Updated March 2024.
I’ve been experimenting with “Indian” cuisines and have found I tend to like cuisines from the Punjab and Pakistan areas. Previously, you would not get me to entertain “Indian Cuisine” and this was because our first experience of Indian food (30 + years ago) was from a takeaway and it ended up in the bin 🙁
Over the years, I’ve been invited to dine in “proper” Indian restaurants but have declined and now realise my error!
My tastes have changed over the years and I’ve been trying foods that were outside my comfort zone. The odd samosa and onion bhaji along with chicken tikka have tempted me to try more. Lamb Dhansak is awesome and Rogan Josh is pretty good, it seems these are “curries” but they are not hot and fiery just very tasty with a hint of spicyness.
So on to Biryani! I was watching Tom Kerridge on the telly and he did a Beef Biryani. It looked quite good so I had a go and was amazed how good it was. I did a bit of Web Surfing and found that Biryani was basically a vegetable and rice dish that can include any meat of your choice or none at all.
Biryani is basically the English / British version of a vegetable stew that can be “vegetarian” or can include meat.
So today, “Chicken something” was on the menu. I had chicken thighs and rice but no spuds so I thought I would have a go at Chicken Biryani, inspired by Tom Kerridge and Swasthi’s Recipes but did it “Hairy Grandads” way 🙂
I did the marinade using Swasthi’s recipe, left to soak for a couple of hours, very nice.
I did the veg in a separate pan – Onions, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Courgette and green beans and cooked until soft.
I cooked the chicken in a frying pan with a little oil, about 4 mins each side and then put them in the “Smart Oven / Air Fryer” for 25 mins at 190 deg C. (I’ve since found that I can just use the air fryer without the initial use of the frying pan).
I cooked the (basmati) rice in a separate pan and threw in some frozen peas before cooking.
In the pan I had fried the chicken in. I added a tin of Coconut milk, along with curry powder and chilli powder. After it had all warmed and “merged”, I added the veg and left to simmer until it was cooked.
When the Chicken was cooked, I left it to cool and then removed all the bones (the skin was nice and crispy and I ate it as a “cooks treat”) and added it to the Vegetable pan.
I served the rice (and peas) separately and added the meat and veg to the plate so it wasn’t like a traditional Biryani where everything was mixed with the rice but the coconut milk made sure there was plenty of “gravy” to mix with the rice. It was nice and tasty and very filling.
If you are a newby to indian cooking and spices – like me, this is a perfect meal to allow you to experiment with the different Indian herbs and spices. You can add very spicy things like chillies or you can just add spices to give that “tang” – sort of sweet and sour. Ideally it should just be tasty and not spicy but we are all different.
Biryani is going to be a regular on the menu, you can have a lot of fun with it. Basically it is vegetables with rice and optional meat. The veg can be anything you have in the fridge or freezer. The meat can be whatever you have or fancy. You can play around with the spices and herbs. If you like garlic and ginger, add as much as you like. If you like stuff like cumin and coriander, add to your taste. Basically, make it your own. Try adding things like sweet potato and even roasting the veg before adding to the mix.
Freestyle Biryani is something that you can have a lot of fun with. Use whatever veg you have and any meat you have and throw in some rice.
Bon appétit
Recipe :-
First thing is to decide is what veg you are going to use. Biryani is good option to use up things like “bendy carrots” or other veg past it’s best. You could also see what’s in the freezer and select whatever you fancy. It would probably be best to defrost any frozen veg and at least part cook “fresh veg” so that they all cook at the same time. I’m not going to give quatities, you can decide how many people you are going to feed. Suggestions :-
Carrots – bendy or otherwise
Onions
Sweet bell peppers
Cauliflower (frozen)
Brocolli (frozen)
Peas (frozen)
Green Beans (frozen)
Sugar snap peas
Baby sweet corn
Anything else you fancy.
Cook these first to how you like and then add any spices and / or herbs
This “dish” is similar to the Chinese Chop Suey, in that both can be vegetables and rice only or can include meat. I’m not particularly keen on rice unless it has has plenty of “gravy” / sauce