Chicken Pulao

It fills me with joy, when I smell the tantalizing aroma of chicken pulao filling the kitchen, wafting throughout the house making everybody peep into the kitchen with a broad smile and expectant faces.
The medley of spices, the fragrant rice, the tender goodness of meat that go into the making of chicken pulao simply render this dish to crave for. Every household has its own recipe for pulao aka biryani. This particular one is mine.

RECIPE: Chicken Pulao
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INGREDIENTS:

For Marinade:

Chicken (big pieces) – 1/2 kg

Yoghurt – 3/4^th cup

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp.

Salt – as required

Turmeric – 1/2 tsp.

Red chilli powder – 2 tsp.

Ginger-garlic paste – 3 tsp. heaped

Coriander leaves – 3/4^th cup

Mint leaves - 1/2 cup

For Pulao Masala:

Cardamom (Elaichi) - 6

Cinnamon - 6 inch pieces

Star anise – 3

Marathi mogga - 1

Clove – 2 tbsp.

Peppercorns- 2 tsp.

Shah jeera – 2 tsp.

Nutmeg grated – 1 tsp.

Coriander seeds – 3 tbsp.

For Curry:

Bay leaves – 5

Cloves – 5

Cinnamon – 2 one-inch pieces

Cardamom (Elaichi) - 4

Onions medium – 1

Green chillies – 4 (use less for less spice)

Ghee – 1/4^th cup

Oil – 1/4^th cup

Shah jeera – 1 tsp.

Pulao masala – 2 tsp. (from above)

For Final Prep:

Basmati rice – 3 cups

Water – for soaking

Coconut milk – 1/2 cup

Water – 4.5 cup 

METHOD:

Add yoghurt, lemon juice, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, 1/4 cup coriander and 1/4 cup mint leaves to the chicken in a bowl. Let it marinate for an hour. 

Slice the onions and green chillies.

Grind the ingredients listed under pulao masala in a blender. Store it in a container.

Take oil and ghee in a deep pan. Fry cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and shah jeera for a minute.  Add onion, green chillies and fry for 2 minutes. Add remaining half of ginger garlic paste, bay leaf and fry for 10 mins or till the onions are slightly browned. Then, add the marinated chicken and pulao masala to the pan. Simmer with lid on for another 15 minutes on low heat stirring in between.

While its simmering, add water to basmati rice till its submerged and let it soak for 15 minutes. Then, drain the water completely.

Once the chicken looks cooked and gravy thickens a bit, add rice to the gravy and fry for a couple of minutes.

Now take this mixture in a rice cooker, add remaining coriander and mint leaves.  Next, add water and milk. Add salt. Give the mix a slight stir. Close the lid and let it cook away to glory.

Garnish with fried onions. Serve with raitha.

Serves: 6

Per serving:  

Calories - 450

Carbohydrates – 43 gm.

Protiens -23 gm.

Fat - 21 gm.

Variations:

You can use other meats like mutton and prawns in the same procedure for other kind of pulao’s. Mutton takes longer to cook so you can alter the frying time for mutton pulao. Prawns have same cooking time as chicken.