Biryani, one of India’s famous dishes, is extremely popular in Sri Lankan restaurants. Although there are different ways to make biryani, essentially it is just savory rice cooked with meat – such as beef, chicken, lamb, fish, prawns, mutton, or just plain vegetables! Although cooking biryani may seem like a lengthy, laborious task; with a little effort it can easily be made at home. So, the next time you have a craving for chicken biryani, why not try make your own?
Ingredients: Serves 5/6
½ kg skinless, boneless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups basmati (long grain rice), washed and drained
1 large onion, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
125g raisins
250g frozen peas
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
10 curry leaves
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 inch cube fresh ginger, grated
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
3 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cardamoms
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
salt
2 tablespoons oil
125g cashew nuts, sliced
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions till they are golden brown in colour.
2. Melt the butter in the same pan, add the peas and raisins and fry for 1 min.
3. Remove the onion, peas and raisins and set them aside for further use, whilst leaving the oil and fat behind in the pan.
4. Lower the heat and cook the chili powder, curry powder, curry leaves, garlic and ginger for 4 mins in the same pan.
5. Add the meat and black pepper, cook for 10 mins.
6. Add the tomatoes, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, turmeric powder and salt, cook for 2 mins.
7. Add 1½ cups of water and cook till the meat is almost done.
8. Remove ½ cup of the gravy and set aside.
9. Add the rice to the pan with just enough water to cook the rice, stir and cover the pan.
10. Cook on low heat for about 18 mins till rice is done.
The biriyani can be served garnished with onions, nuts, peas, raisins and gravy that was set aside. This meal can typically serve 4-6 people, and is perfect for special occasions at home.
