Chicken Biriani with Rice

This dish, which came to India from Persia, is now popular throughout South and even East Asia and in many Arab countries. The required base ingredient is basmati rice. Instead of chicken, you can use quail, lamb, turkey, fish, eggs, or vegetables. The list of spices can also vary - but only upwards. The biriani variation we are offering you is called "kacchi biriani", in which raw marinated meat and rice are cooked together. In the old days, this dish was made most often from goat meat in clay pots. The ingredients were laid out in layers, and the junction of the lid and the pot was covered with wheat dough to prevent steam from escaping.

Ingredients

• 400 g chicken thighs fillet on skin
• 400 g of basmati rice
• 200 g of natural thick yoghurt
• 4 small, mild green chili peppers
• 1 large onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2.5 cm fresh ginger root
• 2 sprigs of cilantro
• 3 sprigs of mint
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp. l. spices garam masala
• 2 tbsp. l. ground coriander
• 1 tbsp. l. ground cumin
• salt

Directions

1. Peel the ginger, garlic and chili. Grate the ginger on a fine grater, finely chop the garlic and chili separately.
2. Put the garlic in a mortar, crush into a paste. Combine yogurt, garlic paste, ginger, chili. Finely chop the mint and cilantro leaves (no stems needed). Add salt and all the spices and lime juice and stir.
3. Cut the chicken into medium-sized pieces, easy to eat, place in the yogurt mixture, stir, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Rinse the rice and soak in drinking water so that the rice is covered by 2 fingers for 30 minutes. Then put the rice on a sieve, dry a little.
5. Peel the onion, chop finely and quickly fry in a deep skillet with a thick bottom in vegetable oil until soft.
6. Add rice, stir. Add the chicken along with the marinade and pour in 1 cup of cold water. Stir well, cover and cook over low heat for 40–45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve the biriani very hot.