Recipe-o'-clock: Here's how you can make Kolkata chicken biryani
What's the story
Durga Puja not only calls for fun and frolic but also triggers a bong's immense love for food, especially biryani.
Restaurants selling biryani always experience a boom during the five-day festival.
And if you've ever tasted a spoonful of Kolkata, biryani you'd know why people go gaga over it.
Let's check out the recipe for every Bengali's go-to pandal hopping menu here.
Ingredients
Things you need to assemble
Basmati rice: One kilogram
Chicken: One kilogram
Potatoes (medium): Four
Hard-boiled eggs: Four
Onions (medium): Three
Garlic paste: Two teaspoon
Ginger paste: One and a half teaspoon
Half a lemon juice
Half cup yogurt
Ghee: 10 tablespoon
Half cup refined oil
Milk: Four tablespoon
Bay leaves: Five
Cinnamon stick: Three inches
Cloves: 10
Green cardamom: 10
Biryani masala: three and a half teaspoon
Ingredients
Spices and more
Kashmiri chili powder: One teaspoon
Rose essence: Three drops
Kewra water: One and one-third teaspoon
Mitha attar: Eight drops
A pinch of saffron
Turmeric powder: One teaspoon
For the biryani masala:
Shahi jeera: One teaspoon
White peppercorn: One teaspoon
Green cardamom: 25
Mace: 1 1/2
Cinnamon stick: Half inch
Nutmeg: 1/4
Kebab chini or allspice: One teaspoon
Cloves: Five
Step 1
Prepare and keep aside
First, roast the spices for the biryani masala and grind them into a powder.
Pressure cook the potatoes. Then fry them when cool. Also, fry onions and keep them aside for later.
Prepare saffron milk by soaking a few saffron strands in warm milk for 15 minutes. Add kewra water and rose essence into the mix. Finally, add the attar and mix well.
Step 2
Cooking the rice
Wash and soak basmati rice for at least 30 minutes.
Fill a large pot with water, add salt, oil, cardamoms, bay leaves, cloves, and cinnamon sticks and bring it to a boil.
Add the rice and cook. It should not be cooked all the way through.
Turn off the heat and drain the starch. Spread the rice out on plates to cool it completely.
Step 3
Cooking the chicken
Mix the yogurt and chili powder and add to the chicken pieces.
Add the garlic paste, ginger paste, and powdered biryani masala and mix.
Add lemon juice to this and a handful of fried onions and mix.
Now marinate chicken for at least an hour.
Cook the marinated chicken in the pan thoroughly, and then turn off the heat after about 20 minutes.
Final touches
Assemble the biryani
Lay bay leaves on the bottom of a saucepan and spread a layer of rice.
Add pieces of chicken and potatoes, some gravy, sprinkle biryani masala, saffron milk, ghee, and fried onions.
After another layer, place rice, hard-boiled eggs, and cover with lid.
Seal lid with dough, place a pan of hot water on it, and heat on low flame.
Serve after 30 minutes.