Arabic mandi biryani

Ingredients:

4 cups basmati rice , soaked in water for at least half an hour Whole chicken 1 kg.

Onion - 1 cut in two pieces Onion - 2 thinly sliced

Green Chillies - 4 into two pcs Black cardamom - 4

Whole black peppercorns - 1 teaspoon

Cloves 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 2 stick

Bay leaf 2

Nutmeg powder 1 pinch Nutmeg 1

Mace 1

Garlic 20 cloves

Ginger 4 inch

Coriander seeds 2 teaspoon Water 6 cups

Salt as required

25 g Cashewnut

25 g Almonds

Ginger garlic paste 4 teaspoons Cumin seeds 2 teaspoon

Curd 1 cup

Green chillies 5 broken

Garam masala powder 1 teaspoon Cardamom pods/seeds 5 Fennel seeds 3 teaspoon ground

Method

To make the ‘bouquet garni’ or a spice potli, take a clean muslin cloth and place the onion, garlic pods, whole ginger, black cardamom pods, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, and mace on it and collect the ends of the cloth to tie a potli. In a saucepan, add water on medium heat, and add the whole chicken, salt and the bouquet garni and boil it for around 15 minutes.

Take out chicken, sprinkle salt and pepper dash of lemon juice and bake it in oven for 15 min at 180 degree C. Till it’s golden brown in colour.

Remove the bouquet garni from the stock. The ‘yakhni’ is ready. In a wide pan, heat oil on medium heat and fry the sliced onions, cashewnut and almonds. Take 1/4 of the onions, cashew nut and almonds and keep aside.

In the remaining onions, add cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, salt, green chillies and stir fry for about 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, add yogurt, garam masala and green cardamom. Cook on medium-high heat. Add fennel seeds and chicken pieces to the masala and let it simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Add this masala and soaked and drained rice to the prepared yakhni (stock) in the saucepan, turn on the heat and cook the rice in it uncovered for about 5 minutes or till the water dries up.

Sprinkle fried onion, cashewnut and almonds on the rice, add a tablespoon of ghee and seal the pot with foil or atta dough so that the flavors don’t escape from the yakhni pulao.

Cook the yakhni pulao on low heat for 15 minutes or till rice is done. After 20 minutes, switch off the stove and it is ready to be served.