This article describes about how to make tasty and mouth watering two layered Chicken Biryani at home. Read this article with images and video to know how to make Two Layered Chicken Biryani.
Many times in our life, we all have loved the smell of Chicken Biryani when it gets cooked at home or when being at a Cafe or Restaurant for dinner. The smell of Chicken Biryani fills your nose and makes you instantaneously hungry. No one can ever forget the smell and then the pleasure and satisfaction of savoring a delicious Chicken Biryani.
How much are you prepared when the turn of making a delicious Chicken biryani comes on to you? Men or women alike, everyone has a turn and those who love to eat Chicken Biryani, should always know how to make it.
This recipe shows you how to make a Two layered Chicken Leg Biryani at home in easy steps. We have also marked important points in image boxes and have also put up two videos, one in English and one in Marathi for easy understanding.
The quantities mentioned in this recipe are enough for 2 people. If you need to make it for more people, you may simply increase the quantity in multiples of given quantity.
What’s more, do not worry if you have made more of Chicken Biryani and it has left over. Your family and friends will take care that it gets finished within the next 2 days!
Appliances Required:
- Chopping board – preferably wooden
- Stainless steel Chicken cutting knife
- Round Stainless steel vessel with copper bottom and see through covering lid – 1 (for cooking rice)
- Stainless steel vessel with in bend margins – 1 (for washing the chicken)
- 12 inch deep nonstick cooking vessel with handle – 1
- 8 inch deep nonstick cooking vessel with handle – 1
- Spatula – 1 wooden and 1 stainless steel
- Bowls – 1 or 2
- Stainless steel teaspoons and tablespoons
- Stainless steel plates
Ingredients Required:
- Chicken legs – 1 or 2
- Rice – 4 hand measures
- Chilli powder
- Turmeric powder
- Asafoetida (Hing) powder
- Salt
- Oil (Any will do, we preferred Olive oil)
- Chicken Biryani Masala / Khadaa masala / Garam Masala
- Onions – 2 medium sized (Those who do not prefer onion, can simply avoid it)
- Garlic – 4 petals (Those who do not prefer garlic, can avoid it)
- Ginger – 1 inch piece
- Tomatoes – 2 medium sized
- Butter Ghee (Tup)
- Fresh Lemon cut into halves. If fresh lemon is not available, we can use Concentrated lemon juice.
Step 1 – Dressing and cutting the chicken
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| Dressing the Chicken Leg |
The first most important step is to prepare and properly cut the chicken leg into medium size pieces. On your cutting board, take the Chicken leg and carefully remove the skin and the fat. If you prefer to have the skin in your preparation, you may keep it but remove it from the Chicken leg and then cut it to small pieces. The fat should be removed completely.
If you like to chew the bone, then take bony parts otherwise, choose a more muscular Chicken leg for enhanced taste.
Step 2 – Marinating the Chicken
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| Take cut pieces in Stainless steel vessel |
Take the cut pieces of the chicken legs in a stainless steel vessel, preferably a vessel with in bend margins.
Washing the Chicken Leg pieces
Now open tap so that water flows mildly onto the Chicken leg pieces Rub the pieces in a soft manner so that the pieces get cleaned. Let all of the water flow away.
Put spices on the chicken and marinate
Add 2 teaspoons of Chilli powder, 2 teaspoons of Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon of Asafoetida, 2 teaspoons of salt on the Chicken and then slowly mix all of them while rubbing the Chicken leg pieces with your hand. Take care that you wash your hands every time before and after doing any process on the Chicken Leg pieces.
The Chicken pieces should look as seen in the above picture. Then cover the vessel and keep it aside.
Step 3 – Cooking and preparing the rice
Cooking the rice should be performed simultaneously. If you find doing things at the same time, then only go for doing one thing at a time. But this considerably increases the preparation time.
Take the raw rice in a stainless steel vessel with copper bottom. Wash the rice 3 times under flowing water. Then add sufficient water so that the rice is well covered under water.
If you prefer, add 2 teaspoons of salt to the rice and ignite the flame to cook the raw rice.
Let the rice cook well on high gas. Once you observe that the water is getting almost evaporated, then add another cup of water, simmer down the gas to low level, then cover the vessel and let the rice cook well, until all the water has evaporated and the cooked rice has holes in it as seen in the picture below:
Step 4 – Preparing the gravy
The Biryani in Indian style tastes best when you have Onion and Garlic in it. The flare that they both bring up is not possible by any other spice or ingredient.
Cut the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes into thick pieces. You should not scrape the skin of ginger. Instead, wash it thoroughly so that any dirt on the ginger gets completely removed. You do not need to invest your time in making small fine pieces because we are going to make a thick paste in the grinder.
Put all of these cuttings in the grinder, prefer a small vessel that is used to make chutneys. Add a little amount of water and grind it for a few seconds.
Keep in mind that the gravy should be thick and should not be a fine paste.
Once ready, keep your gravy in a bowl.
Once you have reached up to here, keep aside all the preparations, throw away the peels of onion, garlic, ginger, chicken waste, clean the cutting board and mop the kitchen table top, to get ready for the further process.
Step 5 – Frying the rice
Take 1 non stick vessel with wooden spatula, Biryani Pulav Masala (Or the Khadaa masala or Garam masala), 1 Stainless steel tablespoon and Butter Ghee.
With the gas flame on high level, put 3 tablespoons of Butter Ghee in your non stick vessel. Allow it to melt and heat up a little.
Add 2 teaspoons of Biryani Pulav Masala or the masala of your choice.
Turn the flame to medium level and then add the cooked rice to the oil and masala mixture and fry the rice. Keep turning the rice constantly, so that it does not get burnt and it gets well covered with the masala.
Add some fresh lemon juice to give the rice a tangy taste. Do not put a lot of lemon because that will change the taste. But a little lemon juice gives the tangy touch to your taste buds!
If fresh lemon is not available, then you may use Concentrated lemon juice. Taste the juice before using it and decide the quantity that you will require. Some concentrated preparations are very much concentrated, while some concentrations are very weak!
Take the rice in a plate and keep it aside.
Step 6 – Cooking the gravy
This is the most crucial part of the recipe. If this part is done correctly, you have won the quest of making the Chicken Biryani yourself!
Take the second vessel and add 2 tablespoons of Olive oil (or any oil of your choice) and start your gas flame on low level. All further cooking should be on low flame so that the best taste can be developed.
When you start seeing the first vapor coming from the heating oil, add the whole gravy of onion, garlic, ginger and tomato to the oil.
Once it starts cooking and you observe bubbles coming at the edge, cover your vessel with a see-through lid and let the gravy cook for 10 minutes.
When the onion, tomatoes, garlic and ginger get cooked after 10 minutes, you should be able to see big water drops on the lid. Also, keep your nose ready for the nose tingling smell! Now remove the lid. The cooking gravy should look as in the pic below:
Step 7 – Cooking the Chicken leg pieces in the gravy
Once you are ready with the gravy, your Chicken leg pieces go in the gravy, to get cooked from inside out till the bone. This is very important so that the Chicken does not bother you and the spices develop their taste accordingly.
Now add the marinated Chicken leg pieces in the gravy. Be careful not to spill the boiling gravy on your hands and feet.
At this step, if you have not added any salt when cooking the rice, then only add 2 teaspoons of salt to the cooking chicken. When the mixture starts boiling again, cover the vessel with a see through lid and allow it to cook for 20 minutes.
After cooking the Chicken for 20 minutes, add half glass of water and then again boil the Chicken for 5 minutes. When it gets boiled properly, remove the lid and switch off the gas flame. This will help in preparing the Tarri (curry) of the Chicken which will give the wet consistency to the rice.
Step 8 – Setting the layers
Setting layers is a traditional method of cooking Chicken Biryani and serves as a uniform way of cooking Chicken Biryani as well as as a decorative method.
First layer
Start adding rice in your bigger 12 inch non stick vessel with the aid of the spatula. Use half of the quantity of rice and set the layer of rice as shown below.
Now pour curry on the rice layer as shown in the pics below:
Now place the chicken leg pieces on top of the rice layer.
Second layer
Now start adding the remaining rice on top of the chicken pieces to form the second rice layer. Spread the rice uniformly as shown in the pic below:
Add the remaining gravy sauce on the top of the rice and spread it uniformly as seen in the pic below:
On the top of the layers put 2 tablespoons of Butter Ghee so that it melts down in the rice and Chicken leg piece layers.
Place the see-through lid and now steam up the Chicken biryani for 5 minutes.
Your Two layered Chicken Leg Biryani is ready. The biryani is not dry so you may not need to make any separate curry. You may dress the biryani with coriander or mint leaves.
Enjoy your Chicken Leg biryani and leave any comments or queries below!