Buriani chicken

Name: Buriani chicken
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients: 1 small onion, finely chopped; a pinch of saffron threads; ½ teaspoon paprika; 30 g (1 oz/⅓ cup) freshly grated or desiccated coconut; 100 g (3½ oz/1 cup) basmati rice; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 3 long dried red chillies; 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) chicken stock; ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds; ¼ teaspoon caraway seeds; 1 size 16 (1.6 kg/3 lb 8 oz) chicken, meat removed and cut into large pieces, bones reserved; 100 g (3½ oz) plain Greek-style yogurt; 70 g (2½ oz) ghee; 3 green cardamom pods, bruised; 30 g (1 oz/¼ cup) cashew nuts, chopped; 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns; 1 bay leaf

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Serendip

By Peter Kuruvita

Published 2009

About

This dish is loved by all in Sri Lanka and is considered to be one of the most sumptuous dishes in our cuisine. The best Buriani I have ever had was in the Muslim area of Rangoon in Myanmar.

Ingredients

1 size 16 (1.6 kg/3 lb 8 oz) chicken</

Asia
Sri Lanka
Main course
Spicy

Method

For the buriani spice mix, place all the ingredients in a heavy-based frying pan and dry roast over low heat for 7–10 minutes or until fragrant. Cool, then using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind the mixture until a fine powder forms.

Place the reserved chicken bones in a large saucepan with 2