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Kashmiri Chicken Biryani

Kashmiri Chicken Biryani
I remember a story narrated by my uncle long time back. A relative of ours had visited Kashmir during the 80s. It was much before the militancy started and everything was pristine, and pure with a touch of life everywhere in the valley. Out of his the various experiences which he had and even though most of his memories had faded away, he still swears by the nutty,fruity Biryani he had that many days back. I recently remembered this little story and penned down a Biryani recipe which I christened "Kashmiri Chicken Biryani". The highlights of the Biryani includes:
(i)  Ghee Fried Cashew, Almonds and Raisins
(ii) Pomegranate
(iii) Fried Brown onions
(iv) Additionally I added sliced potatoes and boiled eggs, giving it the Calcutta touch.

Here is how I prepared it yesterday afternoon.It was a little late when I started, but all is well that ends well, and by the time the Biryani was ready, we were super hungry.This was a long awaited Sunday treat and we enjoyed it a lot.

Marination Time: 2 hrs
Preparation Time: 45 mins
Cooking Time: 2.5 hrs

Serves: 3-4

Overview of the process:

  • Parboil the rice
  • Then prepare a chicken curry to around 90%
  • Fry onion slices till reddish brown.
  • Fry the nuts and raisins in Ghee.
  • Layer the chicken and rice and cook over a Dum for 45mins-1 hr.

Preparing The Rice:
Mutton Biryani  that I had prepared a few months back

 Ingredients:

  • Rice: 225-250 gms. Use the Finest Basmati Rice.
  • Ghee: 3-4 tbsp
  • Salt: To taste
  • Whole Spices:
  • Chota Elaichi(Green Cardamon):5-6
  • Bada Elaichi(Black Cardamon):2 
  • Darchini(Cinnamon Stick): A couple of 1 inch pieces
  • Jaiphal(Nutmeg):1/4th.Crushed.
  • Javitri:1/2.Crushed.
  • Black Pepper:5-6
  • White Pepper:5-6
  • Shahi Jeera:1/2 tsp

Procedure of Parboiling the rice:

  • Soak the rice in water for 30 mins.
  • Heat water in a deep pan.
  • When the water comes to a boil, add the ghee, whole spices and salt.
  • Then add the rice and cook it till it is 70% done.
  • Drain the water and let the rice dry out.

Prepare a Chicken Curry:
Ingredients: 

  • Chicken - 750 gms.Marinaded in ginger, garlic, salt and a little amount of oil for 2 hours.
  • Potato Slices:2 potatoes sliced into 4 big halves.
  • 1 medium sized onion, garam masala powder - 1 tsp, Curd - 100 gms, whisked.

Procedure:

  • Prepare a chicken curry with a thick gravy. The usual chicken curry preparation will be just fine.Separate the chicken from the gravy and keep it aside.

Fry the Nuts:
Ingredients:

  • Cashew: 50 gms
  • Almonds: 30 gms
  • Raisins: 30 gms
  • Melted Ghee: 5 tbsp.

Procedure:

  • Heat 5 tbsp of ghee in a kadai.
  • Once the ghee gets hot, fry the nuts and raisins for 2 mins under low heat.

Fry the Onions:

  • Onion: 250 gms.Thinly sliced.
  • Melted Ghee:4 tbsp.

Procedure:

  • Fry the onion slices in the ghee until they turn reddish brown.

 Boiled Eggs:

  • Boil a number of eggs depending on the number of servings

Preparing the Dum:

  • Ingredients: Parboiled scented rice, Chicken curry,Saffron soaked in 8-10 tbsp of hot milk,Fried nuts,onion,pomegranates,boiled eggs

Procedure:

  • Use a thick bottomed deep pan.
  • Smear Melted Ghee over the entire pan.
  • Put the first layer of rice, then put the ingredients listed above in another layer.
  • Continue layering the rice and the chicken until complete.
  • Cover the container with a thick cover and seal with atta.
  • Cook over a slow,low fire for 45 mins-1 hr to get a perfect Biryani!
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