Mr.Shan Mix & Chicken Briyani

When its comes to cooking biryani..its always been a nightmare for me! Every time I end-up calling my mom to ask silly questions. How much coriander powder? how many cloves..cardamoms etc..etc.? And I always end-up adding more cloves & cinnamon, and the result, over-flavored Biryani. Poor me!

And then, there came my dear 'Mr.Mix' to the rescue. While hunting though the shelves in nearby Indian grocers, 'Mr.Mix' caught my attention and followed me home.

Typically, one can very well follow the instructions at the back of the box. But for me, nah.. I tried a different variation, a blend of South-Indian based rice, Shan-mix based gravy and final touch with the help of Oven. Touch-wood!

 

CHICKEN BIRYANI 

For the Rice

• Basmati Rice - 1 cup
• Coconut Milk - 1 cup
• Pepper corns - 3 to 5
• Green chili - 1(slit lengthwise)
• Black Cumin(Shahi Jeera) - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Coriander Leaves - a small bunch.
• Water - 1 cup

Soak the rice for 10-15 minutes. Take a pan, heat oil over medium heat, add cumin seeds, green chili and pepper corns, fry for a minute and add the coriander powder. Fry for a minute in low heat. Do not burn the coriander powder. Make sure enough oil is there to fry the coriander powder.

Add water and coconut milk carefully, without spilling over and mix thoroughly. Once the water starts to boil, add the rice and coriander leaves.

After adding rice, you can cook the rice in three methods.

Rice Cooker - transfer the rice & water and cook accordingly.

Pressure Cooker - transfer the rice & cook for 1 whistle or as required.

Stove Top - Cook till the water evaporates, and then close tightly with a lid and simmer till the rice is cooked.

Choose whichever method suits you better, and make sure the rice remains as individual strands after cooking. Cook the rice and set aside.

Gravy - With Mr.Mix

• Chicken - 0.7 Pounds (Preferably thighs or drumsticks -4 to 5 pieces )
• Onion - 2
• Tomato -1
• Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp
• Shan or National Chicken Briyani Mix : 4 tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Green chili - 2
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Yogurt - 2tbsp
• Oil - 2tbsp
• Coriander leaves - from 3 to 4 stalks
• Mint leaves - 6 to 8
• Fried Onion - 1/2 cup [or use 1- finely sliced onion and deep fry until golden brown]

In a thick-bottomed pan, heat the oil, splutter the cumin seeds, add green chili and ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes. Add onion and fry till brown.

Add the coriander powder and chicken masala and fry for another minute. Add the tomato and cook till done.

Add the chicken pieces, reduce to low heat, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is soft and tender. Stir in the yogurt, mint and coriander leaves and fry for another minute over medium heat till the oil separates.

Arranging & Baking

Pre-heat the oven to 325F. In a baking-dish, add the gravy in the bottom layer, sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves(optional) and then layer the rice on the top. Sprinkle with fried onions, coriander leaves and butter. Tightly close with the foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

Sending this recipe to APS Rice event hosted by Anitha of Anitha's Kitchen.

Cooking with Love-ly Greens

Upon kind request from my dear husband, I have been cooking all sorts of greens, lately. So much that, I wanted to add greens to all my dishes.

When I googled for a chicken recipe with greens, came across quite a few interesting combination, and finally settled for the one in this page. This recipe seemed very simple and also suited me. I modified a little, well, mostly the method and consistency and tossed in a few additional ingredients.

Methi and Chicken is an authentic hyderabadi recipe. The soft chicken complements the slightly bitter methi well, and the tangy tomato gravy adds an additional taste to this curry.

METHI CHICKEN/MURGH CHICKEN

• Onion - 2 [very finely chopped]
• Tomato - 2 [blend to a coarse paste]
• Fresh Methi leaves - 1 bunch
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2tsp
• Chicken - 0.7 lb - 1 lb.
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Cumin powder - 1tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1tsp
• Yogurt - 1 tbsp
• Red chili powder - 3tsp or as required.
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 3tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 4-6 stalks.

Wash and marinate the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and turmeric powder for 10 minutes.

Take a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil, splutter the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cardamon, clove and curry leaves. Add the onion and fry till nice brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Add cumin powder, coriander powder and red chili powder and fry for 1 minute. Now add the chicken pieces and toss everything to coat the chicken well. Cover and cook for 15 minutes in a low flame, till the chicken is tender.

Now add the methi leaves and cook for another 2 minutes in a medium flame uncovered, till the methi leaves starts to wilt.

Add the tomato puree along with yogurt and 1/2 cup water and bring to boil. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the oil oozes out. Add coriander leaves and switch off.

Note: For the chicken to be tender, after thawing, transfer the chicken to a Ziploc bag. Take a big, nice pestle or any similar tool and beat the chicken on both sides, taking care not to crush the chicken or tear the bag. This helped me especially when I used frozen poultry.

Sending this recipe to the event Served with Love, organized by Gourmet Affair.