Chicken Biryani and Raita Salad

Made this for me and the wife tonight with scheduled leftovers. Crazy easy to make. The only specialty equipment you need is a deep oven safe dish with a tight fitting lid, like a cast iron dutch oven, or stone rice pot, or old school casserole.

Serves 4 (or 2 + leftovers)

Chicken Biryani

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 cups plain, full fat yogurt*
1 stick cinnamon
2 whole cloves
2 green cardamom pods (or pinch ground cardamom)
1/2 tsp each ground cumin and coriander
1 tsp ground mace OR 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 small green chiles, cut in half
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic and 1/2” piece of ginger, pureed together into a paste**
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 cups dry basmati rice
1/2 cup raisins (golden raisins are preferable)
1 cup french fried onions (yes, the ones out of the can)

* Full fat is best here. Low Fat is OK, but it’ll end up grainy. Fat Free will NOT work, and neither will Greek Yogurt, because it doesn’t have enough moisture to steam the rice

** Either in a food processor, mortar and pestle, or do what I do and find the local Indian market and buy it premade in the jar.

Mix everything listed before the rice together in a bowl and let marinate for at least an hour — up to overnight would be fine

Place the rice in a bowl and cover with at least an inch of water and let it sit for an hour to soak.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Fill a large (at least 4 quart) pot at least halfway with salty water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and raisins and boil heavily for 5 minutes, then drain.

In the large vessel discussed earlier, put the meat (and the marinade) in the bottom, and make sure it covers the whole bottom and is a nice, flat layer. Add the rice on top and make sure the meat is totally covered, and the layer is level. Top with the onions, cover tightly with the lid, and put in the oven for 30 min.

When the time is up, test the rice … if it’s done, the meat underneath will be as well. If it’s not, put it back in for another 10 min and repeat.

Fluff the rice with a fork, then gently fold everything together. Remove the cinnamon stick, cloves, and optionally, the chiles.

Raita Salad

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into thin half moons
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp curry powder (or garam masala, or equal parts whole mustard seeds and whole cumin seeds)
1/2 c cilantro

In a strainer in the sink, toss the cucumbers with the salt and let sit for 15 - 25 min to draw out some of the excess moisture. Rinse and drain well, then toss together with the yogurt, curry, and cilantro.