Thalassery Chicken Biriyani

                                            Eid Mubarak to all my readers…..

Ingredients:

For Rice:

4 cups jeerakasala / kaima rice or basmati rice
3 cinnamon pieces
5 cardamoms
5 cloves
1 tsp ghee
salt to taste


For Chicken Masala:

1 kg chicken, cut into pieces
1 inch ginger
6 big garlic cloves
15 green chillies
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/4 cup mint leaves
lemon juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to taste
1 tsp garam masala + extra to sprinkle

5 medium onions, for frying
1 cup ghee / half oil and ghee
4 tbsp cashew nuts
4 tbsp raisins

Saffron milk ( a pinch of saffron soaked in 1/2 cup of hot milk)

Preparation:

1. Heat ghee ( or half oil and half ghee) in a pan and add thinly sliced onions and fry till golden colour in batches.
2. Remove them from oil and add the cashew nuts and fry till golden colour and then fry the raisins till it puffs up. Remove them and keep it aside with the fried onion.

For Chicken Masala:

1. Cut chicken into pieces, clean it and keep it aside.
2. Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies together to a coarse paste.
3. In a thick bottomed deep pan, heat 1-2 tbsp onion fried remaining oil and add the paste and cook till the raw smell disappears.
4. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook till soft.
5. Add the cleaned chicken pieces and salt and cook in the masala for 2 minutes.
6. Add some coriander and mint leaves and mix well. Then add a tsp of garam masala and mix well.
7. Add 1/2 cup of water and close with a lid and cook till the chicken is soft and cooked. Switch off the flame.
8. On top of the chicken masala, add some lemon juice, half of the fried onions, some cashew nuts, raisins and some chopped coriander and mint leaves. Keep it aside.

1. Wash and drain the rice.
2. In a thick bottomed pan, take 6 cups of water and add a tsp of ghee, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
3. Add drained rice and salt and cook the rice on low flame. Switch off the flame, when the water almost evaporates and the rice is 80 percent cooked.