CHICKEN BIRYANI WITH ALOO AND EGG

Now, this is a thinker. I just posted a blog on chicken biryani sometime back, then why am I posting another one with just the addition of aloo (as in potato) and egg? It shouldn't be very different from my previous trial of biryani, right? Well, this blog is a celebration for having all the necessary ingredients in my pantry and fridge for once in my life. If you read my blog regularly, you'll know how I never have all the ingredients and have to use bizarre replacements. Sometimes they turn out perfect and sometimes, meh! So that day, we just returned home after doing our groceries when it hit me. Subconsciously, I ended up getting all the ingredients necessary for a biryani. Yaay! And to celebrate that, I had to make biryani that day itself. Who knows? I might use up some of the ingredients on something else. So let's get on with it.

First off, my hubby who is always in charge of the rice, rinsed the rice and added it into a pot with plenty water allowing the rice to cook in medium heat. The target is to not cook the rice thoroughly, but just halfway. While the rice was cooking, I started butchering my chicken quarters into smaller pieces, chopped up some potatoes and boiled some eggs. Next in a pot with some oil, I added in some cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise and cumin seeds and fried them. As always, I waited for the aroma to seep out before adding in the chopped onions. As soon as the onions started getting some color, I lowered the heat just a teensy bit and added in my spices and seasoning: red chili powder, biryani masala, salt, and sugar. Once again, I waited for the aroma to seep out. Next, in went my potatoes and chicken followed by yogurt. I mixed them thoroughly for about 3-4 minutes in medium heat and then added a few cups of water, brought it to a boil, lowered the heat and covered it with a lid. Soon after my chicken went on the stove, my rice was done. So I strained my rice, let it cool and started working on my garnishes: cilantro and freshly picked mint. I finely chopped them up, although I wanted to leave it as it is, and but I didn't have much to do while the chicken was cooking and I was bored. It took about 30 minutes for the chicken to cook to my liking and I know the timing because I watched an episode of 'New Girl' during that time (my hubby pulled me out of the kitchen). Next came the exciting part, layering. I turned off the heat, added the chopped mint and cilantro, some green chili, the egg and the rice in that order. I, then, turned on the heat at lowest possible, put on the lid and let the rice cook completely. Now this is not mandatory, but I often burn my food so I gave the layers a gentle stir every 15 minutes to ensure there is no sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once everything was cooked completely, I served it on a plate with no side dishes at all. For me, biryani is so good on its own, nothing else is necessary.

The biryani tasted delicious; spicy and slightly sour with a hint of mint's tanginess. In my previous trials, I often didn't have the herbs and was missing the flavors of mint and cilantro. Also, potato in a biryani is completely on another level, nothing can beat that. As per to my hubby, he totally loved it and especially because, being a part of the cooking process makes him love everything we cook. Even though I am very meticulous with my cooking but I always try keeping him involved. After all, everyone watches and learns, right?

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice

2 pcs chicken quarters

1 pcs large potato

2 pcs eggs

1 cup chopped onions

3-4 pcs green chili

2 pcs each cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise

1 tsp red chili powder, salt

0.5 tsp sugar

0.5 packet biryani masala

1 cup yogurt

1 tbsp each cilantro, mint