Chicken Biryani - Baine Marie

Chicken Biryani – Cooked in a scientific way !!!

Ingredients:

Chicken: 3/4 kg(it depends)
Basmathi rice:2 cups
Bunch of Mint, Coriander leaves
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Green Chilles: 10(It turns depends on ur taste)
Onion-1
Tomato-1
Bay leaf-4
Cloves-3
Cardamom-3
Cinnamon-1 inch
Nutmeg- very little
Javantri(Maze)-2 peices
(If u dont have nutmeg and Javantri,u can replace this with biryani pulav masala)
Garlic and Ginger paste -2 spoon
Black pepper-10
Turmeric powder -1 tsp
Red chilli powder 2 1/2 tsp (Preferably Gowri’s ;)
Curd -1 cup.

Method of preparation:
Marinate the chicken with Curd, turmeric,Red chilli powder(Gowri’s),1 spoon of Ginger garlic paste and salt. U should marinate overnight for better taste. The more the time u marinate the more will be the taste of Biryani.

Boil the marinated chicken as such in the cooker with water for about one whistle with 2 bay leaves. Then Separate the Chicken from water(From the cooker). U need this chicken water later.

Take a Rice cooker, pour enough amount of oil, then add about 2 bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon. When it is fried to a light brown colour, add onions and sauté them, then add tomatoes (usually even 1/2 tomato will do). Then add a spoon of ginger garlic paste. Grind mint, coriander leaves, curry leaves in a blender. Add these greens in the Rice cooker. Then add Black pepper and Green Chillies. Fry them for few minutes. Then add the chicken and fry for sometime.

In the mean while, fry the Basmati rice in a separate pan with a spoon full of ghee, nutmeg and Javantri and 1/2 spoon of Biriyani pulav masala.( If u dont have nutmeg and Javantri, U can use about 1 and 1/2 spoon of Biryani pulav masala.).
Fry the rice for few minutes until they turn little whitish. Dont fry more.
Then add this rice in to the Rice cooker. Now for 2 cups of water rice,add 4 cups of water.

Before adding water, U should measure the Chicken water ( which u got from boiling the chicken) and add to the rice cooker. The remaining amount can be adjusted by water. Note that totally there should be only 4 cups of water , including chicken water and normal water.

Scientific approach:

The rice in the cooker needs to be half cooked. Now move them to a container that can be cooked off the Gas burner. Ensure the container is placed on a big pan filled with water for Baine Marie. This is to take advantage of the uniform controlled heating and to avoid rice being burnt in the lower half. This also ensures slow heating below 100 Degree celsius(max boiling point of water @ sea level).

Leave it for 45 min to 60 min and keep checking on the larger pan below as this will need constant refilling of water.

PS : Baine marie method needs a lot of patience and the effort is well worth when you taste your biryani now J

Cheers and happy cooking.

Next to come : Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani - Scientific approach ( layering on Biryani)