Recipe – Zafrani Biryani

Ingredients:

Zafrani Biryani

• Basmati rice- 500 gm/ 2 ½ cups
• Chicken- 1kg
• Yoghurt (dahi)- 500 gm / 2 ¾ cups
• Saffron (keasr)- ½ gm
• Milk – 100ml/ ½ cup
• Cream – 50ml/ ¼ cup
• Mint (pudina)- leaves- 10 gm/2 tsp
• Green coriander (hara dhaniya)- 10 gm/2 tsp
• Water- 4 ltr/ 20 cups
• Bayleaves- 2
• Green cardimon(chhoti elaichi)- 10
• Cloves(laung)10
• Salt to taste
• Butter (makhan)- unsalted- 150 gm/ ¾ cup
• Black cardamom(bari elaichi)- 2
• Cinnamon(dal chinni)-n4 sticks
• Mace-(javitri)- 5 gm/ 1 tsp
• Caraway seeds ( shahi jeera) 6gm/ 1 1/3 tsp
• Onions , sliced- 100 gm
• Ginger (adrak)paste- 40 gm/ 2 2/3 tsp
• Garlic (lasan) paste- 40 gm/ 22/3 tsp
• Red chilli powder-10 gm/ 2 tsp
• Lemon juice- 10ml/ 2 tsp

Method:

• Clean , skin and cut chicken in to 8 pieces.
• Wash the rice and soak for atleast 30 minutes.
• Whisk the yoghurt in a bowl and divide into 2 equal portions. Dissolve the saffron in warm milk and cream.Add 1 portion of yoghurt to it. Add the mint and green coriander to this.
• Pre-heat oven to 150 Deg C.
• In a sauce pan , boil 4 ltr water and add a bay ;eaf , 2 green caramoms and 2 cloves . Add the rice and salt to taste. Boil for  a few minutes until the rice is half cooked .Drain the rice with the whole spices and keep hot.
• Heat the butter in a pan , add the remaining whole spices and caraway seeds and sauté  over medium heat . Add the onions and sauté till golden brown . Add ginger and garlic pastes and red chilli powder and stir for 15 seconds.
• Add chicken and salt and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the second portion of plain yoghurt along with approximately 200 ml water ; stir and  bring to a boil .Lower the heat and simmer until the chicken is almost done.
• Stir in lemon juice and check the seasoning.
• Grease the baking dish .Spread half of the chicken mixture , sprinkle half of the saffron/ yoghurt/ coriander mixture over this .Now spread half the parboiled rice .Repeat the process for the remaining half.Cover with a moist cloth and seal with dough.
• Slow bake in oven for 10 – 12 minutes.
• Remove and serve hot , garnished with fried almonds.