Chicken Biriyani (Sri Lankan)

I'm always a sucker for a good biriyani and, let me tell you, this one was amazing! Honestly, the rice alone was a delight and already incredible. The chicken curry, onion mixture, and boiled eggs just made it even more over-the-top delicious.

One small note: Do not do as I did and make this in a 6-cup casserole dish. It's not nearly big enough! Next time I'd make this in a 9"x13" (23x33cm) lasagne pan or something of similar volume.

Chicken Biriyani

Slightly adapted from Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

Chicken Curry

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 green cardamom pods
• 1 Indian bay leaf
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 500g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. roasted curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika, hot paprika, or chili powder (according to your taste)
• 1 c. chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Onion Mixture

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 10-12 fresh curry leaves

Assembly

• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. rosewater (optional)
• 1 recipe yellow rice
• 4 large eggs, hard-boiled and halved
• fresh cilantro (optional), to garnish

Directions

Note: Before you launch into the other steps, boil your eggs and prepare the yellow rice as directed and set it aside until you're ready to start assembling the biriyani.

Chicken Curry

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Bruise the cardamom pods and add them to the pan along with the bay leaf, onion, cloves, garlic, ginger, and chicken.
3. Cook for ~5 minutes.
4. Add turmeric, curry powder, paprika (or chili powder), and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes and mix well.
6. Add salt and pepper and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt and cilantro.

Onion Mixutre

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cinnamon stick and cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add curry leaves and cook for another minute or so.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Add the water, oil, and rosewater (if using) to your baking dish.
3. Spread ~1/3 of the rice into the bottom of the dish.
4. Spread ~1/2 the curry on top of the rice.
5. Spread another 1/3 of the rice over the curry.
6. Now add ~1/2 the onion mixture on top of the rice.
7. Spread the remaining curry over the onions.
8. Top with the remaining rice.
9. Use a chopstick or the handle of a spoon to make a few holes down to the bottom of your biriyani so that steam can escape during baking.
10. Cover the dish. If you do not have an oven-safe lid for it, you may cover it with aluminum foil instead.
11. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and garnish with remaining onion mixture, halved eggs, and cilantro.