Moist Chicken Biryani- made in Rice Cooker

This is an easy method (10 easy steps) for making chicken biryani in a rice cooker. Prepare and add: (chicken) masala + chicken + water + rice, put everything together in a rice cooker and cook. Enjoy a moist, flavorful, colorful and yummy biryani.

                                                                  Yummy Biryani!

A great tip from my sister in law for moist biryani :) - Add some of the chicken pieces with skin or add some chicken skin in the masala and remove those skin before serving, it really makes a (great!) difference. 

To cook 1 cup of rice, we have to add 1 and a 1/2 cups of water. 1 cup of uncooked rice gives 2 cups of cooked rice.  

Ready for a party :)

Ingredients:
2 cups/ 400 gms basmathi rice
1 lb - 1/2 kg       chicken (legs and breasts)
1 med                 onion (thinly sliced)
1                        tomato (finely chopped)
6                        green chilli (finely chopped)
1 handful            mint leaves (finely chopped)
1 handful            cilantro leaves (finely chopped)
few                     curry leaves - optional
4 tsp                   chilli powder
2 tsp                  *biryani masala powder / curry pwd     
1"                       ginger    (ground)
2-4 cloves           garlic    (ground)
1 tbs                   yogurt/ curd
1 pinch               red/ orange food color 
2 tsp                   lemon juice 
* In USA, almost all the indian grocers carry biryani masala powder and the dry spices given in this recipe. Biryani masala powder can be substituted with curry powder or garam masala pwdr. 

Chicken Biryani! 

for seasoning:
2 tbs                   oil
2 tsp                   ghee (clarified butter)
2                        cardamoms, cloves
1                        star anise, bay leaf
1"                      cinnamon stick
salt                    to taste

Biryani made in a rice cooker

Method:
1. Heat the ghee and oil in a pan. Add the dry spices given under -seasoning.
2. Add chopped onion and green chilli and fry (med/high) till it becomes soft and golden brown, add chopped coriander/ cilantro, curry leaves and mint leaves, stir well until it gets soft and blends well with onion.
3. Reduce heat and add  ginger & garlic paste, stir it well,
now add chilli powder and biryani powder stir  for sometime.
Add tomato and cook, till it gets incorporated with masala (the onion masala should look like a paste).
4. Add chicken and mix nicely in the onion masala, sprinkle salt and add yogurt, mix it well and cover the pan and cook till the chicken is half done. Remove the pan from stove.

5. The chicken masala should be dry. If it has any extra liquid remove and reserve it for cooking rice.

6. Wash the rice and drain it, add it to the dry chicken masala and mix it thoroughly. Measure and add 3 cups of water (including any reserved liquid from the chicken masala) to the rice mixture.

7. Put the chicken masala- rice and water into the rice cooker and set it in the regular rice cooking setting.

8. This step is optional: When the rice is half cooked, sprinkle  food color and mix it with  fork (it should cover only 2-4 tsps of rice- see the above pic). This gives the biryani a colorful look.

9. Add lemon juice, check for salt and stir it gently one more time and close the lid.

10. When it's done, open the cooker and stir it gently with a fork, making sure not to break the rice. Remove the biryani from the cooker and serve it with raitha, boiled egg, and eggplant fry :) 

Ready to eat!

         Feel free to comment, i love your feedback. Enjoy ur cooking! Have a blessed day.