Layered Chicken or Mutton Biriyani

Lip smacking layered biriyani from Northern Kerala ... source, Marias Menu

For the rice:
Rice – 2 cups
Water – 4 cups
Cardamom – 6
Cloves -6
Cinnamon – 2 medium size pieces
Lemon Juice – 1-2 tbsp
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Salt


For masala:
Chicken / Mutton – 500gm
Onion – 2
Garlic – 6-7 cloves
Ginger – 1 big piece
Green chilli – 4-5
Tomato – 2-3
Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
Butter/Ghee – 2 tbsp


For white paste
Coconut – 3 tablespoon
Cashew nut – 6-7
Poppy seeds – 1 – 2 tsp

For Marination
Onion – 1
Curd – 2 desert spoon
Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon
Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
Garam masala – 1/2 teaspoon
Salt – to taste

To make the curry:
Marinate chicken/mutton pieces with all the ingredients for marination & keep for 1 hour. Heat butter/ghee in a pan/pressure cooker. Saute onions till it becomes brown. Add crushed ginger, garlic & green chillies & saute. Add tomatoes & stir. When tomato becomes soft add garam masala. After 5 minutes add marinated chicken/mutton pieces. Mix well. Add enough water & cook. Grind the ingredients for white paste together. Add the white paste when meat is half cooked. When the gravy becomes thick & meat is tender remove from fire.


To make the rice:
Boil 4 cups of water with half of the whole masala ( cardamom, cloves & cinnamon ) & let it cool. Clean the rice & soak for 25 minutes & drain the water completely. Heat ghee in a pan & splutter whole masala.Fry the rice. When the rice starts cracking add boiled water, salt & lemon juice. Cook the rice till the water is completely dried. Spread the rice on a tray and let it cool for sometime.


Layering the Biriyani
Preheat the oven to 180 degree 10 minutes before baking the biriyani. Apply some butter/ghee to a baking dish. Spread one layer of masala first & a layer of rice on top of it. Repeat the same.The top layer should be of rice. You can drizzle ghee & sprinkle coriander leaves in between the layers. Spread a wet cloth over the dish while baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

Garnish with fried onions,nuts, raisins.


Note: water for cooking the rice should always be double the amount of rice