Chicken biriyani (Thalassery style)

Ingredients

Ingredients for marination

1. Chicken - 250 gm
2. Salt
3. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
4. Turmeric powder - 0.25 tsp
5. Red chilli powder - 0.5 tsp

Ingredients for chicken curry

1. Oil / Ghee - 3 tbsp
2. Red onion - 1 medium size
3. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp crushed
4. Green chilli - 2
5. Salt
6. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
7. Cumin powder - 0.25 tsp
8. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
9. Tomato - 1 large
10. Yogurt / Curd - 0.25 cup
11. Coriander leaves - 0.5 cup
12. Mint leaves - 0.25 cup
13. Ghee - 1 tbsp
14. Coconut milk - 0.25 cup

Ingredients for biriyani masala

1. Fennel seed - 1 tsp
2. Poppy seed - 1 tsp
3. Cinnamon stick - 1 large 
4. Cloves - 6
5. Mace - 1 flower
6. Star anise - 1

Ingredients for ghee rice

1. Ghee - 3 tbsp
2. Mace - 0.5 piece
3. Fennel seed - 0.5 tsp
4. Pepper corn - 0.5 tsp
5. Cardamom - 3 no
6. Star anise - 1
7. Cinnamon stick - small
8. Curry leaves - a spring
9. Red onion - 1 small
10. Jeeraka shall rice - 1.25 cup 
11. Water - 2 cup

Ingredients for garnish

1. Ghee - 1 tbsp
2. Raisin - 1 tbsp
3. Cashew nuts - 15 no
4. Red onion - 1 medium

Procedure

1. Wash and clean the chicken well.
2. Marinate the chicken using the ingredients for 30 minutes
3. Ground biriyani masala and keep aside
4. Make chicken curry
1. Cut onion lengthwise
2. Make ginger garlic paste
3. Cut green chillies into small pieces
4. In a pan, heat oil / ghee 
5. Add onion and fry for few minutes 
6. Add ginger garlic paste
7. Add green chillies
8. Fry till onion starts to brown
9. Add red chilli, turmeric and cumin powder
10. Fry for few minutes till the raw smell goes away
11. Add the marinated chicken and stir
12. When chicken has turned white, add tomato and yogurt
13. Cook till water oozes from chicken and add coriander, mint, biriyani masala and ghee
14. Cover and cook in low to medium heat
15. When the chicken is cooked well, add coconut milk
16. Cook for 5 minutes
17. Chicken curry with gravy is ready.
5. Make ghee rice
1. Wash rice well.
2. Heat ghee in a pan.
3. Fry all the spices
4. Add onion and fry till it becomes transparent.
5. Add rice and fry for few minutes till all water has evaporated.
6. In a pressure cooker, boil the required water
7. Add salt
8. Add the rice and cook till one whistle.
9. Set aside cooked rice
6. Prepare the garnish. 
1. Cut onion lengthwise into very thin pieces
2. In a pan, heat ghee
3. Fry raisins till they bloat up. Remove and keep aside
4. Fry cashew till they just brown. Remove and keep aside
5. Fry onion till they brown. It should not become black.
7. Layer the biriyani
1. In a heavy bottom pan, add chicken curry
2. Then add a layer of rice
3. Garnish with coriander
4. Add another layer of chicken curry
5. Add a layer of rice
6. Garnish with fried cashew, raisins and onion
7. Close the pan with a lid. Place something heavy on top of the lid to seal the pan well.
8. Heat an old tawa on high heat
9. Add the pan with the layered biriyani on top
10. Seal well using a heavy lid
11. Heat for 15 minutes in medium flame
12. Yummy Thalassery style chicken biriyani is ready to be served with raita and papad.

Note: For layering and further heating, I normally use a pressure cooker instead of a pan. After layering, the pressure cooker is closed with the lid and the whistle.