Burmese Chicken Biryani

Burmese-style chicken biryani that is heavily influenced by Indian cooking. My friend Daisy, a physician's wife from Burma, made this for me, and although it is time consuming, it is one of the best dishes I have every had. Shan's® biryani mix can be found at any Indian or Middle Eastern Market. According to Daisy, the dish isn't the same without the seasoning and the dish does have a spicy kick to it. I like to serve it with a sauce of plain yogurt mixed with mango chutney and cilantro on the side to cool it down.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr
• Calories: 1045 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup cashew halves
• ⅓ cup melted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup golden raisins
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 6 cups water
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 pinch saffron
• ½ cup green peas
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large bay leaf
• 6 whole cloves
• ½ teaspoon ground thyme
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 2 large bay leaves
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons oil, or more as needed
• ¼ cup cornstarch, or more as needed
• ½ teaspoon salt, or more as needed
• ⅓ cup plain lowfat yogurt
• 2 tablespoons biryani seasoning mix (such as Shan's®)
• 1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, minced
• 8 medium chicken thighs
• 8 bone-in chicken legs with skin
• 30 fresh curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon biryani seasoning mix (such as Shan's®)
• 6 pods cardamom
• 2 tablespoons rose water

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Step 2

Combine onion slices, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl 6 hours before cooking; toss until onions are well coated in cornstarch.

Step 3

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions in batches and fry until they are nicely browned and have turned crispy, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Make sure the onions don't burn. Drain on paper towels and season with more salt. Repeat with remaining onion slices, adding more oil and adjusting the temperature as needed. Allow onions to cool and set aside.

Step 4

Combine yogurt, biryani, garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper for the marinade in a large resealable container. Add chicken thighs and legs, turn in the marinade, and marinate for at least 6 hours, to overnight.

Step 5

Heat oil in 2 large skillets over high heat and saute fresh curry leaves, biryani, bay leaf, paprika, thyme, cumin, and turmeric until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken and brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Pour in water, cover, and cook chicken on low for 10 minutes. Chicken does not need to be cooked through.

Step 6

Meanwhile, bring 6 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add rice, cardamom pods, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cumin, turmeric, and saffron. Return to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until rice is 3/4 done, about 15 minutes. Rice should not be very soft and still have a slight bite to the grain when tested. Set aside.

Step 7

Spray 2 large roasting pans with cooking spray. Discard any large spices from the rice pilaf. Layer 1/2 of the rice pilaf, green peas, raisins, cashews, and fried onions on the bottom of the roasting pans. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the rose water. Set chicken pieces on top of the rice. Repeat with another layer of rice, peas, raisins, cashews, fried onions, and rose water. Drizzle with melted butter and any pan juices from cooking the chicken and the rice. Cover pans tightly with aluminum foil.

Step 8

Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from the oven and take off foil. Stir before serving and serve hot.