Chicken Biryani

Ingredients:
5 cups basmati rice
2 pounds chicken
1 packet Biryani masala of your choice
1 large pink onion finely chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1.5 cups yogurt
3 teaspoons chili powder
Pinch of turmeric
Salt to taste
Cooking oil
3 whole cardamoms
4 small cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
10 mint leaves

Procedure:
Marination:
Marinate chicken in yogurt, biryani masala, ginger garlic paste, chili powder and turmeric for an hour.

Cooking Chicken:
1) In a thick bottomed cooking pan add ¼ cup of cooking oil and fry the onions on a medium to high flame. Once the onions are caramelized, add the tomatoes and fry them thoroughly till the oil separates and shows up.
2) Add the marinated chicken, salt and let the chicken cook partly on a medium flame with a lid covered. Once the chicken is half cooked, add 1.5 cups of water and let the chicken cook with a lid covered.
3) Once the chicken is cooked, remove the lid and let the excess water evaporate on a high flame. Once the gravy is really thick, remove the chicken from flame and set aside.

Cooking rice:
1) In a large sauté pan, add ¼ cup oil and fry the bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom on a medium flame for a minute. Then add the rice (washed 3 to 4 times with water) and fry until most of the grains get a light brown color. Remove from flame.
2) For every cup of rice add 1.75 cups of water and boil in a rice cooker with a teaspoon of salt and mint leaves. Once rice is cooked, set aside.

Making layers:
Grease the bottom of a large cooking pot with a teaspoon of cooking oil. Add a layer of rice followed by a layer of chicken and keep alternating with layers of rice and chicken till done. Place a lid on the cooking pot. In a large sauté pan, add a cup of water and place the cooking pot on it. Get the water to boil on a high flame and let the cooking pot stay on it for 10 minutes. Keep adding more water as it evaporates. Once done, remove from heat and serve. While serving, make sure to cut through the layers to serve rice and chicken. Tastes better with Mirchi ka salan or raita.

Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 4 to 5