Mughlai Chicken Biryani

Chicken Masala Preparation:

1. Clean and wash chicken pieces; Drain and set aside.
2. Blend together all the ingredients for 'ground masala' and make a fine paste.
3. In a bowl, add in the chicken pieces, ground masala(step #2), all the ingredients mentioned under 'For marination' and mix well; Set aside for at-least 1 hour.
4. Heat 2 tablespoon of coconut oil in a pan; Add in the marinated chicken, coriander powder, kashmiri chilli powder, water and mix well.
5. Cook on medium heat until the chicken is cooked well and the gravy becomes thick. Add salt at this stage, if needed.
6. Set aside.

Rice Preparation & Layering:

1. Wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes. Drain the water completely; Set aside.
2. Soak saffron in warm milk and set aside.
3. In a large pot, pour required amount of water; Add the spices listed in 'for rice', salt, ghee and bring to boil.
4. When it starts boiling, add the soaked rice and continue cooking.
5. In a biriyani pot/oven proof dish, add 2 tablespoon of melted ghee and spread the ghee evenly to the bottom of the pot. Then put the prepared chicken masala, and spread it evenly.
6. When the rice is ¾ done(refer notes), layer half of the rice over the chicken masala.
7. Sprinkle ¼ cup fried onion, ¼ teaspoon garam masala.
8. Then layer the rest of the rice on top of it.
9. Then sprinkle ¼ cup fried onion, ¼ teaspoon garam masala, chopped Mint & Coriander leaves.Finally, pour 2 tablespoon of melted ghee and the saffron milk on top.

Cooking in Oven :

1. Close the oven-safe dish with a tight fitting oven-safe lid - OR - Cover it with an aluminium foil. Seal the edges by crimping the foil.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Place the sealed oven proof dish in the oven and bake it for 15-20 mins.
3. When it is done, remove and keep the dish covered until serving.

Cooking over Stove top :

1. Close the biriyani pot with a tight fitting lid. Put the biryani pot on the stove, and cook for about 15 minutes over low flame.
2. Remove from fire, mix the rice and chicken from the bottom of the pan using a long spoon.
3. Serve hot with raita, papad and pickle.

Notes:

• The right consistency of the rice matters for a good biriyani. So don't overcook the rice.
• How to check the right consistency of the rice?
  • Just take out a grain of rice from the boiling water, and press it in between your thumb and forefinger. If the grain breaks into 3 parts, that's the right consistency.
• How to make Fried Onion? ( makes about 2 ½ cup of fried onion(approx:) )
  • Take 4 medium-large sized onion and cut it into very thin slices. Divide the sliced onions into 2 batches.
  • In a large frying pan, heat required amount of oil for deep frying.
  • Fry each batch with a pinch of salt till the onions are golden brown and crisp.
  • Transfer to a paper towel to remove excess oil.