Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 15 of 18 ingredients — the other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 15 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Lentil | 1/2 cup cooked (99g) | 115 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Turmeric | 1 tsp ground (3g) | 9 |
| Cumin | 1 tsp ground (2.1g) | 8 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Cardamom | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 6 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Peppermint | not in our table | 0 |
| Saffron | not in our table | 0 |
| Coriander | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 1 ea. (1.5 kg) whole chicken washed and jointed
- 2 cups masoor (whole black lentils )
- 2 cups rice
- 2 pieces cinnamon sticks (tuj)
- 4 elachi ( cardamom pods)
- 1 tbsp jeera ( cumin )
- 4 green chillies
- 1 cup plain yoghurt
- 2 tbsp fresh grated or pureed tomato
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 springs mint
- ¼ tbsp saffron
- ¼ tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 1/5 tsp red chillies
- 5 small potatoes
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- ¼ cup oil
- 2 fair-sized onions
- ½ tsp ginger
Directions
Allow saffron strands to become crisp over very low heat. Crush finely with the back of a spoon. Steep in 1 tablespoon of hot water.
Fry onions in oil to a pale golden colour. Drain and cool. Leave aside 1 tablespoon of fried onions, and crush the rest coarsely.
Wash the chicken pieces, and place in large bowl. Rub the saffron, ginger, and garlic over the meat pieces by tossing it around with a spoon.
Add yogurt, tomatoes, spices, fried onions, whole green chillies, mint, 2 elachi (cardamom) pods, and 1 piece of tuj (cinnamon) to the chicken. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, boil masoor in salted water until done. Drain off in colander .
Boil rice with 2 elachi (cardamom) pods and 1 piece tuj (cinnamon) until half done. Drain well.
Fry potatoes to a light yellow colour the oil used for frying onions. Remove from oil and set aside.
In a large flat bottomed pot (2–3 litre size), add the oil that was used for frying, plus half of the ghee. Sprinkle a handful of rice and masoor over the bottom.
Arrange the marinated chicken and spices carefully over bottom of pot. Spread the masoor over the chicken, then add the potatoes, then half of the rice.
Add the hard-boiled eggs, and spread the rest of the rice on top. Many people prefer to tint a few tablespoons of the white rice with a tinge of saffron, then spread it in streaks over the white rice. This looks very attractive and puts the finishing touch to the biryani.
Decorate with left-over fried onions, then sprinkle the rest of the ghee and ½ cup of cold water over the top.
Close and seal lid of pot tightly. Place over high heat for 5 minutes and as soon as it starts sizzling, lower heat and let simmer for 1 hour. By this time, all moisture should have evaporated.
Serve with fried rice papads, onion kachoomers, spiced dahi.