Mughlai Murgh or Chicken Biryani recipe

Name: Mughlai Murgh or Chicken Biryani recipe
Prep time: 20m
Cook time: 40m
Yield: 6 to 8
Cuisine: Mughlai

A classic biryani recipe from Purani Dilli, made using golden sella rice and whole spices

Chef Osama Jalali, Special to Gulf News

Cuisine:Mughlai

Cook time:40m

Prep time:20m

Servings:6 to 8

1 kg boneless raan of chicken, cut into medium-sized pieces

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (a blend made using equal portions of ginger and garlic)

1 tbsp yellow chili powder

750 gms of golden sella rice, soaked in water for 2 hours

10 cloves

1 star anise

4 to 6 bay leaves

1 nutmeg

1 mace

10 green cardamoms

2-inch cinnamon stick

1 tbsp of aromatic powdered masala (a spice mix made using 20 green cardamoms, a 2-inch cinnamon stick, 10 cloves, 3 mace pieces and 2 nutmegs)

500 gms yoghurt

10 to 15 green chilies

1 tbsp saffron, crushed and soaked in water

2 tbsp kewra or screw pine water

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt to taste

For the chutney:

5 whole red chillies

1 tbsp cumin (zeera)

1 garlic bulb

½ tsp raw mango powder (amchur)

Salt to taste

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Ingredient Substitution Guide

1. Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it for 30 minutes.

2. To prepare the rice, boil 2 litres of water until it comes to a rolling boil. Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, mace, star anise and salt to taste to the water.

3. Once the water comes to boil, add soaked rice and let it cook for 10 minutes or until the rice is 80 per cent done. Do not discard the rice water.

4. To prepare the chicken, wash the pieces thoroughly. Strain and keep aside.

5. To a thick-bottomed pan or deghchi (copper vessel), heat oil.

6. Add the whole spices cardamom, cloves, bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon, until they start to sizzle.

7. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute or two.

6. Add the chicken pieces and sauté for a minute until it changes in colour.

7. Now arrange the chicken along the circumference of the deghchi in such a way that it forms a circle and there is a space at the centre of the deghchi.

8. Mix yoghurt with saffron, screw pine water and whisk it.

9. Spread the yoghurt over the chicken. Do not mix it, just pour it over the chicken pieces.

10. Spread half of the yellow chili powder and aromatic spice powder and green chilies over the chicken pieces.

11. Sprinkle a tablespoon of kewra water on top.

12. Now layer the par boiled rice over the yoghurt and in the centre, without moving the chicken.

13. Add the left over yellow chili powder and the aromatic spice powder over the rice.

14. Add two ladles of strained water of the par boiled rice over it.

15. Cover the lid and seal it with dough and place a heavy object on top of the vessel.

16. Leave it on dum for 15 minutes.

17. Next, heat a ladle of oil and keep it in a pan. After opening the lid, sprinkle the oil evenly on the biryani.

18. Now sprinkle the saffron-infused water onto the rice by making holes with the back of a spoon. Mix gently.

19. For the chutney, grind all the ingredients with ¼ cup of water.

20. Serve steaming hot biryani with red chilli garlic chutney. Enjoy!

Chef Osama Jalali

Chef, food historian and writer

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