Thalassery Chicken Biryani

While writing this post I thought about a song, which we used to sing in the childhood.. biryani vekkalalla perunnalu... :) Yeah, that is true, but I was waiting to give you all my special Eid gift, this Thalassery Biryani. This one is easy to prepare, not much worries about the cooking time of rice, but the amount of ghee used is much higher than the other biryani recipes I have posted here. Try out, enjoy with your family and don't forget to leave your valuable opinions... Eid Mubarak!



Ingredients used,
chicken 1/2 kg
onion 4 medium size
tomato 2 medium
garlic cloves 7 big
ginger 1 1/2" piece
green chillies 2
coriander leaves 1/2 cup chopped
mint leaves 2 Tbsp chopped
pepper powder 3 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
garam masala powder 2 tsp
curd 3 Tbsp
lemon 1
essence or rose water as desired
salt
ghee

For marinating chicken,
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
chilli powder 1 tsp
garlic ginger and green chilly paste 2 tsp from the ground paste
garam masala powder 1/4 tsp
salt

For making ghee rice,
basmati or biryani rice 3 cups
onion 1 medium
cinnamon sticks 3 each 1/2 "
cardamoms 3
cloves 3
water 5 cups
salt
ghee

For garnishing,
onion 1
cashews few
raisins few



How I Prepared,
Heat little oil or ghee,roast cashews and raisins and remove from the pan.
Fry the finely chopped onions in the same oil, until golden brown.
Remove and keep aside.

Grind together garlic cloves, ginger and green chillies.
Take the juice of lemon and remove seeds.
Heat 2 Tbsp ghee in a non stick frying pan, shallow fry the chicken.
Fry until the outer part turns slightly golden, no need to cook the chicken well.
Remove and keep aside.

Heat 3 Tb of ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel, saute chopped onions until semi transparent.
Add remaining garlic, ginger and green chilly paste, saute well, until the mixture turns light brown.
Add chopped tomatoes and salt, cook until the tomatoes are mashed well.
Add chopped leaves, pepper powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, curd and chicken pieces.
Pour the melted ghee too that remained after frying chicken.
Mix and cook on a low flame covering the vessel.
Stir occasionally to avoid the masala stick to the bottom of the vessel.
When cooked well, switch off fire, keep the lid closed.

Then make ghee rice according the instructions in the ghee rice recipe, but use the amount of water used here.
When the ghee rice is cooked, spread it over the masala, evenly without breaking the rice.
Pour some ghee over this, as desired.
Sprinkle little garam masala, very less, over the rice.
Sprinkle lemon juice, and place some pudina stems (with leaf) over the rice.
Cover with an aluminium foil, then place the lid over it.
Place a tea pot or another pan with hot water over this.
Place the vessel on a very low flame for 15 minutes, then switch off fire.
Open after 1/2 hours at least, then remove pudina stems, mix carefully.
Garnish with fried onions, cashews and raisins and serve hot with raita and pudina chammanthi!