SHAHI CHICKEN BIRYANI

As the saying goes, "Nothing tastes like Mom k haanth ka khana", this biryani says it all. I'v tried biryani's from lots of places, specially those apparently specializing in "biryani", but nothing till date has beaten the taste of my mom's homemade Shahi Biryani.

Every time mom makes this biryani the whole house is filled with the wafting fragrance of this dish and our appetites just increase threefold. There is just sooo much flavor to it that it is just irresistible. The fragrance from the exotic spices used and the tangy plus mildly spicy taste of the masala accompanied by the melt in your mouth chicken will warp you into the era of the Mughals with  every bite.

I won't say that this recipe is easy to make, because it is not. It takes a few hours to make this dish which has come down straight from the heavens, but trust me, it is worth all that effort and time.
So after carefully observing my mom cook this dish I've written a proper step by step process to cook it along with photographs so that you are not denied even one bit of its richness and flavor giving you no ground to complain ;) Now go experience the food of the Mughal Nawabs.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg chicken
• 3 small onions (sliced)
• 15 to 20 cashews
• 15 raisins (kishmish)
• 1 pinch kesar (saffron)
• 8 green cardamoms (elaichi)
• 1 big black cardamom 
• 2 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
• 1 tsp whole black pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 cloves (laung)
• 3 to 4 blades of javitri (mace spice)
• 4 tsp everest biryani masala (you can choose any other brand as to your desire)
• 3 tsp keora water
• 2 cups raw long rice
• 5 cups water

MARINATION

• 200 gms curd
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 4 small tomatoes (puree)
• Half cup fresh pudina leaves
• 3 medium Onions (deep fried browned)
• 4 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
• salt as per taste

STEPS

• Add oil in a pan. Once its hot deep fry all the onions (marination and main) till they turn deep brown. Take it out and keep aside. KEEP 3/5th fr marination and 2/5th for dressing.

• Add some ghee to this pan and lightly saute the cashews and raisins. Take out and keep aside.
• Put together all the marination ingredients (TAKE ONLY 3/5TH OF THE FRIED ONIONS) in a blender and blend it into a smooth paste.
• Marinate the chicken with this marinade and let it sit for a 2 to 3 hours.
• Heat oil/ghee in a kadhai. Once its hot add 5 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, 8 cloves, 3 bay leaves, 2 inch cinnamon and 4 blades of javitri (lightly crush all the above ingredients to get out  more flavor) and saute for 1 minute.
• Drop in the chicken marinade along wid all the curd and cook it on a high flame for 5 minutes.
• Add the everest biryani masala and mix well.

• Now cover and cook slowly for 15 to 20 minutes till chicken is cooked.
• In a vessel wash the rice and keep aside.
• In another vessel start boiling the water.
• Lightly crush 3 green cardamoms and add it to the boiling water.
• Add a pinch of kesar, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tbsp oil to the water and start bringing it to a boil.

• Once it starts to boil drop in the rice and cook it on a high flame stirring occasionally for 10 minutes till you see the rice slowly come to the top as seen in the picture. Press one grain of rice between your fingers and if it gets mashed perfectly without feeling grainy then its cooked.

• Now strain the rice and keep it aside.

LAYERING

• Take a big vessel.
• Brush the base with ghee.
• Now put a layer of rice on the base.

• Put some fried onions and a few chicken pieces on it.

• Now cover this with a 2nd layer of rice.

• Again put some fried onions, cashews and raisins along with chicken and its gravy on it.

• Again add a layer of rice and keep repeating the same process till all the chicken and rice has been layered.
• Finally sprinkle a few drops of keora water on the top to give it a good fragrance and then place the lid.

DUM (Slow Cooking)

• Place a big tawa / flat fry pan on the flame.
• Place the vessel containing the biryani atop this tawa. This is done so that the biryani cooks slowly allowing the taste of the chicken and its other ingredients to spread through out the biryani.

• Place a lid on the vessel and seal the lids sides with aata / dough so that the heat and fragrance does not escape.
• Let it cook like this on a slow flame for 30 minutes.
• Remove the aata/ dough and serve hot with raita or saalan.