Who doesn’t love a warm, heaping serving of chicken Biryani on a cold sunday afternoon? The extravagant appearance of the dish makes it look like something quite complicated to cook that we often end up ordering it from restaurants. But what if I give you a recipe which is ridiculously simple but extremely delicious. At the same time, this dish containing only wholesome ingredients makes it for an almost healthyish meal. Also it is one of the few “one pot meals” so you also have less utensils to clean.

Servings - 4

Course - Lunch/ Dinner

Days it lasts - 3-4 days

Ingredients:

Chicken marination:

• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 0.5 tsp rosemary powder
• 1.5 tsp paprika
• 0.5 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil/ vegetable oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder/ minced garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder/ minced onion
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp butter milk/ plain yogurt

Rest of dish:

• 4 chicken thighs/ legs
• 1 cup white/ brown basmati rice.
• 1.5 cup chicken stock/ water
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 green chilli/ jalapeno
• 0.5 green bell pepper
• 0.5 red bell pepper
• 1 red/ yellow onion
• Minced fresh cilantro - for garnish
• Minced fresh green onion - for garnish
• Corn kernels - for garnish

Instructions

1. Add all the marinade ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Do not fret if you do not have some of the ingredients of the marinade. You can use any mixture of spices that you have at home. Coat each chicken piece with the marinade and let it sit for at least an hour.

2. Wash the basmati rice or any other rice of your choice in cold running water and let it sit for 1 hour.

3. Preheat your convection oven to 350 degrees F/ 180 degrees celsius.

4. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil/ any vegetable oil to your dutch oven or your stovetop cookware and heat over medium high heat.

5. When the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces to the oil. I have used skinless chicken but you can use skin on chicken. Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side till each side has a slightly charred golden look.

6. Remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside.

7. In the same pot, add a little drizzle of oil to deglaze the pot. Reduce heat to medium low. Now add 2 bay leaves, 2 star anise, few whole cardamoms. The mentioned spices are optional, only if you have it at hand.

8. Next add diced onions. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions turn translucent. Add the ginger and diced chilli/ jalapeno pepper and saute for 1 minute. Finally add the sliced bell peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt to taste.

9. Add the rice and water/ chicken stock and bring it to a simmer.

10. Add the chicken on top and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.

11. If you are using a dutch oven, you can now transfer it to the pre-heated oven and let it cook with lid on for 25 minutes. If you are not using a dutch oven, you can either carefully transfer the contents over your stove top pot to a oven safe dish so that the chicken pieces are on top and let it cook for 25 minutes in the oven. After 25 minutes, remove the lid and bake it for another 10 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

12. If you do not have an oven at home, you can continue cooking on stove top in medium low heat with lid on for 15 minutes. Then remove the lid and cook until all the water is absorbed.

    

Once done cooking, garnish the biriyani with minced cilantro, sliced green onions and corn kernels or green peas. Serve it hot alongside a bowl of freshly made raita/ spicy yogurt.