3cupscooked and cooled Basmati ricecooked with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1kgboneless chicken thighscubed
1large onionfinely chopped
3garlic clovesthinly sliced
3cmpiece fresh gingergrated
2cardamom podscrushed
2teaspoonsground coriander
2teaspoonsground cumin
2teaspoonspaprika
1teaspoonturmeric
1tablespoonhot masala spice
1.5cupschicken stockreserve 1/2 cup of stock
1x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1teaspoonsugar
saltto taste
3large potatoescubed
oilfor frying
1teaspooncumin seeds
1teaspoonchilli flakes
for the crispy onions
2onionsfinely sliced
enough oil to deep fry the onions
for the herbed yoghurt sauce
2cupsGreek yoghurt
2tablespoonscorianderfinely chopped
2tablespoonsparsleyfinely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
saltto taste
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180°c.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot.
Fry the chicken in the oil until they start to brown. Remove and set aside.
Fry the onions, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes before adding the spices. Allow to fry for another minute and add the chicken back into the pot.
Stir to coat the chicken in all the spices and add the tomatoes, sugar and chicken stock.
Lower the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a large frying pan and fry the potatoes, cumin seeds and chilli flakes until golden and crisp. Season with salt and set aside.
To assemble the dish, layer a 1/3 of the rice at the bottom of a greased oven-proof dish. Next, cover the rice with the chicken curry but reserve some of the sauce. Follow with the rest of the rice and spoon over the remaining sauce. Finally, cover the rice with the fried potatoes. Pour over the reserved chicken stock and cover with foil (or a lid if your oven-dish has one).
Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
To make the crispy onions, heat the oil in a small saucepan then fry the onions until they are brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and drain on kitchen paper before seasoning with salt.
To make the yoghurt sauce, combine all the ingredients then set aside.
Remove the biryani from the oven and top with the crispy onions.
Serve with a generous dollop of the yoghurt sauce.