I rarely spend Christmas away from home. I have fond memories of decorating Christmas trees and nativity scenes with my siblings. Also, my dad is a Christmas baby, so generally, after the midnight mass, we would cut a cake before going to bed. And the rest of the day would be about food and a good movie.

But last Christmas, I came home to find my parents down with viral fever. I was supposed to leave on a trip the next day. So it may be the guilt in action, but I took care of the Christmas day meal. Usually, we would have a bunch of dishes. But to pull that off, it takes a different kind of cook than I am. So I decided to make a humble chicken biryani which turned out great.

I had promised to share that recipe with someone twice. So I am sharing my chicken biryani recipe and some helpful tips in this blog.

The recipe

Growing up, I loved my mom’s biriyani made with Basmati rice. But the first time I had a Malabar chicken biriyani made with Jeerakasala rice, it hit me differently. So during the lockdown, I experimented with a bunch of online recipes for Malabar chicken biriyani and picked steps that made sense to me, tastewise, like frying the chicken first and using chilli powder instead of green chillis. So my Malabari friends might not call this authentic. Nevertheless, here is my 4-step recipe for chicken biriyani. All the measurements are for 1 kg of Jeerakasala rice and around 1.2 kg of chicken, enough for 10-12 servings. Also, feel free to tweak the measurements to suit your preferences.

Step 1, Preparations before cooking

1. Biriyani Masala  Roast 1 teaspoon each of cardamoms, black pepper, fennel seeds and cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, a few star anises and a nutmeg mace in a pan and grind it to a fine powder. I prepare this once and store it in a sealed container.
2. Cashews and raisins  Fry a hand full of split cashews in 2-3 tablespoons of ghee. Once it is lightly golden, add some raisins and fry till they are plump. Set them aside for later.
3. Fried onion  Julienne -cut into short, thin strips- 4 to 5 large onions and fry them in oil until they are golden. The oil should be hot before adding the onions and enough for them to float. The onions will change colour even after taking them out of the oil, so take them out before they turn into the desired colour. Adding a bit of salt to the onions before frying elevates the taste.
4. Marinate the Chicken  Mix 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder and red chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon of curd and juice of half a lemon in a bowl. Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces with this mix and set aside for 1 hour. Chicken legs and breasts are better suited for biriyani. I even add some slits before marinating.
5. Boiled eggs  I like to have boiled eggs with chicken biriyani. Boil eggs for 6-8 minutes for a soft but set yolk, and let them cool in ice water.

Step 2, Cooking the chicken

1. Fry the marinated chicken in 3-4 tablespoons of oil on a frying pan until it's around 70% cooked in medium flame and set them aside.
2. I have 2 philosophies for the preparation of chicken. The more the onions, the merrier the gravy, and the more they are caramelised, the better they taste. I usually take 8-10 medium onions for 1 kg of chicken. In some authentic Malabar recipes, they may be cut into long strips, but I like them medium-diced. Add 4-5 tablespoons of oil to a frying pan and add the diced onion. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Adding salt at this stage can speed up the caramelising.
3. Once the onion becomes transparent, add 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste. While store-bought paste will do the job, a freshly blended paste will be better.
4. Caramelise the onions until medium brown. This is the most crucial step for me and takes time. I constantly stir the mix to make sure they are not burned.
5. Once it's medium brown, lower the flame and add 1 tablespoon each of chilli powder, coriander powder and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder to a corner of the pan. Roast it for a few seconds before mixing it with the rest.
6. Next, add a large diced tomato to a corner. Saute it for a few minutes on low flame before mixing it with the rest.
7. Now, add the fried chicken and mix well. Add 2 teaspoons of biriyani masala. I also like adding a teaspoon of sugar at this point. Mix well and add more salt if needed. Finally, add a cup of hot water and cook for a few more minutes with the lid on. You can also add some crushed fried onion for more flavour.