Chicken Keema Biryani

Chicken Keema Biryani

Biryani is a rich and wholesome dish that takes center stage at any festive meal. It consists of layers of fluffy, aromatic Basmati rice, a rich meaty base and loads of fried onions, herbs and aromatic spices that are steamed in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. 

This chicken keema biryani uses ground chicken that is cooked first, separately from the rice. I've cut down on the processing time by using a ready-made spice mix called Shan Pilao Biryani mix whose strong and spicy flavours works its magic on the ground chicken which serves as a base layer for the biryani. Basmati rice is soaked for 20 minutes, drained and air-dried before being spread evenly over the chicken base and topped with cilantro, mint and deep fried onions. Heated chicken broth is poured carefully around the edges of the saucepan and this one-pot dish is simmered over low heat for 25 minutes until all the liquids are absorbed by the rice.

This main dish is best accompanied by a cool and soothing Raita along with vegetable sides such as Green Beans Posto and Tomato Chutney.

Kofta Alu Biryani - Meatball & Potato Biryani

Kofta Alu Biryani

Bengali meals almost always include a rice dish as a staple which is why pulaos and biryanis are such a favourite side. Biryani is a layered dish of rice and meat or seafood, cooked in a saucepan with a well-fitting lid. Pulao is more like a fried rice. 

After our grandchildren arrived, I was re-introduced to meatballs and spaghetti, so our freezer is always stocked with Italian meatballs. They go from a frozen state to soft and bouncy balls by simmering in hot, chicken stock for 10 minutes. After draining, the remaining stock is reserved for cooking the rice.

Whole baby potatoes are a must for this biryani, but I've also used chunks of russet/baking potatoes. The other necessary ingredient is Shan's Pulao/Biryani spice mix. This is available in Indian markets and there's no way I could reproduce the combination of spices in my kitchen.

This biryani goes well with a raita (salad dressed with yogurt dressing) or the fresher pico de gallo style of salad comprising cucumber, tomatoes and onions dressed with lime and salt.

Quick & Easy Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani

Fluff with a fork to reveal the
pretty orange hue of the saffron

Here is a really quick & easy way to make biryani which is served on festive occasions. Our cause for celebration was to break a fast from eating bland food because Hubby was suffering from a digestive ailment. If you've read my past posts on the subject, they will seem labor-intensive - see Chicken Biryani and 

Lamb & Potato Biryani.

Served with Shrimp Curry

Choto Alu'r Dum

We had this biryani with Shrimp Curry and Alu Dum, but it tastes great accompanied by a salad or raita.

Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani

Biryani is a delicious and wholesome combination of rice, layered with meat or vegetables and potatoes, cooked with aromatic spices and garnished with deep fried onions. Making a traditional biryani is a long and complicated process which was beyond my comprehension until my brother who is a wonderful cook, allowed me to watch him produce outstanding results using a very simple process. I came back home after that weekend in Toronto and tried it without the same success.

Chicken Biryani Plated

My brother cooks the chicken on the stovetop, cooks the rice in a rice cooker and pours the chicken and all its juices over the rice and sets the biryani aside until dinnertime. His biryani tastes simply awesome, but I was not able to replicate it. 

My way is to cook chicken and potatoes in a big saucepan, cover the top with Greek yogurt, top it with rice that has been soaked and strained well, add chicken broth in proportion to the rice, bring it to a boil and then cover and simmer it over low heat for 25 minutes. It sounds complicated, but is really easy to do.

Varieties of Ready-Made Birista

Birista or deep fried onions are an essential garnish for both pulaos and biryanis. They're easy to make but is a tedious and long process. Much easier to pick up a bottle or package of birista at the oriental markets.

Shan Pilau Biryani Mix

Recipe on back of package

The recipe that follows was inspired by the recipe on the back of the spice mix with a few modifications which were made to simplify the process. 

Simple Salad

Serve this biryani with a simple salad of diced cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, green chilies, salt and lime juice. Or accompany the biryani with one of the following raitas.

   

Fuji Apple Raita

Tzatziki or Cucumber Raita

Lamb & Potato Biryani

Lamb Biryani

Mum's Yakhni Pulao made with mutton or lamb was unforgettable. It was quite a complicated recipe, but unfortunately, there is no record it. I've tried to reproduce it to the best of my ability, and this attempt tasted quite delicious.

My pressure cooker came in handy to pre-cook the pieces of meat, but this step could also be done on the stove top. It would just take an hour or longer instead of 20 minutes in the pressure cooker. 

Shan pulao/biryani masala mix, available in Indian markets, contains a mix of spices that give biryani its distinctive taste and aroma. I used a tea strainer to sprinkle the spices over a plate. That leaves all the solid spices in the strainer which I use for tempering, remove from the oil and enclose them in a tea ball (or cheescloth tied with kitchen string is a good substitute) which is tossed into the saucepan to cook along with the biryani.

Packaged Birista

Bottled Birista

Birista or deep fried onions are an essential garnish for both pulaos and biryanis. They're easy to make but is a tedious and long process. Much easier to pick up a bottle or package of birista at the Asian markets.

Fuji Apple Raita

CucumberTomatoOnion Salad

Biryani is pretty filling as a main course, but is great paired with a raita or simple salad. The grated fuji apple raita on the left is dressed with yogurt and a tempering of raisins, mustard seeds and curry leaves. On the right, a simple salad of cucumber, tomatoes and onion is dressed very simply with salt and lime juice.

Mushrooms & Peas Pilaf

Mushrooms & Peas Pulao

Here is a vegetarian pilaf that is as satisfying as its meaty counterparts. Mushrooms are the key ingredient that give flavour to this rice dish. Any kind of mushroom will work, including rehydrated shiitake mushrooms which pack a strong flavour punch. Aged Basmati rice is my long-grain rice of choice for making pilaf, but jasmine rice or other long-grain rice are also viable options. 

Chicken Keema Mattar - Ground Chicken with Peas and Potatoes

There are so many ways to prepare keema curry, but this one is really delicious because of the addition of Shan Pulao/Biryani mix, which is available in Indian grocery stores throughout the United States & Canada.