Name: Chicken Biryani
Yield: Serves 6–8
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 6 whole cloves; 30 ml black peppercorns; 2 star anise; 30 ml garlic and ginger paste; 2 onions, sliced; 45 ml chopped fresh coriander; 30 ml fennel seeds; 4 green chillies, chopped (deseeded for a milder dish); a pinch of saffron dissolved in 60 ml hot water; 500 ml lentils; a blade of mace; 4 tomatoes, chopped; 500 g basmati rice, washed and drained; 30 ml olive oil; 6 cardamom pods; 5 ml turmeric; 2 kg skinless chicken thighs; 30 ml garam masala; 2 cinnamon sticks; 30 ml cumin seeds; 30 ml biryani spice mix; 15 ml salt; 500 ml plain yoghurt; 500 ml water; 5 ml salt

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Simply Delicious

By Zola Nene

Published 2016

About

For as long as I can remember, my family has been fond of spicy food. My mom learnt how to make a traditional biryani from one of our Indian neighbours when we were still living in Durban, and it’s been a favourite on our family menu for years. My mom’s version takes an entire day to make … mine takes considerably less time.

Ingredients

For the biryani spice mix

6 cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
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Method

Combine all the spices for the biryani spice mix in a pestle and mortar and gently pound to bruise and slightly crush the spices – don’t grind them, just crush them.
To prepare the chicken, heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add 30 ml of the biryani spice mix and fry for a few seconds.
Add the onions and fry un