Chicken Biryani using Coconut Milk

Yummmm!!! What an aroma? Who doesn’t like biryani’s delightful aroma? It makes ourselves to feel more and more hungry. A one pot meal 100% satisfy our taste buds. I was curiously waiting for blogging this recipe when I got wonderful feedback from my husband. He said this is the wonderful biryani prepared by me ever. All credits go to my Selvi Aunty.

When TH and myself visited Selvi aunty’s home as a newly wed couple, she treated us with this delicious biryani. Though I didn’t eat non-veg that time, I got the recipe from my aunt as TH liked the biryani so much.

She cooked this biryani in a pressure cooker but still the rice grains were cooked perfectly. However for me, it is working good only in the pot not in a pressure. So I cooked this biryani in a pot and showed here how I made it.

Basic Information: 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves – 4

Ingredients:

To marinade chicken:

Chicken – approx. 1/2 kg (7 leg pieces)

Curd – 1/4 cup

Red chili powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt – to taste

To grind:

Oil – 1 teaspoon

Cloves – 3 or 4

Cardamom – 3

Cinnamon – 1 inch

Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp

Onion – 1/2 medium size onion

Tomato – 1/2 cup

Ginger – 1 tbsp

Garlic – 1 tbsp

Mint leaves – 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup

For making biryani:

Ghee – 3 tbsp

Oil -1 tbsp

Bay leaves – 1

Cloves – 2

Onion – 1 and 1/2 cup, sliced

Tomato – 1/2 cup

Coconut milk – 1 cup

Water – 2 and 1/4 cup

Basmati rice – 2 cups, soaked for 30 minutes

Salt – to taste

Recipe Video:

Method:

To marinade:

1) Clean and wash the chicken leg pieces and take them in a wide mixing bowl.

2) Add curd, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt.

3) Mix and coat the chicken well.

4) Keep aside the coated chicken for 30 minutes or till it is needed in the biryani.

To grind:

1) Heat oil in a kadai.

2) Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and allow it to splutter.

3) Add onion, ginger garlic , tomato one by one and let all cook till it becomes soft and cooked well.

4) Towards the end, add finely chopped coriander and mint leaves.

5) Sauté well and cool down.

6) Grind it to a smooth paste.

For making biryani:

1) In a wide pan, heat 3tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp oil.

2) Add bay leaves and 2 cloves.

3) Add sliced onion and sauté till it becomes soft and translucent .

4) Add tomato and cook till it becomes soft.

5) Add ground masala to the pan.

6) Add marinated chicken along with the marinade paste.

7) Mix gently. Cook the chicken until it is almost done. I covered and cooked.

8) Once the chicken is almost cooked, Add the coconut milk and the required water and allow it to boil.

9) When it is about to boil, add the soaked rice and the salt to taste.

10) Mix gently and cover the pan. Cook covered for 10 minutes or until the rice is observed by the water and it is well cooked.

11) Turn off the stove and keep the pot covered for few more minutes.

12) After few minutes(about 5 min) fluff it using fork.

13) Serve hot with Raita

Serving suggestion:

1) Serve it as a lunch or sometimes for dinner.

2) Good to make it for a small get to get her or pot luck party.

3) Served with brinjal gravy and raita.

Notes: 

1) For the rice brand I use, I always follow 1 and 1/2 of water for 1 cup soaked rice. Please follow the procedure according to the rice you use. Most of the time and for most of the rice brand this ratio works well. However take caution to avoid sticky rice.

2) Instead of pot cooking , the same procedure can be followed for pressure cooking as well.

3) Add freshly squeezed thick coconut milk for this biryani.

4) Instead of water you can use coconut milk for making this biryani. Ie., you can use 3 and 1/4 cup coconut milk for 2 cups rice.

5)Already there was a little water while the chicken is cooking, so, I added 1 cup coconut milk and 2 and 1/4 water to make perfect biryani. If there is no water left while the chicken is cooking, please feel free to add 3 and 1/2 cup coconut+water quantity for 2 cups of rice.

Related Recipes

Chickpea Biyani / Chole Biryani / Chana Biryani / Kondakadalai Biryani Coconut Milk Rice / Thengai Paal Sadam