Yes…normally on Sundays I try to read up and store a lot of useless info in me brain. So for a change, today I made a chicken biriyani. I used to cook long back(from the late 80′s to the late 90′s). After marrying, hung up my “kitchen boots”! 
Anyways..this is the quickest and the tastiest biriyani one could ever make(labor ==1 hr max)..Made it for 6 people with 3 cups of Basmati rice. Soaked the rice in water for 30 mins & dried it up first by passing it through the sieve and then keeping it on the side for 15 mins) Then switched on the cooker and in a pan poured one tbsp of vegetable oil and one tbsp of butter. Sauteed the rice with 3 cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1 bay leaf and a 3 inch long cinnamon stick until the rice turned golden-brown. Transferredthe golden-browned rice to a pressure cooker, poured in 4.5 cups of water and added 1 teaspoon of salt and closed the lid and cooked for 10 mins(exact time). Did not open pressure-cooker for another 15 mins(must do!!)
Now to the chicken. As a prelude to cooking the chicken, cut up four red onions(not very big four, medium sized four) & cut up 1.5 lbs of boneless chicken breasts. In a large teflon pan poured 5 tbsps of vegetable oil and fired up the cooker. Sauteed the onions with one tbsp of ginger paster, one tbsp of garlic paste and 3 tbsps of “Periyar Garam masala”(you could make your own with coriander, chilli, turmeric, pepper powders..but hey this is easy! ) and 1 teaspoon of salt. When the onions looked dry (well use medium fire, ok?…) tossed-in the cut chicken breasts and mixed it all for a few minutes and then closed the pan with its lid(do NOT pour water before closing…chicken cooks in its “own” water. The chicken sh(w)ould be done in 15 mins. After the chicken is affirmed as cooked, remove lid and let the water inside pan evaporate.
Now cut up 3 stalks of coriander/cilantro leaves and 5 mint leaves(each should fill up a tbsp). Grasp the coriander leaves and do a coriander-leaf-confetti on the chicken. Open the pressure-cooker with the cooked rice and do a mint-leaf-confetti on the cooked-rice. Now empty the pan containing the cooked chicken into the pressure cooker with the cooked rice. Mix it all! Don’t squash the rice when mixing(unless you are into eating rice paste )…mix it from the sides with a large spoon.
Make the Indian salad(5 cups of butter-milk+3 diced-up tomatoes+1 diced onions+salt…mix well), a few pappadams (throw in the micro-wave one at a a time for a minute for quickness), serve the mixed rice+chicken..called a biriyani and EAT!
I made an amazing tasting biriyani(not blowing my own horn…my wife seconds that!) Moreover, taught my son Genesh to do it…Got him involved from the very beginning and he knows this recipe by heart now..and he is only 7 !
Well some people try to do a 3-layer biriyani in this style…it is very time-consuming and results could be not so satisfactory, if you ask me..and boring to do. In case, your wise old Indian momma insists on doing that…throw momma out of the …
