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Quick Chicken Biryani.
Garnishing with cashewnuts and some fried onion for that extra crunch and texture.
Different styles in biryani making all over the world.
- Apart from the hyderabadi style, there is also an Awadhi style to dum pukht biryani making.
- Numerous other touches are added by mothers and grandmothers down the years and from household to household in the Asian subcontinent.
- There is a Bengaluru style where liberal coriander and less spices are used in cooking, as well as a kerala style to the north indian way of biryani making too.
- The Sindhi style uses more yoghurt than normal.
- Different styles in biryani making such as the Lucknowi style, the Bombay style (Bombayites use meat and yellow colour and the more commercial 5 spices powder) and the karachi beef style are very popular,too.
Home made Chicken biryani served with pickle and seasoned curd.
What are the various Garnishes that can be used?
- Fried nuts such as cashewnuts and slivers of almonds.
- Nutmeg and mace can be added for extra flavouring.
- Silver foil is sometimes used to enhance the presentation and make it more appealing.
- Boiled and sliced or whole egg is sometimes added .
- Serve with "poppadums" or dry or fried papads along with the biryani.
A background of how Biryani came into existence.
- Biryani or Buriyani was invented during the royal era of the Mughal period of rule in India.
- It is a bit like a "pulao" except for the layering in Biryani cooking.
- It is derived from a Persian word and though I usually cook a quickie chicken biryani like the illustration below, biryani is also made using fish, shrimp,egg, mutton or dal, depending greatly on where it is cooked and by whom.
- Since it was invented by the muslim Mughals , it is relished in muslim countries like Thailand, Iran and Indonesia.
- It is also enjoyed in Britain, Philippines, Malaysia and Burma and most parts of the Arab world where the muslim presence is prominent.
Time taken.
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ready in: 1 hour 10 min
Yields: serves 2 people.
Rating.
Ingredients required.
- 1 1/4 cups Good long grained basmati rice
- 3 tablespoons clarified butter or oil
- 1 cup yoghurt
- 500 grams chopped chicken pieces
- 1teaspoon/finely chopped ginger garlic paste
- 2 medium sliced onion
- to taste salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder
- 1-2 each green cardamom, cinnamon, bayleaf, green chilly, black cardamom, cloves
- chopped and previously fried onion to garnish in the end
- Coriander/mint washed and chopped, ginger juliennes for garnishing
- 1 teaspoon each limejuice, saffron, javeri
Method of cooking.
- In a large bowl, prepare the marination by adding chicken pieces, oil, ginger garlic, cumin, coriander, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, chopped onion, chilly, turmeric and keep aside for 15-30 minutes.
- In the meantime, semi cook the basmati rice with salt added to it ,
- Drain the water and keep partially cooked rice on one side.
- Take a pressure cooker or large pan and add the marinated chicken in spices at the bottom.
- On top of this spread the layer of rice with saffron and mint(optional).
- Pressure cook for 20 minutes or till chicken is completely cooked
- Serve with pickles, chutney and seasoned curd or Indian "raita".
Some Spices and masalas such as haldi (turmeric), namak (salt), motee elaichi (black cardamom), laung (clove) and hari elaichi (green cardamom) that are used in
What is the Dumpukht syle of biryani making?
- As most might be aware, the actual technique of making a world class biryani involves marinating for hours and cooking in a pit ,with the biryani utensil sealed off with flour to retain all the flavour and aroma within.
- This is essentially the Dumpukht way or literally meaning "under pressure".
- Some still use this ancient and authentic technique, but people pressed for time nowadays take a shortcut and cook the biryani in a "pressure cooker" to save time and energy.
- Biryani was also invented since it was easier than making hundreds of rotis for the Mughals during early wartime.
Nutrition
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 | |
| Calories | 600 |
| Calories from Fat | 135 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 15 g | 23% |
| Saturated fat 5 g | 25% |
| Unsaturated fat 10 g | |
| Carbohydrates 100 g | 33% |
| Sugar 0 g | |
| Fiber 5 g | 20% |
| Protein 40 g | 80% |
| Cholesterol 5 mg | 2% |
| Sodium 2 mg | |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Can Mutton or vegetarian biryani also be made?
- Chicken can be substituted by meat, fish, shrimp and lamb too, if desired.
- Vegetarians can opt for a vegetarian biryani by adding carrots, cauliflower, peas, baby potatoes and mint instead of chicken.
- Diced capsicum and grilled cottage cheese is also used by some vegetarians to put into their veg biryani.
- Pieces of a shredded egg omelette also add flavour to an egg biryani and finds favour with most people.
Calorie counting.
calories -600 per serving.
Biryani with silver foil and boiled egg garnishing.
Preserving the aroma by sealing with a layer of indian wheat dough.
Health update on quick chicken hyderabadi biryani.
- Though biryanis can be very greasy with cups of oil being used, the recipe I have made uses 3-4 tablespoons of oil only.
- More oil is required in the case of mutton biryani.
- I use olive oil for cooking since its more heart friendly and tastes more or less the same as any refined vegetable or other oil.
- There are various varieties of basmati rice available in supermarkets the world over.
- Any branded basmati would do as long as it is long grained.
video
How to make fresh mint chutney to go with the biryani?
- Biryani is a rice based dish from the Indian sub continent.
- It is sometimes served with fresh mint chutney and raw salad with cucumber or seasoned curd to tone down a spicy biryani.
- Mint chutney is made by grinding fresh mint leaves in a mixer/grinder along with some water to form a paste.
- Add salt and green chilly according to taste.
- Add half a guava(optional) since sweet guava neutralises the bitter mint and makes the chutney more frothy.
- Mix well and serve.
Calorie comparison of some common biryanis.
Chicken biryani
| 600 calories
| |
|---|---|---|
Mutton biryani
| 700 calories
| |
Fish biryani
| 500 calories
| |
Shrimp biryani
| 500 calories
|
per single serving.
Tips for a better biryani.
- Use a good quality basmati for best results.
- Recipe can be tried with both medium sized chicken with bones as well as with boneless chicken also.
- Spices and garnishings should be fresh.
Preparing seasoned curd to go with the biryani.
- In a big bowl take curd.
- Peel and dice a small cucumber into very small pieces.
- Take an onion and a ripe tomato and proceed to chop both into very fine pieces.
- Mix the cucumber, tomato and onion in to the curd and season with salt and pepper.
More rice and biryani recipes
- Biryani Recipes
Biryani is a rice based dish, popular throughout much of Southern Asia. This page shows a number of recipes for biryani, suitable for omnivores and for vegetarians.
Preparing papads to go with the main biryani.
- Papads are round shaped and dried up and have a strong presence in most indian homes.
- Smaller papads are manufactured under poppadums and are available in most supermarkets all over the world.
- Papads can be dry grilled over an open gas stove, but since they cook fast be careful to avoid charring.
- Some people deep fry the papads which makes them tasty but high on cholesterol.
