Vellore Chicken Biriyani:(White Biriyani)

I am sure that there are lots of biriyani varieties….generally the North-Arcot belt has lot of variation itself. The kuska/Kushka is quite famous around Ambur/Amboor and Vaaniyambadi region. Kushka is same as biriyani….it is cooked with mutton/chicken broth.While Arcot is known for its short-grained biriyani. While Vellore has its own variation. The biriyani looks pure white in color. All these regional biriyani has one thing in common, that is….its cooked with seeragasamba rice(short grained rice) and served along with Kathirikkai serva(birinjal serva).Ingredients:

Cloves 3
Cinnamon 2
Cardamon pods 3
Bay leaves 2
Maratti mokku 2
Star anise 1
Ghee 1 cup
Chicken 1/2 kilo (I used cornish hen tho’)!
Short grained rice 2 cups(seeraga samba)
Green chilies 6 slitted
Onion 1 made into puree
Garlic 6 cloves made into paste
Ginger 2″ size peeled and made into paste
Mint leaves 1 fistfull
Coriander leaves alone few
Lemon juice from 1 fruit
Curd 1 cup
Salt

Note: There is no tomato in this recipe, in case if you like….just add 1 small size tomato. Again….this recipe tastes better if you use goat’s meat than chicken. One can still try with chicken by choice.

Method:

In a bowl, marinate meat with ginger-garlic, salt, lemon juice and curd. Let it stand for at least half an hour.

In a presure cooker. Heat ghee. Add cloves, cinnamon, crushed cardamon pods, maratti mokku, bay leaves, star anise and green chilies. Fry them till chilies crack and try to turn opaque.

Now add onion puree to this and fry them really well, until its pungent smell is gone. Then add mint and coriander leaves. Fry them till the leaves wilt.

Add meat, real good.

Now add rice and saute it for few minutes and add 1:1.5 ratio water. Here for 2 cups of water add 3 cups of water. Add enoug salt again for the rice. Pressure cook them till 1 or 2 whistle sound.

Once it is done. Serve them in clean banana leaf with brinjal/eggplant serva.