Biryani (chicken)

Method

1. 1

   Start with the birista. Slice 500 g onions thin and evenly. Bring the oil to 135 °C and put them in. Fry on a medium-low flame, moving them around every few minutes. Take them out as soon as they start to turn orange: they carry on cooking out of the pan and will go brown by themselves. Keep the oil, it goes into the marinade later.

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     The onions go into oil at 135 °C.

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     Halfway: deep red and still soft.

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     Out as soon as they turn orange. Off the heat they carry on until they are crisp and brown.

2. 2

   Make the biryani masala. Heat a dry frying pan and turn the heat low. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, shah jeera, green and black cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, dried red chillies, bay leaves, cloves, mace and the grated nutmeg. Toast for about a minute, stirring throughout, until you can smell them clearly.

3. 3

   Add the kasuri methi, toast another 15 seconds and turn off the heat. Let it cool completely, grind it fine and stir in the turmeric at the end. You will have masala left over; keep it in a sealed jar.

4. 4

   Put about 800 g of chicken in a bowl. Add ½ tsp salt, the juice of 1 lemon, 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 2 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder, ½ tsp turmeric, 2 tsp ground coriander, 1½ tbsp biryani masala, 3 to 4 tbsp birista oil and half of the birista, while it is still only half cooked. Mix very well, so the spices cover the chicken completely.

5. 5

   Then add 200 ml yoghurt and a chopped handful of coriander and mint, and mix well again. Leave the chicken to marinate for 3 hours, or overnight if you have the time.

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     The chicken after the yoghurt and herbs, ready to marinate.

6. 6

   Take a thick-bottomed pan, put it on the heat and add 2 tbsp ghee.

7. 7

   When the ghee is hot, add the chicken mixture. Sear it on high heat for 5 minutes, then lower the flame, put the lid on and cook until the chicken is about 85 to 90% done. This takes roughly 10 to 12 minutes.

8. 8

   Meanwhile, in another deep pan, heat plenty of water until it is at a rolling boil, enough that the rice can dance freely in it. Add 1 to 2 bay leaves, a 4 cm cinnamon stick, 1 tsp shah jeera, 3 to 4 crushed green cardamom pods, 4 to 5 cloves, 1 star anise, 3 to 4 black peppercorns, the juice and peel of ½ lemon, 1 slit green chilli, and enough salt that the water tastes properly salty.

9. 9

   Wash about 600 g basmati rice until the water runs clear, then add it to the spiced boiling water.

10. 10

    Cook the rice to about 80% done, without stirring it much.

11. 11

    Drain the rice and let it rest for 4 to 5 minutes.

12. 12

    Now the layers. Make sure the chicken is spread evenly across the pan. On top of it put chopped coriander and mint, a pinch of biryani masala and 80% of the birista you have left. Then add the 80% cooked rice, with gentle hands.

13. 13

    Warm 3 tbsp crème fraîche with 3 to 4 strands of saffron over a low heat, stirring slowly until the saffron has given up its colour. Spoon it over the rice, followed by some more coriander and mint and the last of the birista.

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      Everything layered and ready to seal.

14. 14

    Put the pan on an indirect heat source, such as on top of another pan, and put the lid on. Seal the gap with dough, so the biryani cooks under a little pressure.

15. 15

    Cook on medium for 5 minutes, then on low for another 10 minutes.

16. 16

    Turn off the heat and let it rest in the sealed pan for another 10 minutes before opening and serving.