Kashmiri Biryani

Kashmiri style biryani is well known for the colorful rice and chicken pieces that are well marinated in spices. Usually the south Indian biryani varieties have the rice flavored with spices while cooking. Whereas in this Kashmiri style, the chicken alone gets a heavy touch of spice and its aroma. The rice just has a rich colour obtained from the famous Kashmiri saffron and never gets treated to spices. At the end we get a flavorful and colorful biryani that no one can resist to taste. Lets see the simple steps that will lead us churn out this amazing biryani.

Ingredients

Rice – 2 kg (Basmati Rice)
Chicken – 2 kg
Tomato – 400 grams
Fried onion – 400 grams
Lemon Juice – From 1 fruit
Curd – 200 ml
Ghee – 200 grams
Oil – 200 ml
Salt – 3 tbsp
Salt – 4 tbsp (for boiling rice)
Green Chilli – 12 (to prepare paste)

SPICES

Black cardamom – 2
Cardamom – 10
Cinnamon – 4
Clove – 15
Javitri – 1
Star anise – 1
Cumin – 1/2 tbsp
Pepper – 1 tbsp
Cumin powder – 1/2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tbsp
Saffron – 1/2 gram

Things to be done before we start cooking

Take 2 kg rice, rinse and wash the rice in water for 2 or 3 times. Then soak the cleaned rice for about 20 minutes.
Take 2 kg chicken and wash it thoroughly, keep it aside to dry off excess water.
Fried Onions – Take 400 grams of onion, slice them into thin pieces, fry them in oil till they turn golden brown. Take out the fried onions and keep them away in a dry box.
‘Ginger Garlic’ paste – Take 200 grams of peeled ginger and 200 grams of garlic, grind them together to obtain a paste.
Chilli paste – Get 12 green chillies, remove the pedicel, grind them to a fine paste.
Tomato Paste – Take 400 grams of tomatoes – grind them to a paste.
Saffron – Put 1/2 gram (half gram) of saffron in 100 ml hot water – in ten minutes the water will get a unique red colour – that can be used to add colour to our rice.

Steps to Prepare

Place a 5-litre capacity vessel on the burner, turn on the stove, keep flame in LOW mode. Pour in 4 litres of water, let it get hot.
Take another 5-litre capacity vessel. Put in the cleaned chicken pieces (2 kg). Then add the below –
- 400 grams of fried onions.
- Curd – 200 ml
- Ginger garlic paste – 4 tablespoons
- Salt – 3 tablespoons
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 tablespoon
- Cumin powder – 1/2 tablespoon
- Green chilli paste – (obtained from 12 chillies)
- Cumin – 1/2 tablespoon
- Star anise – 1
- Black Cardamom – 2
- Cardamom – 10
- (Whole) Pepper – 1 tablespoon
- Cloves – 12 to 15
- Mace spice (Javitri in Tamil) – 1
- Cinnamon – 4 (each 1 inch in size)
- Cumin powder – 1/2 tablespoon
Stir and mix the contents well. After mixing, squeeze the juice of one lemon fruit.
Now, let’s pour in the below and then stir and mix the contents. –
- Oil – 200 ml
- Ghee – 200 grams
- Tomato paste – 400 grams
Close the vessel with a lid.
- Turn the flame to high mode for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, turn the flame to LOW MODE,
- Let the chicken get cooked for another 15 minutes (in low flame).
The water would now be in the boiling state (in the vessel – from step 1).
- Put 4 tablespoons of salt.
- Add the cleaned 2 kg rice to the boiling water.
- Then stir gently for 10 seconds.
- Leave the rice to get cooked in the boiling water for the next 5 to 6 minutes.
- After 6 min, turn off the stove.
Use a steel strainer to pour off the excess water – the filter will now hold the cooked rice alone.
Now, lets open the lid from the vessel having chicken. Stir a little.
Then add the rice over the chicken and masala. Try to level the rice evenly over the chicken. Pour the saffron water over the rice to give a little colour.
Close the vessel with a lid. Keep the flame to LOW MODE. Let the contents get cooked for the next 30 minutes (Dum process happens now).
After half an hour of cooking, lets remove the lid.
Stir gently till the bottom of vessel to mix up the masala and chicken settled at the bottom and the rice at the top.

Folks, our Kashmiri style biryani is ready to be served and tasted.