Lunch · Dinner · Indian

Chicken biryani

Name: Chicken biryani
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 500g Chicken thigh fillets; 250g Greek-style yoghurt; 3 cloves Garlic, crushed; 20g Fresh ginger, grated; 2 tsp Garam masala; 1 tsp Ground turmeric; 1 tsp Ground cumin; ½ tsp Ground cinnamon; ½ tsp Chilli flakes; 300g Basmati rice; 2 Brown onions, thinly sliced; 3 tbsp Vegetable oil; 1 cube Chicken stock cube, in 450ml water; 20g Butter; 30g Fresh coriander

Spiced chicken and fluffy rice steamed together in one pot, under a heap of crispy onions.

Start to finish: 1 hr 20 min
Hands-on: 40 min
In the fridge: 1 day
Freezes: Yes

A little heatContains dairy, celery

Ingredients

4 portions

500gChicken thigh fillets
250gGreek-style yoghurt
3 clovesGarlic, crushed
20gFresh ginger, grated
2 tspGaram masala
1 tspGround turmeric
1 tspGround cumin
½ tspGround cinnamon
½ tspChilli flakes
300gBasmati rice
2Brown onions, thinly sliced
3 tbspVegetable oil
1 cubeChicken stock cube, in 450ml water
20gButter
30gFresh coriander

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Crush the garlic and grate the ginger. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and mix with 150g of the yoghurt, the garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, chilli flakes and a good pinch of salt. Leave for 15 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.
22 min, mostly hands-off
2
Meanwhile, rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, then leave it to soak in a bowl of cold water. Thinly slice the onions.
3
Heat the oil in a large casserole with a tight-fitting lid over a medium-high heat. Fry the onions for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until deep golden and crisp at the edges. Lift half out onto kitchen paper and keep them for the top.
4
Add the chicken and all its marinade to the onions left in the pan and cook for 8 minutes, stirring, until it no longer looks raw on the outside.
5
Crumble the stock cube into 450ml boiling water. Drain the rice and spread it evenly over the chicken without stirring. Pour over the stock, dot with the butter and scatter over half the chopped coriander. Bring to the boil, cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes.
25 min, mostly hands-off
6
Take off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. Check a piece of chicken is cooked through with no pink in the middle, then gently fork the rice and chicken together.
10 min, mostly hands-off
7
Serve, or spread it out on trays so it cools fast, then portion into tubs and get it in the fridge within an hour. Keep the crispy onions in a separate tub.
12 min, mostly hands-off

On the day

Microwave, covered, with a splash of water until steaming hot all the way through. Top with the crispy onions, the rest of the coriander and a spoonful of the remaining yoghurt.

Cook’s tip

Do not lift the lid while the rice cooks. The steam trapped inside does the work, and every peek lets it out.