Join me, foodies as today we are diving into another awesome recipe of Biryani but this time with a twist. We are going to make Malai Chicken Biryani with the goodness of creamy spicy masala that’s like a flavor party in your mouth. We will break down all the steps and ingredients to help you make this Biryani at home and this will make your taste buds do a happy dance. So let’s get started.
Malai Chicken Biryani Ingredients:
- Serving 5- 6
- For Marinating Chicken
- 600g Chicken, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder( jeera powder)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder ( kali mirch powder)
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- Salt to taste or 1 teaspoon
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- Mix well, cover, and marinate for 30 minutes.
For Rice
600g parboiled rice (Sella rice)
7- 8 cups of water for boiling rice
1.5 bay leaves ( tez patta)
2- 3 cardamom pods (hari elaichi)
2- 3 cloves (laung)
Salt to tastes
Boil with salt until 3/4 is done.
For Biryani Masala: Step 1
3 tablespoons poppy seeds (Khaskhash) soaked overnight in 4 tablespoons of water.
2 blades of mace (javitri)
½ piece of nutmeg (jaifil)
3-4 green cardamom (hari elaichi)
2-inch piece of ginger (adrak)
6- 7 cloves of garlic ( lehsun)
2- 3 green chilies ( hari mirch)
1 tablespoon of coriander (hara dhania)
1 tablespoon of mint (podina)
2- 3 tablespoons of water
Blend well into a thick paste.
Biryani Masala: Step 2
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 medium onions diced (pyaz)
1 medium capsicum diced (Shimla mirch)
1 teaspoon black pepper crushed (kali mirch)
Salt to taste
Saute and reserve for later use
Biryani Masala: Step 3
⅓ cup of cooking oil
1 large onion chopped (pyaz)
8- 10 black peppercorns ( kali mirch sabut)
3-4 cloves (laung)
2 Cinnamon sticks (darchini)
1 bay leaf (tez paat)
1 cup whisked yogurt (dahi)
1 teaspoon of roasted cumin seeds (zeera)
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 tablespoon of coriander powder (Dhania powder)
Salt to taste or 1 tsp
¾ of room temperature cream (malai)
½ teaspoon of crushed black pepper
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
½ cup of fried onion.
Chopped fresh coriander (hara dhania)
Chopped mint leaves (podina)
1 tablespoon desi ghee
Instructions:
For Marination:
In a mixing bowl, combine chicken pieces with lemon juice, black pepper powder, cumin powder, chat masala, salt, and cooking oil.
Mix well and make sure that the chicken pieces are fully coated with the marinade. Cover the bowl and let it sit there for 30 minutes.
For rice cooking:
In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add salt, cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cloves in it.
Add the rinsed rice and let them boil until they are ¾ cooked. The grain still should have a slight bite to them. Once cooked drain the rice and set them aside.
For Biryani Masala:
In a spice blender, add poppy seeds along with water, nutmeg, mace, and green cardamom, and blend well.
Add green chilies, mint leaves, green coriander, ginger, and some water to the paste. Blend it well and keep it aside for later use.
In a large pot, slightly heat the cooking oil and add diced onion, capsicum, crushed black pepper, and salt. Mix well, sauté for a minute, and reserve for later.
In the same pot, heat the cooking oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions and let them sauté until golden brown. While onions get translucent add black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaf and mix well for 1- 2 minutes.
- Now add marinated chicken and cook until it’s brown on all sides for 5- 6 minutes.
- Add the blended paste, mix well and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
Add yogurt, garam masala powder, cumin seeds, coriander powder, and salt. Mix this well and cook it on medium heat for another 7-8 minutes until oil separates.
In the next step, we will combine cream and cook on low flame for 1- 2 minutes. Meanwhile, it’s cooking add dried fenugreek leaves, and crushed black pepper and mix well.
Once cooked separate the biryani masala into two equal portions.
Add sautéed vegetables in the remaining half portion remaining in the pot with fried onions, mint leaves, and fresh coriander.
Now add a layer of partially cooked rice (half quantity) followed by a layer of remaining chicken masala. Continue layering until all the rice and masala are used up.
Garnish with fried onion, coriander, mint leaves, and desi ghee.
Cover the dish with a kitchen cloth and lid and let the biryani cook in its own steam (dum) on low flame for 15- 20 minutes.
- Once done, let it rest for 5 minutes before gently fluffing the rice.
- Serve hot with raita and salad.
- Enjoy your delicious Malai chicken biryani.