Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:

1. seeraga samba rice     - 1 cup
2. chicken thighs            - 1/2 lb
3. cardamon                   - 2
4. cinnamon                   - 2 inch
5. cloves                         - 4
6. bay leaf                      - 1
7. star anise                    - 1
8. fennel seeds               - 1/4 tsp
9. big onion                    - 1  chopped
10. green chillies              - 4
11. ginger garlic paste       - 2 tbsp (made from 8 cloves of garlic and 8 cubes of diced ginger)
12. tomatoes                     - 1/2
13. yogurt                         - 1/4 cup
14. mint leaves                 - 1/2 cup chopped finely
15. oil                               - 4 tbsp

Procedure:     

• Clean the chicken and marinate with yogurt,tumeric powder and salt,before you start prepping and cooking the remaining things.
• Heat oil in a pot and add the ingredients from no.3 to 8 and toast them in the oil.
• Then add the onions and let it cook till it becomes golden brown.Add little salt to cook a little faster.
• Then add the green chillies and ginger garlic paste.Cook them till the raw smell goes away.
• Add the tomatoes,mint and coriander leaves and let it cook through.
• Add 1/2 tsp chilli powder,pinch of turmeric and 1/2 dhania powder.At this point the oil separates from the gravy.
• Add the chicken with the marinade,cover it with a lid and let the it cook for 10 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, rinse and drain the rice.
• After 10 mins, the chicken should be cooked about 75%.There would be about 3/4 cup of gravy.
• Now add 1 1/4 cup of water(it adds up to 2 cups of liquid to cook 1 cup of rice).Bring the whole mixture to a boil.
• In the meantime heat a heavy bottom dosa pan.Keep the flame low.
• Add the necessary amt of salt now.Make sure you check it now before cooking the rice.
• Now add the rice and leave it for a 2 mins.The rice will start absorbing the liquid.Then cover it with a lid tightly(not a pressure cooker lid). Place it over the dosa pan.Leave it for 15 mins.
• Then move the whole pot to a cooler stove and let it rest for 5 mins.
• Stir the whole biryani carefully without breaking the rice or mashing it.If the rice gets a little overcooked, change the whole thing into a different pot immediately and use a fork to gently spread out the rice to stop it from cooking some more.