chicken biryani.

I haven't been photographing our dinners lately and I'm a little disappointed. For the past few months I've been making lots of new things - I have rarely repeated a recipe. It's been nice to try new things rather than getting stuck in the rut of uninteresting staples. When I started dinner last night I grabbed my camera and made sure to photograph nearly every step.

I made Chicken Biryani from The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman (which can be found in my Amazon store). With some tiny variations.



For this recipe you'll need:
2 T butter
1 onion (chopped)
salt & pepper
1 cinnamon stick
10 cardamom pods
5 cloves
1 T ginger (minced or grated)
1.5 cups basmati rice
3 cups chicken stock
A whole chicken (cut up) or chicken pieces



Take an onion..

 

 

 

 

 


Chop chop chop it up. Messy chop.

 

 


Melt two Tablespoons of butter. I often cook in dutch ovens... so I suggest that.

 

 


Add the onion and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. Cook until the onion is soft and brown (5-10 mins).

 

 


While the onion cooks grab your spices...

 

 


Make a funny face with your spices...

 

 


Make a pretty picture with your spices...

 

 


Mince some ginger.

 

 


In a little bit you'll need the chicken stock so if you have any prep in that area do it now. Thanks to Brooke I now use this (which I suggest you use, too!).

 

 


When the onion is soft and a little browned at your spices. Wait about a minute and then...

 

 


Add the rice.

 

 


Mix together until the rice is coated and shiny (2-3 mins).

 

 


Add the stock and the chicken.

 

 

 

 


Cook for about 25 minutes - it's done when the rice and chicken are both tender and the liquid has been reabsorbed. If you need more cooking time add a bit of water if necessary.

 

 

 

Put it on a plate and eat it up! :)

If you're anything like me the smell of the cardamom pods and the rice will make you think of kheer. And then you'll really really need some kheer. So you'll make some.

Simmer 8 cups of water with two cardamom pods for about an hour or until the milk has reduced by half.
Add 1/2 cup of rice and cook for about 20 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of sugar (or a little less.. 1/2 cup was kind of sweet for me) and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Make sure you're stirring often and the milk does not begin to boil.

Yuuummmmm!