Biryani with Cashews
Chicken Biryani in a Rice Cooker! Layered marinated chicken and spiced basmati rice, served with cooling raita.
Ingredients
| 300 g | skinless chicken thighs, cut in half | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | biryani masala |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | ginger, grated |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | garlic, minced |
| pinch | salt | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | kashmiri red chili powder (substitute 3 parts paprika to 1 part cayenne pepper) |
| pinch | ground turmeric | |
| 82 g | plain yogurt (preferably Indian curd) | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | coriander powder |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | lemon juice |
| 185 g | Basmati rice (1.5 cup) | |
| 1.5 cup | 360 ml | water |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | biryani masala (for the rice) |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | plain yogurt (Indian curd, for the rice) |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | kashmiri red chili powder (for the rice; substitute 3 parts paprika to 1 part cayenne pepper) |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | salt (for the rice) |
| 2 | cardamoms | |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | fresh mint leaves, chopped |
| 1 | bay leaf | |
| 1 | star anise | |
| 34 g | cashews (optional) | |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | mint leaves, chopped (garnish) |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | cilantro, chopped (garnish) |
| 184 g | plain yogurt (raita) | |
| 52 g | cucumber, finely diced (raita) | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | red onion, finely diced (raita) |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | lemon juice (raita) |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | olive oil (raita) |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | ground cumin (raita) |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | coriander (raita) |
| 3 tbsp | 45 ml | mint leaves, chopped (raita) |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | cilantro, chopped (raita) |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | pepper (raita) |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | salt (raita) |
Instructions
- Rinse basmati rice until the water runs mostly clear. Soak for 30 minutes, then drain well. This ensures it doesn't get mushy.
- Marinate the chicken by combining the chicken and marinade ingredients into a bowl: ½ lb chicken thighs (cut in half), 1 tbsp biryani masala, ½ tbsp grated ginger, ½ tbsp minced garlic, pinch of salt, ¼ tbsp Kashmiri chili powder, pinch turmeric, ⅓ cup plain yogurt, ¼ tbsp coriander powder, ½ tbsp lemon juice.
- Let sit at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
- In your rice cooker pot, add the soaked & drained rice, and water. Usually 1.5 cups water for 1 cup of soaked basmati rice, but check your rice cooker manual. You can reduce slightly to about 1¼ cup for 1 cup of basmati rice since the chicken and yogurt release liquid.
- To the rice cooker on top to the rice, add ½ tsp biryani masala, ¼ tsp Kashmiri chili powder, ½ tsp salt, 2 tbsp yogurt, 2 cardamoms, 1 bay leaf, 1 star anise, ½ cinnamon stick, 2 tbsp fresh chopped mint, toasted cashews, and raisins.
- Directly on top of the rice mixture, add the marinated chicken evenly—do not mix it in.
- Close the lid and press the regular white rice setting (not quick cook, and not under pressure). Once it's done, let it rest 10 minutes before opening.
- Open the lid and gently fluff the biryani (don't overmix—keep some layers!) Top with extra chopped mint + cilantro, and serve with raita (yogurt sauce) and lime wedges.
For the raita (yogurt sauce), simply mix together all raita ingredients.