Muradabadi Chicken Biryani

Step 1: Prepare Green Chillies

Coarsely crush 15 green chillies by hand or in a grinder.

Step 2: Marinate Chicken

In a bowl, combine 750g chicken, crushed green chillies, 3 tbsp green chilli pickle, 2 bay leaves, 1 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 black cardamom, 4 green cardamom, 6 cloves, 1 piece of mace, ½ tsp black peppercorns, 1 tsp heaped cumin seeds, 1 tsp heaped coriander powder, 1 tsp fennel powder, ½ tsp grated nutmeg, 1 tsp garam masala powder, 1.5 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 150g yogurt, and 1.5 tsp salt. Mix all ingredients thoroughly until the chicken is well coated. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Step 3: Cook Chicken Base

In a large pan, add ¾ cup onion oil and 2 medium browned onions. Add the marinated chicken to the pan. Mix well, then cover and cook until the chicken is tender, the yogurt water has evaporated, and oil separates.

Step 4: Add Rice and Cook

Pour 1200 ml hot water into the pan with the cooked chicken. Add 600g basmati rice (soaked for 30 minutes), a few lemon slices, and salt to taste (the creator used 1.5 tsp). Stir gently. Cover the pan and cook on high flame until all the water has evaporated.

Step 5: Dum Cooking

Once the water has evaporated, drizzle yellow food color, sprinkle fennel and coriander powder, add 4 tbsp ghee, 1 tbsp kewra water, and a handful of brown onions on top of the rice. Cover the pan and cook on dum (low flame) for 6 to 7 minutes.

Step 6: Rest and Serve

Let the pan rest for 10 minutes before opening and mixing. Gently mix the biryani. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with red chutney.

• Crush the green chillies coarsely by hand or in a grinder.

• Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes for best flavor.

• Let the pan rest for 10 minutes after dum cooking before opening and mixing.

• Serve hot with red chutney.