Biriyani Time

See also www.currysnob.co.uk

Yes it's yellow --That would be the turmeric

In many Asian restaurants in the UK, a biriyani is seen as a dish of rice, with perhaps a bit of mince, and invariably served with a veg curry sauce. If you start looking at the recipe books biriyanis become a celebration dish, with meat and fragrant  spices. so this  one is chicken,  with cinnamon, clove, cardamom, etc

 Try and avoid sticky rice. There's myriad methods and advice on how to cook rice, the experts often advising the "absorption" technique. Never works for me so I go for the lots of water method.. - That' s 7oz of rice in about 4.5 pints of water. (One coffee mug of rice, one big saucepan of water.) Boil  the water, which I don't salt, add the  Basmati rice, cook until done. About 10 minutes. Only way to tell is to taste it. 

For the rest of the stuff, - fry an onion until soft, fry a couple of cloves of garlic too. add the whole spices, then your meat, add the powders -Chilli, turmeric, ginger and salt if you wish. Stir it around for 15 minutes or so, then add a dessert spoon of plain yoghurt. And stir

Layer the rice and meat, finishing with rice, add cubes of butter, bay or curry leaves - (Could also add slices of lemon or lime, sprinkle (I never drizzle)  with Rose water and add lots of fried onion. Cover your  pan or casserole with foil, and a lid, and bung in the oven for 45 mins medium heat. Garnish with fresh coriander. Fried onion is great too. 

This dish reheats well. If you have leftovers, wait until they are cold, then refrigerate. To reheat, microwave until burning hot. Don't leave rice sitting around at room temperature, it will breed nasty bugs and you'll die after eating it (maybe)