We've been craving desserts of late and the inconvenience of finding anything late at night during the lockdown made me decide to attempt my own dessert. This was just a first attempt and I will be trying it out a few more times this week till I share the recipe with you over the weekend.
Sehri- Eggs on toast, a bowl of nuts, dates, flavored yoghurt with honey and fruits. (I was too groggy to take the picture)
Iftari- Leftover kebabs and aloo paranthas with a bowl of nuts, fruits, makhanas and dates. 2 glasses of fresh lemonade and gur ka sharbat to rejuvenate the soul!
Dinner- Chicken biryani with my favorite fizzy drink #thumsup and a slice of my surprise choco brownie cake.
Ingredients for chicken biryani:
500 gms boneless chicken
3 medium onions
3 large potatoes diced
3 dried red chilies
3 cloves garlic, 1 piece ginger
3 tbsp greek yoghurt
1 large chopped tomato
1 cup basmati rice- for 2 people (keep it soaked while preparing the rest of the ingredients)
Salt to taste
3 peppercorns
2 star anise
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp red chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cardamom
6-7 mint leaves
Recipe for chicken biryani:
Step 1: Marinate the chicken pieces with ginger & garlic paste (it tastes super good if you freshly grind it), salt, nutmeg, cardamom, red chili powder, garam masala powder, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder. Leave this marinating for about an hour.
Step 2: Slice the onions and sauté in some hot oil.
Step 3: Once the onions turn a nice golden brown, add in the dried red chilies.
Step 4: Add the diced tomatoes in and mix well. Keep it to cook till the oil starts separating from the tomato and onion mixture.
Step 5: Add in the marinated chicken and let it cook.
Step 6: Add in the boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs (I’m from Kolkata, and I love my “alus” and eggs) and Greek yoghurt. Let it cook till the gravy becomes thick.
Step 7: Boil Rice- Add peppercorns, cloves, star anise, bay leaves, some mint leaves, salt to taste and bring to a boil before adding in the rice.
Step 8: For rice color, I used a pinch of yellow biryani color and some saffron. I then sprinkled this over my boiled rice and mixed it well to give the rice that nice yellow tinge.
Layer up!!! Start with the chicken and then keep filling the pot till you reach the top. Ensure the rice is the last layer and that the bottom of the pot is well greased. Finally garnish it with some deep fried onions.
Biryani should be served hot- do not remove from the pot till you are ready to serve. You can keep it cooking on a very slow flame so that the rice is nice and hot. You can accompany it with a mixed vegetable raita (yoghurt mixed with cut green chilies, onions and tomatoes) and a nice fizzy drink.
Comments