,<\/a>\u00a0on another\u00a0occasion I made quinoa cutlets, it turned out very good. Now, I’ve quinoa always stored in my pantry.<\/p>\nYesterday was a rather boring day for me, not because I didn’t have anything to do. I actually have tons of work to do and way too many things to finish up. For some weird reason, I felt bored and literally couldn’t sit in my office staring at the laptop reading all the journals and writing the reports. Since the day went boring, I looked forward to an exciting night. After reaching home, I went for some quick shopping, came home and charged up myself by watching TV. Slowly, I entered the kitchen hoping to make something delicious. Seeing quinoa in my pantry, I was hit by the idea of making quinoa biryani, felt excited and made it without any second thought.<\/p>\n
I first cooked the chicken marinated with all the spices separately and cooked quinoa separately too. Layered the chicken and quinoa, topped it with ghee roasted cashews, raisins and herb, did a final cooking over low flame. I used boneless chicken for faster cooking, you could use bone-in chicken if you prefer. Quinoa byt itself is not flavorful, so I added garam masala and ghee while cooking it.<\/p>\n
Quinoa Chicken Biryani<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thasneen.com\/cooking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/quinoa-biryani.jpg\" "\\"Quinoa")
<\/strong><\/p>\nIngredients:<\/strong><\/p>\nTo grind:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Ginger, chopped- 3 inch slice<\/li>\n
- Garlic, chopped- 5 cloves<\/li>\n
- Green chili- 2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For combining with chicken:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Chicken breasts, boneless, cut small- 3 breasts<\/li>\n
- Onion, large chopped- 3<\/li>\n
- Ground ginger, garlic and green chili paste<\/li>\n
- Chili powder- 1 tsp<\/li>\n
- Turmeric powder- 1\/4 tsp<\/li>\n
- Fennel powder- 2 tsp<\/li>\n
- Coriander powder- 1 1\/2 tsp<\/li>\n
- Garam masala- 1 tsp<\/li>\n
- Yogurt, not sour- 4 tbsp<\/li>\n
- Lemon juice- 2 tbsp<\/li>\n
- Salt- 1 1\/2 tsp<\/li>\n
- Cilantro, chopped- 2 handful<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For cooking quinoa:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Quinoa- 1 1\/2 cups<\/li>\n
- Water- 3 cups<\/li>\n
- Garam masala- 1 tsp<\/li>\n
- Ghee- 2 tbsp<\/li>\n
- Salt- 3\/4 tsp<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While layering:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Fried Onions- 1\/2 cup (optional)<\/li>\n
- Cilantro, chopped- 2 handful<\/li>\n
- Mint leaves, chopped- 2 stalks or 8 leaves<\/li>\n
- Cashews, roasted in 1\/2 tbsp ghee- 1\/4 cup<\/li>\n
- Raisins, roasted in 1\/2 tbsp \u00a0ghee- 3 tbsp<\/li>\n
- Saffron strands, soaked in 1 tbsp water- 2 pinches<\/li>\n
- Ghee- 2 tbsp<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Instruction
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- In a blender, grind ginger, garlic, and green chilies to a coarse paste.<\/li>\n
- In a large non-stick cooking pan, combine the chicken with all the above-mentioned ingredients for combining with the chicken.<\/li>\n
- Don’t add any water while cooking chicken.
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thasneen.com\/cooking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/marinated-chicken.jpg\" "\\"marinated")
<\/li>\n - Cook covered over medium heat, till the chicken has cooked well and there is very little water in the mixture.<\/li>\n
- The chicken mixture shouldn’t be too dry, there should be some moisture in it as we will be doing the final cooking after layering the chicken with quinoa.
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thasneen.com\/cooking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/cooked-chicken.jpg\" "\\"cooked")
<\/li>\n - Have a taste, adjust the salt and spice level accordingly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Cooking quinoa:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Rinse quinoa taken in a sieve under running water, this will help to remove the natural bitterness of quinoa’s outer coating.<\/li>\n
- Place a large pan over medium heat, add water, and let come to a boil.<\/li>\n
- Add the rinsed quinoa along with garam masala, ghee and salt.<\/li>\n
- Cook till quinoa turns soft and the water has dried off, takes around 15 to 20 minutes.
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thasneen.com\/cooking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/cooked-quinoa.jpg\" "\\"cooked")
<\/li>\n - Keep aside the cooked quinoa.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Final preparations:<\/strong><\/div>\n\n- If using fried onions: fry 1 onion sliced in ghee or oil till golden brown.<\/li>\n
- Roast the cashew nuts and raisins together in 1 tbsp ghee.<\/li>\n
- Soak the saffron strands in water.<\/li>\n
- In the pan used to cook chicken, spread the chicken evenly as the bottom layer.<\/li>\n
- Spread the cooked quinoa evenly over the cooked chicken.<\/li>\n
- Sprinkle saffron water over the quinoa.<\/li>\n
- Top the quinoa layer with fried onions, roasted cashew nuts, raisins, cilantro, and mint.<\/li>\n
- Drizzle with ghee.
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thasneen.com\/cooking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/making-quinoa-biryani.jpg\" "\\"making")
<\/li>\n - Cover the pan with aluminum foil and close with a lid.<\/li>\n
- Place over low heat and cook (dum) for 15 minutes.<\/li>\n
- Remove from the heat and keep aside for another 15 minutes.<\/li>\n
- Serve quinoa biryani along with pickle, raita, chutney, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Tips:<\/strong><\/div>\n\n
\n- You could use bone-in chicken, but the cooking time will be more.<\/li>\n
- You could make with beef or lamb as well. Replace chicken with beef or lamb and cook till beef or lamb has cooked well.<\/li>\n
- Quinoa by itself is not flavorful, so add garam masala and ghee while cooking it, feel free to add your favorite spices.<\/li>\n
- Adding saffron, roasted cashew nuts, raisins, mint, cilantro, and ghee enhances the taste of this biryani greatly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\t
\n
Quinoa Chicken Biryani<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Author:
Thas<\/span><\/div>\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thasneen.com\/cooking\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/quinoa-chicken-biryani.jpg\" "\\"quinoa")
<\/p>\n