Incredible tonight. Onions were especially good, cooked exactly the right amount before they start to burn

Made biryani again. Chicken didn't end up as tender as last time but still quite good

I made chicken biryani a couple nights ago. I don't do it often and actually hadn't really tried it until about a year ago, but I do enjoy it at restaurants so got interested in seeing if I could make it well at home. My previous, say, three attempts were middling. Just OK. Yesterday's was mind blowingly good. Like, it was so good I was thinking about it all day and excited to eat it again for dinner. This doesn't happen often, one of the best feelings. I don't know if I can replicate it, but I at least tried to write it down.

I started using this biryani recipe and have been tweaking it slightly each time. What I've written below incorporates my tweaks.

Ingredients

This does sort of assume you've got the whole gamut of regular Indian spices handy. Sorry, I don't know the substitutions. Hopefully you have access to an Indian grocery somewhere.

Marinade

For all tsp/tbsp measurements feel free to use heaping measurements. It'll be fiiiiiiine. (worked fine for me)

• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (or bone in)
• 1 cup plain greek whole fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp vegetable/canola oil
• Bunch of garlic. Like a heaping spoon of minced garlic works ok
• 3 tsp ginger paste or finely grated ginger
• 1/8 turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Chili powder to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom. I buy cardamom seeds and grind them with mortar+pestle
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp cumin (I skimp because I don't like cumin too much)
• 2 tbsp [sic] sweet paprika (awh yeah)
• 2 tsp salt

Rice

• 2.5 cup basmati rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp salt [sic]
• 10 cloves
• 5 bay leaves
• 6 cardamom pods
• Handful of whole or halved cashews
• Handful of raisins

Onions

• 4 onions, halved and sliced thin

Biryani

• 1-2 cup frozen peas

Instructions

Marinating Chicken

Mix all the marinade stuff well in a large bowl, big enough to hold your chicken. Try not to make the bowl too much larger, so you get more contact between marinade and chicken. After I've mixed in the chicken, I use a fork to poke lots of holes in it. I imagine the marinade soaks in a bit better. Marinate for up to like 12 hours maybe? I did 6 hours and it turned out great.

Fried Onions

Halve and thin slice the onions. Deep fry them until about to be crispy. You don't want them bitter. I used a big cast iron skillet, canola oil, and high heat. I did em in two batches. Keep a careful eye on them towards the end. It'll take 10-15 minutes for a batch of them to get fried enough. Then keep them aside on a paper towel on a plate.

Rice

Boil enough water to easily cover the rice, in a big pot. Once it's boiling, add rice and all the other rice stuff like whole spices, cashews, and raisins. Boil for about 4 minutes until the rice is firm but not crunchy. Not fully cooked but on its way there. Drain immediately and set aside.

Biryani

Cook the chicken and all the marinade on medium-high heat in a big pot. I used a big enamel cast iron dutch oven. Cook for 5-10 minutes. The marinade might get liquidy but that's OK. The chicken will be only partially cooked but that's OK too.

Take it off the heat and add crispy onions generously. Save a bit of crispy onions for garnish later. Add a layer of peas.

Add all the rice and whole spices in a thick layer. Pat it down gently until it's satisfyingly flat but not compact.

Cover and put on low/med heat. When you see steam (either seeping out or lifting lid to check), cover and put it on low heat for 25 minutes. Don't stir it. I used a simmer/sauce burner for this stage to prevent the chicken and marinade from burning to the bottom. I used level 4/10 on my gas range. Worked especially well with the cast iron pot.

When you serve it, you gotta scoop all the way from the top to the bottom so you get all the layers in one serving.