CHICKEN VARUVAL BIRYANI.
Prep time:
1 hr or 1 1/2 hr for chicken varuval ( cooked separately )
7 mins high pressure on Instant pot and natural release for 20 mins or more for briyani rice
All you need :
Ginger garlic paste :
( Grind equal amounts of ginger and garlic, can be kept up to 6 months in freezer. )
2 cup garlic
2 cups ginger
little water
Chicken varuval:
1lb chicken
1/4 cup coriander/cilantro leaves
3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom [if don’t have black cardamom, just use green]
2 tbsp coriander seed
1tsp fennel seed [to dry grind]
1tsp fennel seed [ for sautéing]
1tsp cumin seed
1 tsp curry dry leaves [optional]
7 pieces fresh curry leaves or 1 tsp dry [for sauté]
1/4 tsp turmeric [for sautéing]
1/4 tsp turmeric [for grinding]
10 dry chili – [6 Kashmiri & 4 dry chilies] or substitute with chili powder
1/2 tsp ghee
1 big red onion [sliced]
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt
1 tsp mustard seed
vegetable oil
salt
Direction:
1. Marinate the chicken for at least 1 hour or more with ¼ cup yogurt and 1 tsp salt. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
2. Dry toast in a pan: 1tsp fennel, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cardamoms, curry leaves, dry chili for 2-3 mins until a nice fragrant appears. Keep aside to cool for 5 mins. Then add 1/4 tsp spoon turmeric powder and dry grind into a fine masala powder.
3. In a deep pan on medium heat, add 3 tbs oil, mustard seeds [wait to pop]and add fennel seeds. Then add sliced onion, curry leaves, and fry till the onion is translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and give another good stir.
4. Add the marinated chicken, and 1/4 tsp of turmeric. Stir to combine everything together. Put the lid on, and let it cook without stirring for 10 mins on medium heat. Look at the chicken from time to time to prevent burning.
5. After 10 mins, the chicken should have given out its natural juices. At this point, add the ground masala powder. Give it a good stir till everything is combined.
6. Put the lid on and let it cook for 30 mins on low heat. This will make the chicken tender and soft. Check on the chicken from time to time to prevent burning.
7. After 30 mins, give the chicken a good stir. Check to see if the chicken is at the desired softness [add another 10 mins if the chicken needs more time]. Cook chicken uncovered till all the water evaporates and becomes a thick gravy. Once the chicken is done, add 1/2 tsp ghee or less and give it a good stir and sprinkle 1/4 cup coriander/cilantro leaves.
Briyani rice:
2 cups of basmati rice (soaked for 1 hr in room temp water)
Chicken Varuval (cooked prior)
2 cups water
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 roasted unsalted cashew nuts
few strands of saffron (optional)
½ cup cilantro / coriander leaves sautéed [ ¼ cup for cooking & ¼ cup for garnishing]
½ cup mint leave sautéed [¼ cup for cooking & ¼ cup for garnishing]
1 onion [ sautéed for garnishing]
2 tbs +1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 small red onion / yellow onion [ for cooking spice mixture]
1/2 tbsp Kashmir chili powder
1/2 tbsp coriander power
1 tsp curry leaves
1/4 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp mustard seed
3 tbsp ghee [ 1 tbsp each for sautéing: onions, cilantro/coriander & raisin and cashew]
Direction:
1. A little Indian household trick is to soak the basmati rice in room temp water with 1/4 tsp salt. This will allow the grains to be soft.
2. After soaking, drain the water from the rice and keep it aside.
3. In a pan, in low heat, add 1tbsp ghee and sauté the mint and cilantro/coriander leaves separately. Remove from heat. Then add again 1tbsp ghee and sauté one sliced onion. Remove from heat. Set aside all to cool.
4. In the same pan, in low heat, add 1 tbsp ghee and sauté raisin and cashew separately, until cashew turns a slight golden brown and raisins plump up. Keep both aside to cool. [Remember the raisins have sugar so it will burn easily, just make sure to continuously stir to prevent burning.] Set aside to cool.
5. I have cooked the Chicken Varuval prior. This method is easy when cooking the biryani later. I find that the flavors come together really well in the end.
6. You can use your pressure cooker, which will take a longer time. My parents normally prefer to use a rice cooker. But I use my instant pot, which is so much easier and saves you time on cooking.
7. Turn on sauté mode on the instant pot. Add the mustard seed, fennel seed, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and curry leaves and sauté for 20 secs or less. Then add onions and sauté till they are translucent. Add the garlic-ginger paste, coriander powder and chili powder. Give it a good stir for 1 min and turn off sauté mode.
8. Now to construct the rice and Chicken Varuval in layers in the instant pot:For the first layer, stir in ½ of the Chicken Varuval to the spice mixture we sautéed previously [ no 7.] Mix well. To it, add 2 tbsp of water to deglaze the bottom of the pot, so that the pot doesn’t burn while cooking. Then add 1 cup of rice together with ¼ cup each of: coriander /cilantro and mint leaves sautéed earlier. For the second layer, add the rest of the Chicken Varuval followed by the remaining cup of rice.
9. Put 1/2 tsp of salt to 2 cups water and give a good stir. Pour this salted water all over the rice & chicken layer combo. Place a few strands of saffron on top for color. DO NOT STIR THE RICE.
10. Put your lid on and turn on your instant pot, and set it to high pressure for 7 mins and natural release for 20 mins. Natural release might take longer depending on how much you are cooking.
11. Once the rice is done releasing the natural pressure. Take off the lid and just fluff the top layer gently. Now to garnish: add all around the top the sautéed ¼ cup each of: raisins, cashew and mint leaves and cilantro/coriander leaves. Close the lid for another 5 mins to allow flavors to combine together. Taste for salt and make sure your instant pot is on: KEEP WARM MODE.
Let’s Plate:
After 5 mins, dish the biryani onto a plate, add a few more sprinkles of raisins and cashew; and it is ready to eat. The Biryani is usually served with a dollop of yogurt or raita at the side.