prep..I need to try it..looks so delicious..

Shabs.. said...

Heyyyy nish....how r u da....coming here after a long time..:)I am also in the same boat now....home sick, lazy to cook and starting trouble for everything including cooking. I am active in FB though, u can see...After going home i was brainwashed by my parents to stop fancy cooking as that have immensely effected my waistline n looks which kinda made them sad. So I am also trying to keep my fancy cooking aprt (dono until when)n blogging alos kinda slow...So u also stayed for a long 2 monghs eh?...me too...i thought that was too long, but those two months were the time when the time moved at a faster pace!!really miss being lazy and not having to think whats to cook for dinner today!had lots of laugh after reading ur posts and thats one of the reasons,y i pop in here @ kitchenantics:)....BTW i loved the pic of this biriyani and yoyo biscuits alot and alot...where did u get that pink sack like cloth from...i have been hunting for it a while...but anyway, not in shooting and blogging mood these days....Sorry for this long comment ha....cudnt stop expressing:D....vaayichittu delete cheythollu...