Fry onions:
350g onions, finely sliced
1 ½ cups cooking oil
Rice + whole spices:
2 cups basmati rice long grain
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
1 black cardamom
3 green cardamom
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
½ cinnamon stick
Layer:
¼ tsp salt
½ tbsp ghee
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup cilantro fresh, chopped
2 tbsp mint fresh, chopped
1 tsp saffron, dissolve in 2 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp ghee
Grind spices:
4 cinnamon sticks
4 black cardamom
20 green cardamom
1 tsp cloves
4 large bay leaves
4 tsp black cumin seeds (shah jeera)
2 tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp nutmeg (optional)
⅛ tsp mace (optional)
Marinate meat: (~3 to 5 hrs)
1½ lb boneless chicken thighs or boneless lamb shoulder, cut in cubes and cleaned)
⅔ cup plain yogurt
1½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp salt, or adjust per taste
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 chili pepper per taste
Preheat oven to 350° F
Grind spices: Blend the spices in a nut or spice blender. Nutribullet works just fine too. Store leftover mix in the fridge.
Marinate meat : Combine the meat with all the ingredients for the marinade and about ⅓ of the fried onions. For yogurt, start with ½ cup and increase as needed to ¾ cup. The mixture should be thick and not runny. Add the ¼ of the home made spice blend to the meat marinade and combine. Marinate for about 3 to 5 hours or overnight.
Fry onions : Heat the oil at medium high in a wide heavy bottomed frying pan. If you place your palm about 3 inches over the surface of the oil, you should feel the heat. Fry the onions in multiple batches, depending on the size of the pan. Do not crowd the pan. Fry until a crisp light golden brown. Set aside on kitchen paper towel to soak extra oil
Rice + whole spices
Rinse the basmati rice 4 to 5 times in lots of water until it is clear. Drain well. Soak ⅓ cup basmati rice in water for about one hour. Save the rest.
Bring 2 ¼ cups of water to a rolling boil in a rice cooker (or stove top works just fine). Add ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ tablespoons ghee and whole spices if preferred. Then add the remaining 1 ⅔ cups basmati rice and stir. Let it cook just until all the water is absorbed. It is important to NOT let the rice steam until it is fully done. Just when all the water is well absorbed, transfer the cooked rice immediately to a cookie sheet. Spread the rice thinly so that it does not cook further. [Whole spices can be added wrapped in a muslin cloth]
Layer : Transfer the meat with the marinade to a 4 to 5 quart wide thick bottomed ovenproof cooking pot (about 9 to 10 inches in diameter). Make sure there is not too much marinade around the meat pieces and that it is not runny. Sprinkle the cilantro, mint, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ½ tbsp olive oil and most of the fried onions over the meat. Drain the soaked basmati rice thoroughly well. Spread this rice over the fried onion layer. The raw soaked rice will get cooked with the moisture and juices from the meat. Next, layer the rice that was parboiled with the whole spices. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, fried onions and all of the saffron water. If preferred, drizzle an extra 2 tablespoons ghee over the rice.
FINAL STEP: steam biryani: Place one to two sheets of aluminum foil over the cooking pot. Place the lid tight over it. Bake the biryani in a preheated oven at 350ºF for one hour, until the steam builds up well. Alternatively, the biryani can be cooked on a stove in a thick bottomed cooking pot. Heat the biryani at medium high for about 10 to 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to the low setting and simmer for at least one hour until the steam builds up well. Serve with any of these raitas.