Chettinad Kozhi Biryani

Before you start

• Marinate the chicken in the yogurt, half the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder and salt for at least 1 hour, refrigerated.
• Wash the seeraga samba in three changes of water and soak it 20 minutes only. It is a small grain and turns to porridge if soaked longer.
• The ratio for seeraga samba is about 1.5 cups water to 1 cup rice, not the 2:1 you use for basmati. Measure the soaking water out separately.
• Have every ingredient chopped before you start. Once the rice goes in, the timing is fixed.

Method

1. Heat the ghee and gingelly oil together in a heavy pot. Fry the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, mace, stone flower and fennel for 40 seconds, until they lift and smell sweet.Whole spices first, in fat, on medium heat. Thrown in later they never release properly.
2. Add the sliced onion and fry 12 minutes, until evenly deep gold. Keep a spoonful back for the top.
3. Stir in the remaining ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and curry leaves and fry 2 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, coriander powder and crushed pepper and cook 8 minutes, until the tomatoes have gone to pulp and oil shows at the sides.
5. Add the marinated chicken with all its yogurt and fry on high 6 minutes, until the yogurt tightens around the pieces and stops looking watery.Cook the yogurt off properly or it splits later and leaves the rice sour and streaky.
6. Throw in the mint and coriander leaves and cook 2 minutes, until they wilt into the masala.
7. Pour in 750ml water, add the lemon juice and salt, and bring to a hard boil. Taste it now. The liquid should be slightly saltier than you want the finished rice.This is the only chance to correct seasoning. Once the rice is in, you cannot fix it.
8. Drain the rice and stir it in. Boil uncovered on high until the water level drops to the surface of the rice, about 6 minutes.
9. Cover tightly, drop the heat to the lowest setting and cook 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
10. Turn off the heat and leave it covered another 10 minutes.The rest is not optional. Opening early gives you wet grains at the bottom and dry ones on top.
11. Fork through gently from the edges inward, top with the reserved fried onion and serve with onion raita and brinjal curry.

Safe temperatures: Chicken and duck are done at 74°C / 165°F, taken at the thickest part and clear of the bone. Reheat leftovers to 74°C / 165°F. FoodSafety.gov

Storage

Keeps 2 days refrigerated. Reheat portions covered with 1 tbsp water over low heat or in a steamer for 6 minutes; stirring hot biryani breaks the grains.