Favorite Recipes: Chicken Biryani

I found this recipe book at Barnes & Noble. I used to work with an Indian woman so I asked her go through the book and mark recipes she has made or makes for her family for me to try. This was one of those recipes. I found an Indian grocery store nearby where I had to pick up some of the ingredients. It was a neat place so spent a little time looking around. I'd definitely like to go back soon and spend more time in there. I chose this recipe because it looked like a casserole and looked pretty easy to make. Boy was I wrong! It took an hour to prep and get everything ready and then another hour to cook! I thought it was good when I first starting eating it but the more I ate it the more I didn't like it. I have never had cardamom pods or cloves before and I don't think I like the cardamom pods. I also had to grind some of the spices and I don't think I ground them all the way down so I didn't like the taste of that either. If I ever make this recipe again, I think I'd leave out the cardamom pods and use all ground spices. And I wouldn't spice up the rice-I'd just leave it plain.

Chicken Biryani (4 servings)(10 points)

1 1/2 basmati rice
10 whole green cardamom pods
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 whole cloves
2-in piece fresh cinnamon stick
3 tbsp veggie oil
3 onions, sliced
4 chicken breast fillets, each about 6 oz, skinned and cubed
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp hot chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tomatoes, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 c plain yogurt, plus extra to serve
4-5 saffron threads, soaked in 2 tsp warm milk
2/3 c water
Garnishes: Sliced almonds, fresh cilantro sprigs

Wash rice well and let soak in water for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Remove seeds from half the cardamom pods and grind them finely, using a mortar and pestle. Set aside the ground seeds.

Bring pan of water to boil. Drain rice and add t with the salt, whole cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon stick. Boil 2 minutes, then drain, leaving the whole spices in the rice. Keep the rice hot in a covered pan.

Heat oil in a large skillet and fry the onions for 8 minutes, until softened and browned. Add the chicken and the ground spices, including the ground cardamom seeds. Mix well, then add the garlic, ginger ad lemon juice. stir-fry for about 5 minutes.

Transfer the chicken mixture to a casserole (I used a Dutch oven) and arrange the tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, spoon the yogurt evenly on top, and cover with drained rice.

Drizzle the saffron milk over the rice and pour over the water. Cover, then bake in the oven for 1 hour. Transfer to a serving plate and discard the whole spices. Garnish and serve immediately.

Chicken and onions cooking...