A local favorite
Recipe by Rajiv Anand of San Jose, US
What dinner party in an South Asian household is complete without Biryani? and then there are so many regional variations to this popular dish, it is unlikely that you'll ever get bored. So here it is, a local favorite from Bombay (Western India). The number of ingredients here might shock you, but believe me --- everything counts.
Spices to Grind
Whole Spices
Set rice to boil with cardamoms, black pepper, cloves and salt. Keep checking on this for about 80% done while you are working in parallel. Once done, you should have most of the water gone. If there is too much water remaining you must drain it out otherwise you will end up with very mushy Biryani.
Now it's time to layer. Mix fried potoes into rice first.
The easiest way to layer is to put a little oil at the bottom and layer half of the rice first. Then layer with chicken and finish with second layer of rice. You can add food color mixed in warm milk but I stay away from artificial colors.
Cover and either keep in oven or over very low heat for 15-30 minutes.