One of my mum’s recipes, we served this chicken pulao at O Pedro one Ramzan and it was a big success. It is not like other chicken pulaos – it is more aromatic than spicy and it is lighter on the stomach.
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Serves
4
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Cook Time
00 h 25 m
Plus 30 minutes to prep
Ingredients
For Chicken Base
- 1 kg chicken thighs, boned out and skinless
- 300 gm potato, peeled and fried
- 3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp green chilli paste
- 1 tsp green cardamom powder, freshly ground
- 1 tsp white pepper powder (or black pepper)
- 1 tsp fennel powder
- 1 tsp garam masala, store-bought or homemade
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 cup fried onions
- ½ cup yoghurt
- ¼ cup ghee
- 2 green cardamoms
- 2 cloves
- 2 star anise
- 2 pcs stone flower (patthar ke phool)
- 1-inch cinnamon stick
- Salt to taste
For Rice
- 3 cups basmati rice (or any long-grain rice you prefer)
- 6 cups water
- ¼ cup ghee
- 2 green cardamoms
- 2 cloves
- 2 star anise
- 2 pcs stone flower (patthar ke phool)
- 1-inch cinnamon stick
- Salt to taste
- Sugar to taste
- Splash of rose water
To Finish
- 4 boiled eggs, peeled, salted and deep-fried in oil
- 2 tbsp fried onions
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 2 tbsp chopped mint
- 2-inch ginger, julienned
- Juice of 1 lime
Preparation
For Chicken Base
- Wash the chicken under cold running water and pat dry.
- Place the chicken in a bowl and rain salt over it. Marinate with all the pastes, fried onions, yoghurt and powdered spices for 30 minutes or for as long as 2 hours.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat ghee over low heat and toss in whole spices. Let them bloom for a couple of minutes.
- Drop in marinated chicken and cook on medium flame for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is done.
- Add fried potatoes and cool. Reserve for layering later.
For Rice
- Wash the rice until the water runs clean. Do this gently, making sure not to break the grains. Strain and reserve.
- In a wide saucepan (with a lid), heat ghee on medium flame and bloom the spices for a couple of minutes.
- Add the rice and toast gently for 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle in salt and sugar, followed with water. Taste the water – it should taste slightly overseasoned. The seasoning will be absorbed by the rice and be just perfect towards the end.
- Set it on a gentle simmer for around 6-7 minutes, stirring every 1-2 minutes.
- Hit it with some rose water for that added fragrance.
- Cover the pot and cook for around 10-15 minutes on very low flame.
To Serve
- Choose a servewear large enough to fit everything (preferably oven-proof). We will make two layers with the rice and chicken, but you can get adventurous and do many.
- Place the chicken at the bottom and sprinkle half the coriander leaves, ginger, mint and fried onions.
- Top that with cooked rice and garnish with eggs, remaining ginger, fried onions, mint and coriander leaves. Sprinkle lime juice.
- Cover the serveware with tin foil or a lid and place over a tava on medium flame or in the oven, so it can steam and all the components get cohesive.
- Serve with raita and papad or pickle.
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