Coconut milk Chicken Pulao, Chicken Pulao, White Chicken Rice

Initial Preparation:

1. Clean and wash the chicken pieces. Drain the water completely.
2. Wash the rice well, and soak for 30 mins. Then transfer the soaked rice to a colander and drain the water completely. Set aside.
3. Grind together the ingredients mentioned in 'For Ginger-Garlic-Green Chilli paste' and make a fine paste.
4. In a bowl, add in the chicken pieces, ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and the items mentioned under 'For marination'. Mix well and set aside for 30 minutes.

Pulao Preparation:

1. Heat ghee/oil in a heavy bottomed large deep pan. Add in the whole spices and fry for a minute.
2. Add in the finely sliced onion and saute until the onion turns slightly brown in color.
3. Add in the marinated chicken pieces and mix well.
4. Stir frequently for about 7-10 minutes or until the masala starts to brown on high heat. Do not add water.
5. Then add in the chopped tomato and mix well.
6. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender on low-medium heat. Stir occasionally.
7. Then open the pan, and cook until the curry is nicely thick on medium heat. Stir occasionally.
8. Once the curry almost dries up, add in the soaked rice and gently mix everything together.
9. Now pour in the hot water and coconut milk. Mix well and bring to a boil on high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Adjust salt.
10. Cover the pan with a tight lid and cook for about 20-25 minutes on very low heat. Don't open the lid in between.
11. Then open the pot; You can see all the liquid is absorbed well and the rice is cooked through.
12. Gently mix the rice using a long spoon from the bottom of the pan. Keep the pan uncovered for 7-10 minutes.
13. Garnish with fried onion and cashew nuts, raisins and pumpkin seeds.
14. Serve warm with raita, pappad, pickle on side.

Notes:

• We need 5 - 5 ¼ cup(approx:) water to cook the rice. ie, 1 ¾ cup(approx:) water for 1 cup of rice. So I used 4 - 4 ¼ cup hot water + 1 cup medium thick coconut milk in this recipe.