HARIYALI MURG BIRYANI (GREEN CHICKEN BIRYANI)

Hariyali Murg Biryani is a delicious and aromatic dish, made using basmati rice, spinach, fresh herbs and chicken. Throughout India, and I would say in many other countries too, one can find a variety of biryanis with different preparation methods.

There are many restaurants serving different biryanis, whether veg or non veg. Many a times we get a green chicken biryani, which I have always loved. That’s the reason I thought of making this chicken biryani using spinach and particularly the aromatic kasuri methi, which in fact imparts it’s unique flavour to the dish!

For such delicious dishes, do take a look at the following recipes too……

1. Vegetable Dum Biryani

2. Andaa Biryani

3. Chicken Dum Biryani

4. Veg Hyderabadi Paalak Soya Biryani

Here’s the recipe for Hariyali Murg Biryani……

Prep Time : 40 min

Cooking Time : 40 min

Serves. : 5

INGREDIENTS :

• 350 gm Chicken
• 3 Boiled Potatoes
• 3 Boiled Eggs….. optional
• 2 1/4 cups Basmati Rice
• 1 1/2 tbs Fresh Cream/Malai
• Salt to taste
• 4 tbs Homemade Ghee (Clarified Butter)

For The Brirista :

• 4 Large Onions (5 cups Thinly Sliced Onions… Approx)
• Oil for frying the onions

For The Green Paste :

• 1/2 bunch Paalak (Spinach. ……. 2 – 2 1/2 cups Tightly packed spinach leaves)
• 3/4 cup Corriander Leaves (Dhaniya Patta/Kothimbir)
• 3/4 cup Mint Leaves (Pudina)
• 3-4 Green Chillies…. To be adjusted as per preference

For The Marinade :

• 1 1/4 cups Fresh Curds (Yoghurt)
• Ground Green Paste
• 5 tbs Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves)
• 2 Medium Tomatoes…. Roughly Chopped
• 1 tbs Ginger Garlic Paste
• 3 tsp Corriander Powder
• 3 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Kitchen King Masala…. Optional (Brand Everest)
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1/2 of the birista

For Cooking The Rice :

• 2 ltr Water
• 1 Cloves
• 1 Cardamom
• 2 Black Peppercorns
• 1 piece Cinnamon (1″ Each)
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2-3 tsp Lemon juice

For The Tempering :

• 1 cup Oil
• 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 Cloves
• 2 Green Cardamoms
• 1 Black Cardamoms
• 4 pieces Cinnamon (1″ each)
• 1/4 Mace
• 4 Black Peppercorns
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste

METHOD :

1. To make Hariyali Murg Biryani, first clean and wash the chicken thoroughly in clean water. Cut into pieces of desired sizes.
2. For the birista, fry the sliced onions in hot oil till crisp and slightly browned. Drain and set aside.
3. Grind together the ingredients mentioned for the green paste using a very tiny quantity of water, if required.
4. Mix the ingredients mentioned for marinade and add to it the drained chicken pieces. Mix well and set aside for about 1-2 hours.
5. The chicken can be marinated and refrigerated overnight. But in this case, the green paste, tomatoes and the birista should be added only an hour before cooking.
6. Wash and soak the basmati rice in clean water for about half an hour.
7. Heat 2 ltrs of water for cooking the rice. Add to it the whole spices mentioned and the salt.
8. When it reaches a rolling boil, drain the soaked rice grains and add them to the water.
9. Keeping the flame high, stir with a ladle. Add the lemon juice to it.
10. When the water starts boiling again, reduce the flame to medium, such that there is a slight boil to the water.
11. Keep checking the rice, but do not stir much. When the grains are half cooked, drain rice and set aside.
12. To cook the chicken, heat oil in a saucepan and add the whole spices to it. As soon as they splutter, add the ginger garlic paste and saute.
13. Add the chicken pieces alongwith the marinade. Keeping the flame high, keep stirring constantly till it reaches a boiling point.
14. Cook covered stirring occasionally. When the chicken is almost cooked, uncover and cook on high flame.
15. Cut the boiled potatoes into half and make vertical insicions on the boiled eggs. Add to the gravy and mix.
16. The mixture will gradually release some oil and will thicken up a bit. Add the cream and mix.
17. At this stage switch off the flame and set the chicken aside.
18. Keep a thick griddle on the gas stove and start heating it on low flame for the dum.
19. In the meantime, start layering the rice and chicken in a thick bottomed pan.
20. Spread some gravy at the bottom of the pan. Layer it with about half the cooked rice.
21. Spread some birista over it and some homemade ghee too.
22. Now, spread the cooked chicken mixture along with the pieces, potatoes and eggs over the rice.
23. Reserve a small quantity of the gravy for the topmost layer.
24. Spread the remaining rice over the chicken mixture and give it a slight press.
25. Spread some homemade ghee on this layer and then the reserved gravy. Sprinkle the remaining birista on top.
26. Cover with a foil and close the lid tightly over the pan. If desired place some weight over the lid.
27. Place this pan on the hot griddle and increase the flame to high.
28. Cook the biryani on dum on high flame for about 5 minutes and then on low flame for about 10 minutes.
29. While serving, scoop out the biryani from the sides so that all the layers can be served. Else, just give it a light mix and serve.
30. Serve this delicious, aromatic Hariyali Murg Biryani topped with some homemade ghee alongwith some salad and the deliciously cooling Boondi Raita by the side!