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February 24, 2020 · 13 Comments

Easy and Spicy Biryani

Recipes

So the first thing I learned to cook WAS rice – I mean I am all about rice and rice hacks!. The second thing I learned was Biryani, at the age of 14. Since then, in the last 16 years, I have cooked biryani well over a 100 times and have come up with my own versions to make it both easy and spicy.. because that is how I like my biryani. There was a time where every week, I would make biryani because it is by far my most favourite thing to eat. I can safely eat Biryani, especially a good spicy biryani for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In fact, growing up, when we would be invited to weddings in Karachi, I would look forward to the “shaadi” biryani more than anything else! Shameless biryani lover.

Over the years, I have only ever trusted Shan Bombay Biryani Masala for a kick-ass biryani. I have tried all different brands, and styles (sindhi etc), and this is my absolute favourite. I have also learned some secret tips to a kick-ass biryani.

Some things to keep the biryani recipe easy and spicy:

  1. Marinate your meat for this easy and spicy biryani! This is soooo key, especially with chicken. Typically, in the past, I would first fry the chicken and then add masala/spices as per the instructions on the Shan packet. But, my mother-in-law has wisely taught me that chicken needs more self-love and needs to lovingly sit in a yogurt + spice marinade for at least half an hour.
  2. Add your own spices to make the biryani extra spicy. Yup – I am going to add my own masala’s to the Shan packet. Often, I use half the Shan packet, and then add my own whole garam masala (cloves, cardamom, cinammon sticks, bay leaf, whole nutmeg), red chilli flakes, chaat masala , dried plums (aloo bukharay). This elevates the flavour to the next level, and it pays off every time!
  3. Use good quality rice for this easy and spicy biryani. The hallmark of a high quality biryani is the way your rice turns out. I judge a biryani harshly if the rice is mushed up, and over years I have learned that the brand of rice you purchase makes a massive difference. I solely only buy Pakistani rice, because I am a proud Pakistani and in my experience no other rice compares to Pakistani Basmati Rice. We use the brand “Marjaan” and I swear by it so much that I made my husband bring it to Vancouver from Toronto, every time I needed rice during the year I lived in Vancouver.
  4. You don’t need tomatoes or tons of onions for a good biryani! You can completely omit the tomatoes in my opinion, and use pre-browned onions. Now, with pre-browned onions there are two varieties: one that come coated with starch and ones that don’t. The ingredients will clearly list that there is added starch or flour. We want the ones that DON’T have any starch or flour coating. The brand that I like to use for all cooking is Zaika and is easily available in your local Pakistani or Indian grocery store.
Chatpatti (Spicy) Chicken Biryani
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Chatpatti (Spicy) Chicken Biryani

Recipe by AreebaCourse: MainCuisine: PakistaniDifficulty: Moderate
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

45

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

From Wikipedia – “Biryani is a mixed rice dish with its origins among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. It can be compared to mixing a curry, later combining it with semi-cooked rice separately. This dish is especially popular throughout the Indian subcontinent, as well as among the diaspora from the region.”
From Areeba – Biryani is a religion in the Pakistani and Indian community, and sometimes is used as the determinant to if you have been appropriately cultured in the culinary world.

Ingredients

  • Chicken Sauce/Biryani Masala
  • 1/2 cup oil

  • 1/2 cup pre browned onions (zaika brand) or 3 onions thinly sliced

  • 1 kg chicken or beef – cut in medium to small pieces

  • 1 packet Shan Bombay Biryani Masala

  • 1 tablespoon chaat masala

  • 10-15 dried plums/aloo bukharay

  • 1 cup yogurt

  • 3-4 small or 2 medium/large potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

  • 1 cup water

  • Biryani Rice
  • 3 cups long-grain basmati rice

  • 2-3 tablespoons salt for boiling rice

  • Whole Garam Masala (3 each of green cardamom, star anise, black cardamom, black peppercorns, and one bay leaf)

  • Garnishes to add while layering your biryani
  • 1 lemon sliced thinly

  • 1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped

  • 3-4 green chillies chopped chunkily

  • Yellow food colour dissolved in 1/2 cup milk (any fat content is fine)

  • 1/2 cup pre-browned onions

Directions

  • Chicken Sauce/Biryani Masala
  • Mix biryani masala, chaat masala, and yogurt together, and marinate chicken in the mixture for 30 minutes.
  • If using browned onions, let them warm up in oil. If frying own onions, then go ahead and brown onions in the oil.
  • Once onions are warmed up – no need to fry the browned onions – add marinated chicken, and fry for 5 minutes.
  • add potatoes and 1/2-3/4 cup of water and cover and let chicken and potatoes cook for 10-15 minutes, periodically checking on the tenderness of the potatoes.
  • Once potatoes and chicken are cooked, and the oil has separated from the sauce/masala, add in your dried plums/aloo bukharay at the end.
  • Rice
  • Pre heat oven to 400 F.
  • bring a large pot of well salted water to boil with the whole garam masala. Add un-soaked rice to boil, and boil and strain rice.
  • Assembling the Masterpiece
  • Take a wide mouthed oven safe pot, and start to layer your chicken sauce/biryani masala and rice in the following order: sauce (no meat or potatoes) as an initial base, half of the rice, meat and potatoes, condiments( sprinkling of cilantro, green chillies, browned onions, sliced lemon), meat/potatoes, rice, condiments. Layer as many times as necessary given your layer thickness ending with the thin garnish of condiments.
  • Drizzle dissolved food colour/milk mixture over your layered rice/masala.
  • Cover the pot with a lid and put it in the pre-heated oven for “dum” for 20 minutes.
  • Serve with a side of yogurt and a chilled glass of coca cola!

Notes

  • All measurements are actual measurements. Feel free to dial down the spice level a notch if you don’t like spicy food.

That is my recipe that is tweaked and modified through both the experience I have gained, but also valuable insight from my mom and mother-in-law who are both biryani experts. Looking for something to warm you up until the mild spring days? Look no further… this chat patti/ spicy biryani will tide you right over!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Love,

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sabeen says

    February 24, 2020 at 9:36 pm

    Great recipe! Curious to try this version out as you seem to be a biryani graduate! lol.. So as a Biryani lover myself, I was wondering, if you still order biryani when you go outside to eat? Or do you consider your biryani better than the restaurants out there, and just dont bother ordering it?
    (Be totally unapologetically proud of your biryani if that’s the case. No judgement here) just wanted to know. 🙂 Thank u for the recipe, will try it out soon and let you know! ❤️

    Reply
    • Areeba says

      February 25, 2020 at 1:23 pm

      I love biryani so much that I order it any chance I get – which also means that I have favourites for biryani! I do love home cooked biryani wayyy more (like my aunt’s or my mother in laws). I also am pretty proud of my biryani haha!

      Reply
  2. Momina says

    February 25, 2020 at 3:01 am

    Yay for aloo! No one here puts aloo in their biryani everrrr.
    I love mine loaded with onions and tomatoes for that extra masala but this seems interesting thanks!

    Reply
  3. Momina says

    February 25, 2020 at 3:03 am

    Yay for aloo! Thanks for the recipe!
    I’m all for the extra tomatoes and onions for the masala so this seems interesting

    Reply
    • Areeba says

      February 25, 2020 at 11:41 am

      aloo’s are LIFE!

      Reply
  4. Hafsa Rehman says

    February 26, 2020 at 1:52 am

    Awsome.sounds so easy
    Will give a try

    Reply
    • Areeba says

      February 26, 2020 at 11:38 am

      let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  5. Hina says

    February 28, 2020 at 11:40 am

    You had me at chatpatti. Going to defrost some chicken right away! I will definitely marinate the chicken this time. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • Areeba says

      February 28, 2020 at 1:28 pm

      wohooo!

      Reply

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