Malai Murgh Seekh Biryani

Biryani is love. Biryani is life!

That’s the motto majority of us are living by. Am I right or not? I’m a huge fan of any kind of biryani. Be it the creamy Mughlai Biryani, the spicy Andhra biryani, the yummy Ambur Biryani, the Bhatkal biryani, or even the Malabar biryani, I love it all, from North to South.

The recipe I’ll be sharing today is a unique style of Biryani that is bursting with flavor and is made up of harmonious layers of perfectly cooked aromatic rice and spicy rich Seekh kababs with a creamy base.

There are many steps that go into making this Biryani but if followed properly, it is actually pretty easy to make and is worth all the effort. Don’t get intimidated by the ingredients and just try it 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

For the Seekh:

1 small onion

2 Green chilies

A bowl of Mint and Coriander leaves

500 gms Boneless Chicken- washed and dried

Salt to taste

1 tsp Red Chili Flakes

1 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste

1/2 tbsp Coriander Powder

1/2 Tbsp Cumin Powder

2 tbsp Roasted Besan Powder

2 tbsp Ghee

Oil and ghee to fry

For the Malai gravy:

Almond paste made using 10 Almonds

1/2 cup grated cheese

2 cups Milk

1 cup Fresh cream

1 cup Mayonnaise

2 bay leaves

2 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 Green Cardamom

2 Onion finely chopped

4 green chilies finely chopped

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp Pepper powder

1 tsp Garam Masala Powder

1 cup Yoghurt

4 tbsp Oil and ghee

For the Rice:

2 cups Basmathi Rice

10 cups water

Salt to taste

1 cinnamon stick

1 Star anise

2 Cloves

Garnish:

3/4 cup Fried Onions/ Birista

3 Tbsp Ghee

1/2 cup Chopped Mint and Coriander leaves

NOTE:

*Test fry a small piece of seekh to check for taste and only then make the rest of the Kebabs.

*Do not over fry the Seekh kebabs as they may dry out.

*If the gravy turns out to be very thick, add a little milk to loosen it.

*Always remember to cook the masala before the rice.

*The biryani masala shouldn’t be runny. The masala should be quite thick, or else during dum, the rice will absorb most of the water and it will turn mushy.

METHOD:

Seekh Kebab:

Grind chopped onions, green chilies, mint leaves, and coriander leaves. To this add rest of the ingredients except ghee and grind to a fine paste. Transfer the ground chicken to a bowl, add ghee and mix. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Take the chicken mixture and with lightly greased hands, scoop handfuls of the mixture and form small sausages on skewers.

Shallow fry in ghee and oil mixture till cooked.

Malai Gravy:

In a bowl, mix almond paste, milk, cream, mayonnaise, grated cheese, and salt; Keep aside.

In a nonstick pan, heat oil and ghee. When heated, add whole spices and saute well till the aroma releases. Next, add finely chopped onions and cook till pinkish. DO NOT BROWN THE ONIONS.

Add Ginger garlic paste, chopped green chilies, pepper powder, and garam masala powder and saute well. Turn the heat to low and stir in yogurt. Finally, add the creamy mixture that you first made, combine with masala and simmer. If it is very thick, add a little milk to loosen it.

Rice:

Boil a pot of water with salt and whole spices. Add rice and cook till 90% cooked and strain the water.

Assembly:

In a nonstick pot, add little rice to the base, next add little malai gravy on top, place seekh kebabs and add the remaining gravy. Add the rest of the rice, Garnish with fried onions, mint leaves, coriander leaves, and ghee.