Biryani recipe

Fried potatoes cooked inside the marinated chicken under parboiled rice, in a pot sealed shut so the steam never escapes.

6 hoursmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes
• 500 g basmati rice
• 800 g chicken
• 250 g yogurt
• 4 onions
• 1 bunch mint
• 1 bunch coriander
• 6 clove garlic
• 30 g ginger
• 3 tbsp biryani masala
• 1 pinch saffron
• 100 g ghee

How to make Biryani

1. Marinate 250 g of chicken with 250 g of yogurt, 6 crushed garlic cloves, 30 g of grated ginger, 3 tbsp of biryani masala, half the mint and coriander and 2 tsp of salt, then leave it 4 hours in the fridge.
2. Slice 4 onions thin and fry them until dark brown and crisp, then drain them and keep them aside: they sweeten the whole pot.
3. Halve 4 potatoes and deep-fry them until golden but not cooked through, then fold them into the chicken marinade; the potatoes are not a filler, a Mauritian briani without them is not one.
4. Boil 500 g of soaked basmati in plenty of salted water with a cinnamon stick for 5 minutes, until the grain snaps but the centre is still white, then drain it.
5. Spread the chicken and potatoes in a heavy pot, cover with the rice, scatter the fried onions, the rest of the mint and coriander, 100 g of ghee and a pinch of saffron soaked in warm milk.
6. Seal the pot with a lid wrapped in foil or a rope of flour and water dough, so no steam escapes.
7. Cook 10 minutes on high heat, then 35 to 40 minutes on the lowest heat, on a flat pan if your burner is fierce, and do not lift the lid.
8. Rest 10 minutes off the heat, break the seal and lift the layers with a wide spoon from the bottom so every plate gets rice, chicken and a potato.

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