Malabar Chicken Biryani

Malabar food is a Biryani dish from Kerela. The famous dish is made by layering aromatic Rice with chicken masala, mostly made in Ghee. The recipe demands the pot to be sealed with flour or tight cloth, after the Rice and chicken are layered and Biryani is set to dumm. It should be cooked on low heat to get the perfect Biryani that has been one of Kerela’s most popular and beautiful recipes.

The great town Calicut, now known has Kozhikode is known for its amazing cuisines along with beautiful beaches. The place has had many settlers and the cuisines show an influence of the the travelers from different countries that had once been the part of Calicut’s gorgeous history. Biryani of course shows a clear influence of Persin / Mughal era. the local cuisine is known for its sumptuous non vegetarian food and Chicken Biryani seems to be one of the top favorites.

Coming back to today’s recipe for Malabar Biryani, its usually made with Chicken, but I am sure the recipe would work great on Meat and Fish too, though you might want to change the proportion of spices. The Malabari call the cooking of this Biryani to be a “Pakki method” in which Rice and chicken are cooked separately and then layered and put to dumm.

Malabar Biryani is usually cooked in Ghee. The liberal use of ghee along side of whole spices, like Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and star anise make an awesomely fragrant dish. I am not a big fan of cooking the whole Biryani in Ghee, so I have been slightly careful. But you can always substitute Oil for Ghee if it suits your taste buds. This dish is spicy, but not spicy enough to make you cry. So, if you like Biryani, but aren’t a fan of Indian food that’s “hot”, this dish is for you.

Malabar Biryani uses Khaima Rice and I tried to look for a good quality Khaima Rice in United States. Since my search didn’t give me any results, I am sticking to my original long grained Basmati Rice. My Mother in law loves her Biryani cooked with Jeerakasala Rice, which is close or same as Khaima Rice. So, if you do happen to find a good brand, Please use it and also let me know in the comment section. The extra water in the Rice is drained and the rice is cooled slightly. Unlike the absorption method of cooking, this method of cooking rice in an open pan in excess water and draining it like pasta will always give you perfect Rice thats needed for a good Biryani.

The chicken is first cooked in onions, ginger, garlic, fresh cilantro, mint and green chilies and yogurt. Tomatoes can or cannot be used. I saw different recipes and I preferred the one with tomatoes. Once the chicken is all cooked, layer it with the Rice and seal the Biryani with a cloth and a tight lid. Adding some kind of weight to the lid is advisable too. I usually keep my Biryani in the oven but you can always dumm it on the gas at low flame for around 30 minutes.

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Malabar Chicken Biryani

Biryani from the heart of Kerela

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Cuisine

Indian, Mughlai

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

40 minutes

Passive Time

2 hours

Servings

people MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

• 4.5 cups Long grain Basmati Rice washed and soaked for 20 minutes
• 4 No. Onions medium sized, sliced
• 3 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
• 8 No. Green chilies crushed
• 2 lbs Chicken [with bones] small to medium size pieces
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Red chili powder
• 1 tsp Salt more or less according to your taste
• 1/4 cup curry leaves
• 1/2 cup Coriander leaves
• 1/4 cup Mint leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 cup Yogurt
• 2 No. Tomatoes sliced
• 3 No. Star Anise
• 4 No. Green caradamoms crushed
• 6 No. cloves
• 2 No. Cinnamon sticks medium size
• 1/2 tsp Shahi zeera
• 4 tbsp rose water
• 1/8 tsp Orange food color optional
• 1/4 tsp saffron
• 2 tbsp Lemon juice

Cuisine Indian, Mughlai Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 40 minutes Passive Time 2 hours Servings people MetricUS Imperial Ingredients 4.5 cups Long grain Basmati Rice washed and soaked for 20 minutes 4 No. Onions medium sized, sliced 3 tbsp Ginger garlic paste 8 No. Green chilies crushed 2 lbs Chicken [with bones] small to medium size pieces 1 tsp Garam masala 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder 1 tsp Red chili powder 1 tsp Salt more or less according to your taste 1/4 cup curry leaves 1/2 cup Coriander leaves 1/4 cup Mint leaves 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tbsp Ghee 1 cup Yogurt 2 No. Tomatoes sliced 3 No. Star Anise 4 No. Green caradamoms crushed 6 No. cloves 2 No. Cinnamon sticks medium size 1/2 tsp Shahi zeera 4 tbsp rose water 1/8 tsp Orange food color optional 1/4 tsp saffron 2 tbsp Lemon juice

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Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken with yogurt, Ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt. Keep aside for an hour.

   
2. Add oil to a pan. Add onions. Cook till the onions turn brown. Take 2 TBLSP out for garnishing later.

   
3. Add green chilies and fry for a minute. Add the marinated chicken and tomatoes. Let it cook for 10 minutes.

   
4. Add curry leaves and mix well.

   
5. Add coriander leaves and let it simmer till the Yakhni reduces to one cup and the chicken is cooked.

   
6. Prepare the rice: Drain the soaked rice. Heat ghee in a pan and add star anise, caraway seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamoms.

   
7. Add mint leaves and 2 liters of water to the pan, with little salt and let it come to a boil.

   
8. Add Rice and cook till its 70% done. Drain the water.

   
9. Mix the saffron, orange color and rose water.

   
10. Now to assemble: Take a deep pan, add a layer of rice followed by yakhni. Sprinkle some lemon juice and then add another layer of rice. Add some rose water with saffron.

    
11. Garnish with fried onions that we kept aside, a few mint leaves and rose water. Cover with a tight fitting lid and heat it on medium high for 2 minutes and the low on 30 minutes.

    
12. Serve with khatte baingan and cucumber-onion salad on the side.