Kozhikodan Chicken Biryani

5 from 21 votes

Kozhikodan Chicken Biryani

Kozhikodan Chicken Biryani is a very popular and delicious biryani (rice and chicken dish ) from Kozhikode, the Malabar region of Kerala , cooked with aromatic spices separately and then assembled by layering rice , chicken gravy, along with fried onions and nuts.

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, kerala, malabar

Servings:

Calories: 256kcal

Author: Nisha

Ingredients

For Biryani Rice

6 cups Rice Basmati or Jeerakasala
4 tsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
4 tsp Oil
5-6 Cloves
3-4 Cinnamon (small pieces)
2 Bay leaves
5-6 Cardamoms
½ Onion diced
2 tsp Salt or to taste
5 cups Water

For Chicken Marination

1 ½ pounds Chicken cut into pieces
3 cups Yogurt
1 ½ cups Coriander leaves finely chopped
1 cup Mint leaves finely chopped
3 medium Tomatoes chopped
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Biryani Masala (optional)
½ tsp Garam Masala
1 medium Lemon juice
1 tsp salt or to taste

To powder for marinade

1 ½ tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 ½ tsp fennel seeds

To grind for marinade

1 inch ginger
10-12 cloves garlic
10-15 green chillies use as tolerated
2 tsp Poppy seeds

For Chicken Preparation

4 tbsp ghee or oil
3-4 inch cinnamon sticks
5-6 cloves
4-5 cardamom
1 nutmeg
1 bay leaf
1 tomato medium diced
1 tsp ginger garlic paste

For Garnish

2 onions cut into long thin stripes
10 cashews
10 raisins
4 tbsp ghee
1 sprig mint leaves chopped
1 cup coriander leaves chopped
4 boiled eggs optional

Instructions

Chicken Marination

Wash the meat thoroughly with salt and lemon and drain water completely.
Powder the ingredients in the "to powder for marinade" section .
Grind the ingredients in the "to grind for marinade" section with minimum water .
Add the powdered spices, ground paste and all contents in the "for chicken marination" section to the chicken.
Mix well and marinate for about 2 to 3 hours in a referigrator

Rice Preparation and garnishes

Wash the rice, drain and keep aside
Heat a thick bottomed pan , add the ghee and oil
Add the thin sliced onions and fry until crisp golden brown
Drain and keep aside.
Add the cashews and raisins ,brown it as well
Drain and keep aside.
The thin fried onions, cashews and raisins will be used for garnishing.
In the remaining ghee and oil, add the spices under the "For Biryani rice" section
Next add the diced onions and sautée
After 2 mins add the washed rice
Fry for about 5 to 7 mins until the rice turns opaque
Add the salt and water and cook until done in a rice cooker
Wait for the steam to be released and rice to be cooled.

Chicken Preparation

Next for the preparation of the Chicken , pour ghee and oil in a large deep bottomed pan
Add onions and sautée it for 10 mins
Add tomatoes and ginger garlic paste ,sautée for another 5 mins
Cook until the chicken is well done.
Add some chopped coriander leaves and squeeze a little lemon.

Layering biryani and garnishing

For layering , transfer the cooked rice into a serving bowl and garnish with fried onions, cashews ,raisins, chopped mint and coriander leaves
Then add a layer of the chicken gravy and repeat layering with rice, chicken and again layer with garnish onions , nuts ,raisins, mint and coriander leaves.
Gently mix so the gravy is evenly mixed into the rice.
Squeeze half a lemon if you like (optional).
Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves, boiled egg, and the remaining garnishes.
Kozhikodan Chicken Biryani is ready to be served.
Accompaniments that are usually served with this dish are fritters (pappad), yogurt salad, coconut chutney and pickle .

Video

Notes

Marinate the chicken in the marinade and while marination is in progress start frying garnishes like onions, nuts, and rice and set the rice to cook.
After marination, cook the chicken, so by the time it is done cooking, you will be ready with the rice and garnishes for layering.
Use ghee liberally for the authentic taste of the dish, you can also choose to have ghee and a combination of vegetable oil.
For layering layer a ladle full of rice in a casserole first followed by chicken and gravy, garnishes like onions, nuts, raisins, and a pinch of garam masala can be added. Gently mix and combine well.
To get crispy brown onions for garnishing, slice them thin and long and add a little salt to cook them faster.

Nutrition