About: With this recipe, you can enjoy the deliciousness of authentic Kolkata biryani! This one will tingle your taste buds with its extensive use of a string of spices, herbs, and vegetables, as well as succulent chicken cooked over dum.
Ingredients: 1 kilo of Basmati or long-grain rice
4 medium potatoes
1.2kg chicken
3 onions, medium
2 tablespoons garlic paste
1 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
a half lemon (juiced)
a half-cup of tokdoi (curd)
1 teaspoon powdered Kashmiri chilli
3 1/2 tsp masala for biryani
3 drops rose essential oil
1 1/3 teaspoon kewra
Mitha attar (eight to nine drops)
a pinch of strands of saffron
milk, 4 tbsp
5 leaves of bay
Cinnamon stick, 2-3 inches
Cloves, 8-10
10 elaichi (green cardamom)
1 teaspoon powdered turmeric
10-12 tablespoons ghee
a half cup of refined oil
salt (as required)
6-7 eggs (hard-boiled) (optional)
bay leaves (50 gms) (for spreading on the bottom)
How to make Kolkata Chicken Biryani
To begin, take medium to large potatoes and wash and peel them. Then cut it in half or four sections, depending on its size, and boil it or pressure cook it.
After the potatoes have cooled full, heat a pan with 1/2 cup ghee and half cup oil over medium heat. The potatoes should then be fried until golden brown. Meanwhile, fry onions in the same pan that you used to fry potatoes.
Kolkata Biryani Masala
To begin, combine the following ingredients in a pan: shahi jeera, white peppercorn (shah morich), cardamom (or elaichi or elach), mace (or javitri or joitri), cinnamon stick, nutmeg or Jaifal, kabab china or all spice, and cloves. On a low flame, dry roast the nuts.
Switch off the heat as the spices begin to release their fragrance. Cool it down, then use a grinder to grind all of the spices into a powdered shape. This recipe calls for Bengali biryani masala, which is already prepared.
Switch off the heat as the spices begin to release their fragrance. Cool it down, then use a grinder to grind all of the spices into a powdered shape. This recipe calls for Bengali biryani masala, which is already prepared.
Preparation of Chicken
Take the chicken parts (curry cut) and thoroughly clean and wash them. We still prefer to keep the pieces a little larger in size when making biryani, as it should be 4 to 6 pieces of whole chicken.
In a mug, combine 1/2 cup curd or tokdoi, 1 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Combine it thoroughly.
After you've finished mixing, apply it to the chicken bits, along with 2 tsp garlic paste and 1 1/2 tsp ginger paste, and combine well.
1 1/2 tsp powdered biryani masala (prepared earlier) was added to the chicken and mixed well.
Now squeeze half a lemon (medium size) to make a marinade for the chicken bits.
Finally, toss in a handful of fried onions and combine it. Now let the chicken marinate for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
After 45 minutes to an hour, reheat the same pan that was used to fry the onion on medium heat, then add the marinated chicken. Allow time for it to cook.
After 5 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid to cook for another 10 minutes.
Again turn the chicken pieces and cook it for the next 8-10 minutes, but don’t cover it then. I don’t add water to it, but you may add a little if you wish to.
When the gravy of this chicken has mostly dried up, turn off the heat.
Preparation of Rice for Biryani
Take 1 kg basmati or long grain rice and gently wash it 5-6 times before soaking it for at least 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, fill a large vessel 3/4 full of water and position it over a high flame. Season it with salt and refined oil, as well as bay leaves, green cardamoms, cloves, and cinnamon sticks (break into 3-4 pieces). Get the water to a boil.
Strain the rice and add it to the boiling water until it starts to boil. Allow the rice to come to a boil in the water.
It's important to check the rice frequently while it's cooking because it can't be cooked more than 80%. Then turn off the heat and remove the starch from the rice right away.
The rice can then be spread out on some plates and allowed to cool fully. The rice will not overcook as a result of this process. Hold the rice aside until it has fully cooled.
Preparation of Saffron Milk
In a tub, combine warm milk with a pinch of saffron strands, kesar, or zaffran, and soak for 15-20 minutes.
When the saffron strands become soft and almost lose their color in the milk after 15 minutes, rub them with your fingertips to release more color. If the strands don't leave a heavy strain in the milk, you can also use a little saffron color.
Then, one by one, add kewra or Keora water and 3 drops of rose essence.
Finally, add 8-9 drops of mithaattar to the milk (no more than that) and stir well. Keep it in a safe place before you're ready to use it.
Assemble of Biryani
Take a vessel with a thick bottom and a large mouth. Make sure it's completely dry until spreading the bay leaves in the bottom of the vessel.
Cover a 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick layer of rice over the bay leaves first.
Then, on the first layer of rice, arrange two chicken pieces and three aloo pieces. Leg pieces are the most commonly used, but breast pieces are also appropriate. Then, on top of the rice and chicken bits, pour 3-4 tablespoons of chicken gravy.
Sprinkle 1/2 tsp biryani masala over the sheet first. Then, all over the layer, sprinkle 3-4 tsp of essence or flavored saffron milk.
Then, from the top of the layer, drizzle 2-3 tsp ghee. Finally, top with a pinch of crispy fried onion and a half teaspoon of salt. The first layer has been finished.
Then, from the tip, pour in enough rice to fully cover the surface. Then, using the same procedure as before, put together the next sheet. Cover the second layer with white rice and repeat the process with the third layer.
Finally, cover the top layer with a generous amount of rice to ensure that nothing is visible.
Finish the assembly by sprinkling 3-4 tsp ghee on top, along with a pinch of biryani masala (not more than that). Finally, sprinkle salt and hard-boiled eggs over the rice and cover with the lid.
Put the Biryani on Dum
Preheat the oven to the lowest setting and place the biryani vessel inside. Place another pan full of hot water on top of the biryani vessel.
It should take no more than 30–45 minutes to complete. Alternatively, the biryani is finished when the outer side and lid of the vessel are so hot that you cannot touch them.
Then turn the heat off. The Kolkata unique chicken biryani is ready to eat; serve it with salads.
Comments