Chicken Biryani

Ingredients for Chicken Biryani:
For the Rice:
Rice 2 cups
Sliced onions 2
Crushed ginger 1 tsp
Crushed garlic 1 tsp
Cardamom 4 pods
Cloves 4
Bay leaf 4
Cinnamon 1 stick
Star anise 3
Cumin 1 tsp
Cubed carrots 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts 10
Raisins 10

For the Chicken Gravy:
Chicken pieces 1 kg
Sliced onions 3
Minced ginger 1 tsp
Minced garlic 1 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Powdered fennel seeds 1-1/2 tsp
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes 2
Coriander leaves a few
Mint leaves a few
Sugar 1/2 tsp
Green chillies 5-6
Oil 3 tbsp
Pepper powder 1 tsp

Method:

Heat the oil add the sliced onions along with the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, star anise). 
Fry the onions stirring frequently. 
Grind or crush the garlic and ginger together. 
Add this to the frying onions and fry until the onions turn a dark golden brown. 
Drain and set aside. (If using carrots, add along with the ginger, etc and cook together). 
In the same pan, fry the cashew nuts and raisins until golden. 
Drain and set aside with the fried onions. 
Once the rice is done, mix it with our onion mixture, add the fried raisins and cashew nuts on top and set aside. 

For the chicken gravy:
Grind or crush ginger, garlic, green chillies. 
Heat the ghee or oil and add onions. 
Fry until golden brown and add the ginger-garlic-chillies paste. 
Fry for another minute and then add the spice powders coriander powder, fennel powder, pepper, turmeric. 
Sauté for a minute. 
Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they turn soft. 
Add the chicken pieces, salt, sugar, 1 cup water and mix well. 
Bring to boil and cook closed until the chicken is completely cooked. 
Garnish with garam masala, coriander leaves, mint leaves and more pepper powder. Mix well and set aside. 
Take a large serving dish and add a layer of rice. 
Top off with some chicken and gravy. 
Add more rice. 
Serve chicken biryani with tomato cucumber raita and papad.

Chicken Biryani by Zarnak Sidhwa

Zarnak's wardrobe for this episode was sponsored by G I R L I E.