Pazham Pappadam Paayasam: Quick and Simple Chetttinad chicken biriyani (Serves 4)

Here is a quick and simple chettinad style chicken biriyani, hope you all will like it Smile …

Ingredients

1. Chicken bone in ½ kg, cut to medium pieces
2. Basmati rice 2 cups
3. Onion 1 big, thinly sliced
4. Ginger ½ inch piece
    Garlic 3 cloves
    Green chilly 3 nos
5. Tomato 1 medium, chopped
6. Cloves 5
    Cardamom 1
    Cinnamon 1 stick
7. Grated coconut 2 TBSP
    Red chilly powder ½ tsp
    Coriander powder ½ tsp
    Garam masala ½ tsp
8. Turmeric powder ½ tsp
    Red chilly powder ½ tsp
    Cumin powder ¼ tsp
    Fennel powder ½ tsp
9. Mint leaves a few stalks, chopped
10. Salt as needed
11. Oil 1 TBSP
12. Ghee 1 TBSP
13. Water 5 cups

Preparation

Clean and cut the chicken to medium pieces.
Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes.
Crush together ingredients numbered 4 and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a pan dry roast ingredients numbered 7 to a golden brown color, cool and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
In a wide mouth pan, heat oil and saute onions till golden brown color. Add ingredients numbered 6 and sauté for 1 minute or till aromatic. Now add ingredients numbered 4 and 8, mix well and saute for 6 minutes. Now add the ground coconut masala and mix well to combine.
Next add the chicken pieces and incorporate well with the masala and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato, mint leaves and salt. Mix and add 5 cups of water and cook till boiling.
Drain water from the rice and add to the pan, mix and add 1 TBSP ghee. Close with a lid and cook at medium high heat for 12 minutes. Switch off flame and keep covered for another 15 minutes.
Fluff the biriyani with a spatula and serve with raita and pappad.