Best Chicken Biriyani Beggars Pouches Recipes

CHICKEN BIRYANI RECIPE

Steps:

• To a bowl, add yogurt, ginger garlic paste, ½ tsp salt, garam masala, turmeric, lemon juice & red chili powder.
• Mix up well and taste the marinade. Add more salt and spice if needed.
• Make slits on the chicken pieces. Add it to the marinade &mix well. Cover and set aside for 1 hour to overnight.
• Rinse basmati rice thrice and soak for 30 mins. Drain to a colander after 30 mins.
• Heat ghee or oil in a pot or pressure cooker.
• Add whole spices - bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, shahi jeera & mace. Skip them if you do not have.
• When the spices begin to sizzle, add onions & fry them evenly stirring often until uniformly light brown but not burnt.
• Add chicken & saute until pale for 5 mins on a medium heat.
• Cover & cook on a low flame until the chicken is soft cooked or tender. Saute to evaporate any excess moisture in the pot.
• Taste test and add more salt if needed. I add about ¼ teaspoon salt. Add ¼ cup yogurt (curd), 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves, 1 slit green chili, ½ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder & 1 teaspoon garam masala.
• Mix everything well and layer chicken evenly at the bottom. (check video)
• Spread drained rice in a layer over the chicken.
• To a separate bowl, pour 3 cups water. If cooking in a pot use 3 ½ cups water.
• Add ½ to ¾ tsp salt and mix. Taste the water. It must be slightly salty.
• Pour 2 cups of this water across the sides of the cooker or pot. Gently pour the rest on top of the rice. (check video)
• Level the rice if needed. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons mint leaves. Optionally add 2 tablespoons fried onions & saffron soaked milk if using.
• Pot method - If cooking in a pot, cover and cook on a low flame until the chicken biryani is done to your liking. If the rice is still under cooked or hard, pour ¼ to ½ cup boiling water and cook further. When done it has to be fully cooked, yet remain grainy.
• Cooker method - Set the flame to medium high. Cover & place the whistle. Cook for 1 whistle. Move the cooker away from the burner to stop cooking further.
• Rest until the pressure settles. Fluff up the chicken biryani with a fork.
• Serve from top to the bottom layer. Each serving gets biryani rice from top and chicken from the bottom layer.
• Enjoy chicken biryani with raita and sliced veggies, papad and shorba (biryani gravy).

CHICKEN BIRIYANI BEGGARS POUCHES

Steps:

• Mix the cayenne powder, coriander powder and tumeric powder, set aside
• In a clean food processor grind the medium onion, garlic and ginger to a paste
• Dry the chicken well and chop finely, but do not grind ( a couple of pulses in the food processor will do fine
• Heat the oil or ghee in a pan and fry the onion slices to golden and set aside
• Do the same to the cashew nuts and raisins and set aside
• Add the ground paste and dry spice mix to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the chopped chicken
• Cook the chicken in the spice paste for a few minutes, turning it over a few times with a spoon, until it is no longer pink
• Add the green chilies, garam masala, whole cardamom, yoghurt, coriander leaves and salt to taste
• Let the chicken simmer in the sauce until the chicken is cooked and the sauce thickens
• Remove from heat and let cool
• Cut the phyllo sheets in half, so you have 32 squares
• cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and a damp towel while working so it does not dry out
• Place one sheet of phyllo on your work surface
• Brush with a little melted butter, especially the edges
• Place a second sheet on top in the opposite direction to make a cross, brushing this sheet with melted butter as well
• Place two more sheets in the same manner (criss crossing and brushing with butter) on top of the previous sheets of phyllo (you will have 4 layers, criss crossing each other
• Divide chicken mixture into 8 and place 1/8th of mixture into center of one of the layers of phyllo
• Sprinkle 1/8th of the cashews and raisins on top
• Loosen the sheets of phyllo with a flat metal spatula or knife and using your fingers, carefully lift and gather the phyllo (as if making a pouch) encasing the chicken in a bundle with a loose flowing frilly top
• Pinch the gather together and hold for 5 seconds
• This will hold the package closed
• Place each purse on a lightly greased baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken and phyllo
• Refrigerate until ready to bake (this can be made in advance up to this point)
• When placing the chicken on the sheet pans, leave enough space between the bundles to that they will become crispy on the sides when baked
• Preheat oven to 375*F
• Place the pans with the beggars purses on them into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, until nicely crispy (do not overcook)
• To serve place one beggars purse on a warm plate, with a dollop of creme fraiche on the side, sprinkling the chopped coriander on for a garnish
• If you wanted, two of these purses could be served as a main course along with a spicy basamati pilaf

SPICY INDIAN-STYLE SKILLET CHICKEN BIRIYANI

Steps:

• Sprinkle the chicken with about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (can use more pepper).
• Heat oil with butter over medium heat; add in the chicken and cook for about 6-7 minutes or until cooked through, remove to a bowl, cover with foil to keep warm.
• Add in onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned (you might have to add in more oil if needed).
• Add in garlic, chili flakes, curry powder, ginger, cardamom and jalapeno peppers; cook stirring for 3 minutes.
• Add in yogurt, cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
• Add in chicken and raisins; cook for about 3-4 minutes or until heated through.
• Add in cooked rice; stir to combine.
• Season with more salt and black pepper to taste.
• Sprinkle with chopped cashews.