Phil Vickery's chicken biryani

Monday 4 February at 9:13pm

It may be cold outside but Phil Vickery is giving us the chance to warm up with his spicy, one-pot biryani and after Marks & Spencer got themselves in hot water for their version of a biryani wrap, Phil talks us through the classic ingredients.

Chicken biryani

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes - resting time 15 minutes.

Ingredients

5 tbsp biryani paste, or see spices below:

For the spices:

1 tsp chilli

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp garam masala

4 bay leaves

10 cardamoms

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp mace

10 cloves

100g thick yoghurt

8 chicken thighs, bone in, skinned

4 tbsp any oil

1 tbsp cumin seeds

2 level tbsp finely chopped ginger

2 small onions, finely chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

250g basmati rice, washed well and soaked for 30 minutes

4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

75g raisins soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes

800mls water, approx

1 x 10g chicken stock cube, dissolved in the water

30g salted cold small butter cubes

Coriander

Toasted flaked almonds, optional

Crispy fried onions

Crispy fried ginger strips

Reza’s Cucumber Raita:

2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground in a pestle

1 medium cucumber roughly grated, then squeezed out really well

350g thick Greek yogourt

4 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

Lemon juice

Salt

You will need a deep 24 cm ovenproof pan with a tight fitting lid. (not too large, but deep the meat and veg need to be layered tightly)

Method

Mix the spices or the biryani paste together with the yoghurt in a bowl then add the chicken
Heat the oil in the a pan heat the oil then add the cumin seeds and ginger and cook quickly, then add the onions and cook to get some good colour
Add the chicken thighs and brown on all sides to get a little colour
Add the tomatoes and cook further for 2 minutes
Add half the soaked rice, stir well, then sprinkle over the coriander, mint, and raisins
Add the rest of the rice and pack down nicely
Pour over the boiling stock; bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 20 minutes (resist the temptation to open!)
After 20 minutes, check to see if the rice is cooked and the liquid soaked up, dot with the butter and more coriander
If cooked replace the lid, and leave for 15 minutes to rest
For the cucumber raita place the all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well, season with lemon juice, salt and ground pepper. Serve.
Serve topped with crispy fried onions and ginger strips