Chicken Biryani

👨‍🍳 Method

1. 1
   Mix the chicken with the yogurt, turmeric, coriander seeds, salt and black pepper and marinate in the fridge 30 minutes.

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

   StoveWide, shallow potSlotted spoon
3. 3
   Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves and cumin and fry 2 minutes, until fragrant.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the chicken to the pot from the marinade and cook 10 minutes, stirring.

   Stove
5. 5
   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.
6. 6
   Cook the rice in a separate pot 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.
7. 7
   Layer the rice over the chicken in the pot, and scatter the reserved onion on top along with the cilantro.

   Wide, shallow pot
8. 8
   Add the water. Cover the pot with foil and then with the lid. Turn down to low and simmer 25 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveWide, shallow potLidAluminum foil

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
9. 9
   Serve with a chopped salad and yogurt raita.