Eid is just around the corner and I wanted to share this special biryani of Kashmir…
Eid celebration is literally incomplete without biryani. Biryani has always been the main attraction of Eid in my family. When I was with my mom, on almost all Eid I used to wake up to the aroma of Biryani. Now, this is the one thing that I miss terribly: waking up to the pleasant seducing aroma of biryani.
On Eid I usually end up making my mom’s special biryani. However, for this Eid I decided to try something different and my search finally ended when I got the biryani recipe all the way from Kashmir. Kashmir, one of the beautiful states in India which has earned the sobriquet of being the “paradise on earth”.
I came across this recipe on a cooking channel, I noted down the recipe and tweaked quite a bit. This recipe was in deed a different one compared to my usual biryani recipe. In Kashmiri biryani, they add fruits, nuts and milk to make it rich and divine. I was truly blown away by the taste of this biryani, it had a very mild flavor yet scrumptious.
Happy Eid to all my readers!
Kashmiri Biryani
Ingredients
Cooking Chicken:
- Chicken, bone in or use legs- 12 pieces
- Chili powder- 1tsp
- Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
- Fennel powder- 1 tsp
- Salt- 1 tsp
Other Ingredients
- Oil- 1/4 cup
- Onion, thinly sliced- 4
- Whole cloves- 3
- Cardamom- 3
- Cinnamon stick- 2-inch slice
- Whole black peppercorns- 8
- Ginger- garlic paste- 1 tbsp
- Fennel seeds- 2 tbsp
- Coriander seeds- 3 tbsp
- Yogurt, not sour- 3/4 cup
- Milk- 1/4 cup
- Apple, red delicious chopped- 1/2 cup or 1/2 apple
- Raisins- 2 tbsp
- Water- 1 1/2 cups (or liquid after cooking the chicken)
- Basmati rice, rinsed- 1 3/4 cups
- Salt- 1 1/2 tsp
For final cooking:
- Yogurt, not sour- 1/4 cup
- Milk- 5 tbsp
- Saffron strands- 10 strands
Garnishing:
- Fried onions in oil- 1/2 cup
- Roasted almonds in ghee- 1/4 cup
- Roasted cashew nuts in ghee- 1/4 cup
- Roasted raisins in ghee- 2 tbsp
Instruction
- Take the chicken in a bowl & add chili powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder, and salt. Combine well & let marinate for an hour.
- I used chicken legs, you could use any bone-in pieces.
- Soak the basmati rice in water for 15 minutes, after that rinse the rice well.
- Cook the chicken in a pressure cooker along with 1/4 cup of water until 1 whistle. We are only cooking the chicken partially.
- Don’t overcook the chicken, we will be further cooking the chicken with the rice.
- Save the liquid that’s left in the cooker after pressure cooking the chicken.
- Place a large non-stick cooking pot over medium heat.
- Add oil, add the whole cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and whole peppercorns to the oil. Saute for a minute.
- Add the onions, season with 1/2 tsp salt, saute till onions turn light golden in color.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a few minutes.
- Add the cooked chicken, combine well.
- Add the fennel seeds and coriander seeds.
- Add yogurt and milk, and combine everything well.
- Now, add the chopped apples to it.
- Add the raisins, and combine well.
- Add 1 1/2 cups water and let come to a boil. Or add the liquid that’s left in the cooker after cooking the chicken, add additional water & make it to 1 1/2 cups.
- Add the soaked & rinsed basmati rice.
- Cover the pan with its lid and let the rice cook for about 15 minutes.
- Check frequently whether the rice has been cooked, as the cooking time might vary with different kinds of basmati rice. Do not overcook the rice.
- After all the water has dried off and the rice has cooked through, gently combine the rice and chicken together.
For garnishing
- Fry the onions in oil until golden brown in color.
- Fry the cashew nuts, almonds, and raisins in ghee till they turn golden in color.
Final cooking:
- In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup yogurt, 5 tbsp milk, and saffron.
- Spread this mixture over the cooked rice to form a layer.
- Spread the fried onions, nuts, and raisins over it.
- Cover the pot with its lid. You could even cover it with aluminum foil.
- Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Serve this Kashmiri Biryani along with raita, pickle, etc.
Tips:
- You could use Goat or Lamb instead of chicken.
- Leftover biryani can be refrigerated and will taste delicious the next day.
- Chicken, bone in or use legs- 12 pieces
- Chili powder- 1tsp
- Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
- Fennel powder- 1 tsp
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Oil- ¼ cup
- Onion, thinly sliced- 4
- Whole cloves- 3
- Cardamom- 3
- Cinnamon stick- 2-inch slice
- Whole black peppercorns- 8
- Ginger- garlic paste- 1 tbsp
- Fennel seeds- 2 tbsp
- Coriander seeds- 3 tbsp
- Yogurt, not sour- ¾ cup
- Milk- ¼ cup
- Apple, red delicious chopped- ½ cup or ½ apple
- Raisins- 2 tbsp
- Water- 1½ cups (or liquid after cooking the chicken)
- Basmati rice, rinsed- 1¾ cups
- Salt- 1½ tsp
- Yogurt, not sour- ¼ cup
- Milk- 5 tbsp
- Saffron strands- 10 strands
- Fried onions in oil- ½ cup
- Roasted almonds in ghee- ¼ cup
- Roasted cashew nuts in ghee- ¼ cup
- Roasted raisins in ghee- 2 tbsp
- Take the chicken in a bowl & add chili powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder, and salt. Combine well & let marinate for an hour.
- I used chicken legs, you could use any bone-in pieces.
- Soak the basmati rice in water for 15 minutes, after that rinse the rice well.
- Cook the chicken in a pressure cooker along with ¼ cup of water until 1 whistle. We are only cooking the chicken partially.
- Don't overcook the chicken, we will be further cooking the chicken with the rice.
- Save the liquid that's left in the cooker after pressure cooking the chicken.
- Fry the onions in oil until golden brown in color.
- Fry the cashew nuts, almonds, and raisins in ghee till they turn golden in color.
- Place a large non-stick cooking pot over medium heat.
- Add oil, add the whole cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and whole peppercorns to the oil. Saute for a minute.
- Add the onions, season with ½ tsp salt, saute till onions turn light golden in color.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a few minutes.
- Add the cooked chicken, combine well.
- Add the fennel seeds and coriander seeds.
- Add yogurt and milk, and combine everything well.
- Now, add the chopped apples to it.
- Add the raisins, and combine well.
- Add 1½ cups water and let come to a boil. Or add the liquid that's left in the cooker after cooking the chicken, add additional water & make it to 1½ cups.
- Add the soaked & rinsed basmati rice.
- Season with 1 tsp salt.
- Cover the pan with its lid and let the rice cook for about 15 minutes.
- Check frequently whether the rice has been cooked. Do not overcook the rice.
- After all the water has dried off and the rice has turned fluffy & soft, gently combine the rice and chicken together.
- In a bowl, combine ¼ cup yogurt, 5 tbsp milk, and saffron strands.
- Spread this mixture over the cooked rice to form a layer.
- Spread the fried onions, nuts, and raisins over it.
- Cover the pot with its lid. You could even cover it with aluminum foil.
- Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Serve this Kashmiri Biryani along with raita, pickle, etc.
Leftover biryani can be refrigerated and will taste delicious the next day.