Broccoli and Chicken Biryani ( Easy Rice cooker method )

By now most of you would have guessed that I am still trying to get my family to embrace Broccoli ( and they keep running away this superfood which they regard as some green headed Hydra). But not one to give up so easily, I tried incorporating it in salads, pasta, stir fry and then finally the crowd favorite 'Biryani'.

This one is a simple low-calorie and high fiber version that I cooked in that magical appliance called the rice cooker. I have a Panasonic one and it is a life saver when BESCOM is not playing truant. Have to pick up the kid or run down to the nearest kirana for something (yes, I still do that in the age of apps like BigBasket, Grofers and Zopnow coz I am a human and very much susceptible to short term memory outages when compiling those mile long grocery lists) ? No probs. It switches off automatically when the rice /curry is done. Only catch is that, since it does not employ artificial intelligence, the 'done' thing is determined by the water content. So, if you put less water, it switches off rather than burning down the contents of the cooking pan.

Ok. Getting back to my recipe, it is just comprises of throwing in everything (except rice) into one big marinating bowl and then cooking it in the rice cooker. Saves time and effort. And it save Calories too. (I know I am being lazy but I have a stack of books that I badly want to complete)

Read on -

Preparation Time - 25 mins (plus 1 hr for marination)

Ingredients -

• 1 cup chicken pieces (medium sized)
• 1 1/2 cup Broccoli pieces
• 1 1/2 cup Basmati rice
• 1 medium sized onion (chopped into thin long pieces)
• 1 1/2 tsp GG paste
• 1/2 tsp Garlic paste
• 1/4 cup thick yogurt
• 1 medium tomato (finely chopped)
• 4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 coriander powder
• 2 pinch turmeric
• whole spices ( 1 inch cinnamon, 1 green cardamom, 2 cloves, 1 bay leaves, a small piece of mace )
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp ghee
• salt to taste

Preparation - Wash and cut the broccoli into medium sized florets. Put them under running water to wash away any insects and eggs. Then soak in warm water to which some turmeric has been added.

Wash the chicken pieces. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the broccoli and all the remaining ingredients except rice, ghee and oil. Keep aside for 1 hour.

Cooking - Switch on the rice cooker. Add the oil and wait for it to heat up. Add the whole spices.

Once they release their fragrance, add the marinated chicken and broccoli. Cook uncovered till the chicken is half done.

Wash the rice and add to the rice cooker. Add 2 cups water. Adjust salt and ghee.

Close the lid. The rice cooker will automatically switch off when it is done.

Kolkata Chicken Biryani

After rummaging through the Southern cookbooks and devouring the best of the biriyanis (Hyderabadi/Ambur/Thalapakatti/Thalasseri), we now make a pit stop at Kolkata. Why Kolkata, the land synonymous with fish and sweets ? Well, that is because Kolkata is also home to a entirely new biryani variety that was inspired by the awadhi version.

This one is minus the aromatic mint and coriander leaves /paste that is a must with the Southern biryanis. And potato makes an appearance instead which also makes this version a tad bit sweeter.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients -

For the Biryani Masala (to be roasted and ground) -

• 2-3 green cardamom
• 1 black cardamom
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 4-5 cloves
• 1/2 tsp white peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp shahi jeera
• 1 mace (javitri)
• a tiny bit of nutmeg ( jaiphal)

For the marinade -

• 500 gm chicken pieces
• 2-3 tbsp thick curd
• 2 tsp GG paste
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp biryani masala powder ( as mentioned above )
• salt to taste

For the Biryani rice -

• 250 gm Basmati rice
• 1-2 green cardamom
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 4-5 peppercorns
• 3-4 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 mace
• 1/2 tsp ghee
• salt to taste

Others -

• 2 large onion ( chopped into small pieces )
• 2-3 tsp fried onions
• 1 large potato ( diced into 6 pieces and fried )
• 2 eggs ( boiled and cut into halves )
• a pinch of saffron (soaked in 3 tbsp warm milk)
• 1 tsp kewra water ( I used kewra leaf instead )
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4-5 tsp oil
• 2-3 tsp ghee

Preparation - Dry roast the spices mentioned for 'Biryani Masala' (do it separately if possible). Ground into a fine powder.

Marinate the chicken pieces with all the ingredients mentioned under 'For the marinade'. Keep aside for 4-5 hours in the fridge.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the sugar and allow it to caramelize a bit.

Add the onion pieces and fry to a translucent. Add the chicken pieces next and cook till almost done. Add the fried potato and cook for 2 mins more. Remove from the flame and keep aside.

Heat sufficient water in a saucepan. When it gets to a boil, add the salt, ghee and whole spices. Follow it with the washed rice. Cook on medium heat till almost 80 percent done. Drain the water.

Final layering - Take a thick bottomed pan. Grease the bottom with ghee. Put a layer of the chicken and follow it with another layer of rice. Repeat till all the rice and chicken is used up. The top layer should be that of rice. 

Place the eggs on top. Drizzle the saffron milk, kewra water and ghee. Sprinkle the fried onions. Close the pan with a heavy lid.

Place it on very low heat (use a tawa instead of keeping it on direct flame) for 20-25 mins.

Remove and keep aside for 10 mins before serving.

Note - If using Kewra leaves, boil it along with the rice and retain it for the dum process. I had mixed some fried onion with the chicken towards the end of the cooking process which gave a darker hue to the biryani. Else it will be significantly lighter in color (almost orange red ).

Potli Biryani (Chicken Biryani in a Banana leaf parcel) !!

Some time back, I had read about a prawn biriyani cooked in a banana leaf. Though I wanted to try it out immediately, it did not happen due to certain circumstances and I conveniently forgot about it. If like me, one has the habit of collecting thousands of recipes, it becomes a bit difficult to keep track of them. Hence, this recipe was lying at the back of my mind and when I saw fresh banana leaves at the vegetable shop last week, I knew I had to try this at least once.

But I did not remember the exact recipe (but I think it had coconut milk in it and I was not sure if my North Indian friends would like it)  and decided to go along with one of my chicken biryani recipes. It results were good. The banana leaf imparted a subtle flavor to the rice and the 'potli' or the banana leaf parcel made for a lovely presentation.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients -

For Chicken -

• 250 gm Chicken
• 2 large onions 
• 2 tsp GG paste
• whole spices ( 3 cloves, 2 inch cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, 1 black cardamom, 2 green cardamom, 1 bay leaf, 2 mace)
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• a handful of mint leaves
• 3-4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup thick curd
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• oil (2 tbsp)
• ghee (2tbsp)
• salt to taste

For the biriyani rice -

• 2 cups Basmati rice 
• 1 star anise
• 1 2" long cinnamon stick
• 3-4 cloves
• 2 green cardamom (slightly split)
• 1 mace
• 1 tsp ghee
• salt to taste

Final garnishing -

• Fried onions
• mint leaves
• coriander leaves
• food color (opional)
• ghee

Preparation - Clean the chicken pieces and pat them dry. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients listed under 'For Chicken' except for the whole spices, oil and onions. Mix everything together and rub the marinade on the chicken pieces for about 5 mins.

Keep aside for 2-3 hours.

Chop the onions into thin long pieces.

Cooking -

For the chicken - Heat oil in a wok. Add the whole spices and fry for 10-15 seconds. Next, add the onions and fry till translucent.

Add the mint leaves and the coriander leaves. Fry for 2 mins.

Add the marinated chicken along with the marinade. Cook for 15 mins (covered) till 3/4 done. Remove from flame and keep aside.

For the rice - Boil 8-10 cup water in large pan. When it gets to a boil, add all the spices and salt.

Wash the Basmati rice and add to the boiling water. Boil on a medium flame for 8-9 mins.

Switch off the flame.  Add the ghee and allow to stand for 30 secs before draining off.

Final assembly - Take a fresh and clean banana leaf that is wide enough and has no tears .

Rub a little ghee all over it. Place a layer of rice on it. Then layer with chicken, fried onions, mint leaves, coriander leaves, ghee and few dots of color. Gather the ends of the leaf, bring them together and bind it with a string/ribbon/rubber band.

Boil water in a steamer. If you don't own one, use an idli maker. Place the banana leaf parcel inside the steamer and allow it to steam for 10-15 mins. The banana leaf would have changed to a yellowish shade by then.

Remove from the steamer and allow it to rest for 10 mins.

Serve the parcels with raita.

Note - I packed individual portions into each banana leaf parcel. So, one can serve it directly with the leaf itself.