Cheater's Hyderabadi chicken biryani
If you have a rice cooker and no personal integrity, I think this is good enough that you can pass it off as restaurant chicken biryani. Works fine for rice cooked on the stovetop as well, just not as lazy that way.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, or 2 lb bone-in chicken thighs cut into small pieces
- 1/2 c plain yogurt
- 1 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 fresh jalapeño chiles
- 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
- 4 tbsp chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
- 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- Biryani masala
- Jeera rice
- Dahi chutney (optional, for serving)
Directions
Prepare biryani masala according to recipe.
Chop the raw chicken into 1-1/2 inch chunks. If you’re using bone-in chicken, you can leave pieces on the bone or not according to your preference. Mix the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, jalapenos, mint, cilantro, lime juice, salt and biryani masala to form a marinade. Combine the chicken chunks with the marinade and mix well. Marinate in a sealed container or plastic bag for 4 to 24 hours. I like to use a gallon size Ziploc bag to make it easy to move the chicken pieces around occasionally.
While the chicken is marinating, you can make the dahi chutney for later. Begin preparing the jeera rice according to recipe about 90 minutes before mealtime.
About 20 minutes before the rice is done, slice the onion and fry it in the mixture of ghee and soybean oil, in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, until the strands are dark golden brown and caramelized. Remove the fried onion to a separate container but keep the oil in the pan. Pour the marinated chicken into the hot pan. Fry the chicken at medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over, then cook at medium-low heat, covered, until done (6-10 minutes).
When the rice is done, fold the cooked chicken and fried onions into the cooked rice. Top with dahi chutney to serve.
