Ingredients :

1 chicken cut into 8-10 pieces – washed and drained
2 big onions
2 cups masoor/black lentils
3 cups rice
1 cup yoghurt
2 tomatoes – liquidized
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup ghee
¾ cup oil
1 tbsp ginger/garlic masala
1 ½ tsp fresh or dry red pounded chillies
¼ tsp crushed elachi
1 tsp whole jeeru/cumin
½ tsp finely crushed jeera
1 tsp dhana
4 whole green chillies – slit
¼ tsp of crushed saffron (steep in ¼ cup boiling water)
1 tsp arad (turmeric)
1 tsp salt
6 small potatoes (or large ones cut)
3 hard boiled eggs
1 elachi, 1 clove, 1 stick cinnamon and a few sprigs of mint
1 cup frozen green peas

Preparation :

– Soak lentils in cold water for a few hours. Boil in salted water until done. Drain off in colander.

Marinate meat for several hours as follows:
– Pat meat dry, add all spices, salt, green chillies, lemon juice and tomato. Mix well and leave in bowl.
– Slice ¼ of onion and keep aside.
– Chop rest of onion fine in food processor. Fry chopped onion in oil and when a lovely golden colour, put through a sieve to drain the oil.
– Add onions to bowl of meat. Add yoghurt, mix well, and add saffron mix and turmeric. Add the oil that was used for frying the onions.

Method :

– Boil rice in 6 cups of salted water. Add elachi and cloves. Note: Different types of rice need different periods of cooking, so test between thumb and forefinger and drain off in colander while there is still a hard resisting core in rice grains.
– Fry potatoes in oil and remove when gold in colour.
– In a large flat-bottomed pot, put some white rice, green peas and lentils.
– Then arrange the marinating meat and put the mint sprigs in between.
– Spread masoor over contents, then place potatoes and add some green peas.
– Spread rice over this. Fry the left over onion in ghee and when gold in colour sprinkle ghee and onions all over rice. Sprinkle ½ a cup of cold water over contents.
– Close lid tightly, put over high heat for 5 minutes. As soon as pot starts sizzling, steam fast. Switch to low heat and simmer for an hour.

Variation :

For mutton biryani – use the same ingredients and procedure but add:

1 more tsp of ginger/garlic
½ cup more yoghurt
steam contents for 40 minutes longer

Serve biryani with:

Spiced Dahi :
1 carton yoghurt
2 tsp chutney
salt to taste

Papadums.

Dhunia Chutney :
Liquidize dhunia
green chillies
garlic
salt