Fragrant Chicken Biryani

👨‍🍳 Method

1. 1
   Mix the chicken with the yogurt, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, salt and black pepper and marinate in the fridge at least 2 hours.

   BowlRefrigerator
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a wide pot and fry the onion, stirring, until it is deep brown. Remove and set aside.

   StoveWide, shallow potSlotted spoon
3. 3
   Add the chicken to the pot from the marinade and cook 20 minutes, stirring.

   Stove
4. 4
   Rinse the rice and Soak 30 minutes in cold water and drain.

   ⚙ SoakingBowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
5. 5
   Cook the rice in boiling salted water 7 minutes, until partly cooked, and drain.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePotColander

   💡The rice goes into the layers only partly cooked: it finishes cooking in the chicken's steam in the closed pot, and rice cooked all the way turns mushy.

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
6. 6
   Layer in a large pot: chicken, rice and fried onion, and repeat the layers twice, and scatter the cilantro and mint on top.

   Large pot
7. 7
   Cover the large pot with foil and then with the lid. Turn down to low and simmer 25 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStovePotLidAluminum foil

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.