Chicken Biryani

Well wasn't this ambitious? I had a huge craving for Indian food yesterday, so sought out some recipes - and this one from allrecipes.com caught my eye. Was it prep heavy? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. It was a dull, grey day - perfect for comfort food. Plus, Scottie had just purchased some Indian incense, so the mood was right to tuck in to some spicy, fragrant goodness (along with some sparkling chardonnay, which surprisingly, was a perfect match!). I ended up cooking the chicken portion separately from the rice, as I used brown basmati, which takes 45 mins to cook (as opposed to 20 mins for white rice) - then I combined the two once they were both cooked - and it was amazing.

4 Tbsp vegetable oil (2 for the chicken portion, 2 for the rice)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
Spinach (this was my addition in lieu of potatoes, I cooked it beforehand)
2 Tbsp plain yogurt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
3 boneless, skinless chicken pieces cut into bite sized pieces

2 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1 pinch powdered saffron (I forgot to add this!)
5 pods cardamom (which I removed after cooking, though one is still hiding!)
3 whole cloves (didn't have any, but used a pinch of ground)
1 (1 inch) piece cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups brown basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock
dash salt

In a large skillet, oil fry onion, garlic and ginger in 2 tbsp grapeseed oil until onion is soft. Add chili, pepper, turmeric, cumin, salt and the tomatoes. Fry, stirring constantly for 5 mins. Add yogurt, mint, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 mins. 

When the mixture is thick and smooth, add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spice mixture. Cover and cook over lowish heat until the chicken is tender, approximately 35 to 45 minutes.  Stir in cooked spinach, if using. 

In the meantime, in a separate pot, heat vegetable oil and fry the onions until they are soft. Add saffron, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ground ginger and rice. Stir continuously until the rice is coated with the spices. Add the chicken stock and salt. Bring to boil. Cover the saucepan tightly, simmer for 45 mins.

Combine all - spoon biryani into bowls.

NOTES:  I added some chopped cilantro at the end, and for the leftovers, combined a dollop of yogurt with more chopped mint - as I couldn't detect the mint at all. Also, as an afterthought, I toasted some cashews and tossed them in as well, the nutty crunch made a nice addition. Namaste!