Chicken and Rice (Omani Chicken Biryani)

omani-chickenbiryani This rice dish is an Omani take on traditional Indian and Persian chicken biryanis. Just like other chicken biryanis, this one also consists of basmati rice mixed with chicken parts (legs or breasts). What makes this dish truly Omani is the use of spices and herbs that are typical of Omani cuisine. Although not as heavily spiced as other chicken biryanis, Omani chicken biryani is still a fragrant and flavourful dish, and it is typically accompanied by sides such as cucumber raita, lime wedges, and slices of sweet onions. In Oman, this dish is usually eaten for lunch or dinner, and it is available in numerous cafés, restaurants, and similar eateries throughout the country. Succulent, juicy pieces of chicken are cooked in a yogurt marinade and then layered with crispy onions, coriander, mint and basmati rice to give you a dish that the entire family will enjoy.

Brown Onions:
2 large onions
½ cup vegetable oil

Chicken Marinade:
chicken thighs and drumsticks, skinless, bone-in (700 g)
¾ cup yogurt or hung curd
¼ cup tomato purée
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. ginger garlic paste (minced ginger and garlic)
1 Tbsp. red chilli powder or 1 tsp. paprika + 1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. garam masala powder
2 Tbsp. brown onions
1¼ tsp. sea salt

Saffron:
2 Tbsp. hot milk
10-15 strands saffron

Parboiled Rice (70% cooked):
2 cups basmati rice
6 cups water
2 Tbsp. sea salt
1 bay leaf
5-6 cloves
2-3 cardamom pods

Assembly:
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup coriander leaves (cilantro)
1½ Tbsp. ghee or butter

To Serve:
Onion Raita

Make the Brown Onions:
Pat the onions dry and if time permits, leave them out on a kitchen towel for 15-20 minutes to dry them out slightly. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. On a medium flame, shallow fry the onions for 15 minutes till they are a deep golden brown, without burning them. Drain them out on a paper towel, and set aside. These can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container overnight. Burnt onions will add a bitter flavour to the biryani. You can also use store bought fried onions/shallots which are easily available in leading supermarkets, Indian and Asian stores.

Chicken Marinade:
Mix together all the ingredients under chicken marinade and marinate for at least two hours or overnight for best results.

Prepare the Saffron:
When you are ready to make the biryani, soak saffron strands in hot milk and rub them slightly with the back of a spoon. Set this aside.

Cook the Rice:
Bring water to a roaring boil and add salt, whole spices and basmati rice. Cook for exactly 5 minutes and drain completely, leaving the whole spices in the rice. This will cook the rice to about 70% doneness which can be checked by pressing a grain of rice between two fingers - the rice should still be raw in the middle.

Layering and Cooking Chicken Biryani:
Heat a heavy bottomed pot like a Dutch oven, and add the chicken to it. Cook for 4 minutes and then turn the chicken pieces once. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Scatter half the onions all over the chicken, and then all the coriander and mint leaves. Next layer the rice all over the mint and coriander, and in the end drizzle saffron milk and ghee all over the rice.

Cover and cook on a low flame for 20 minutes - this will help steam the rice, cook it to doneness and cook the chicken.

Once the biryani is cooked, let it rest for 5 minutes, and finish by scattering the remaining onions on top. Serve hot with onion raita.

Cook's Notes:

While a lot of restaurants use an entire chicken cut into medium sized pieces to make biryani, this is done to cut costs. Pieces like chicken breasts dry out during the long cooking process, and that's why I recommend using only chicken thighs and drumsticks while cooking biryani at home. You can ask your butcher to cut each chicken leg into two parts to divide it into thighs and drumsticks. Leaving the bone in keeps the chicken juicy.
Brown Onions can be slightly time consuming and tricky to make, and you can substitute them here with store bought fried onions. Just make sure that the onions are not batter fried. They are also available at leading supermarkets, Asian and Indian stores.
While buying basmati rice, make sure you buy rice that's labelled basmati and not just long grain rice. Basmati Rice is fragrant and has slightly thinner grains than long grain rice. Real basmati rice is what gives biryani its distinct flavour and taste.
In the last step of layering and cooking the biryani, all the ingredients are par cooked. Cooking the biryani on a low flame for 20 minutes, steams and cooks everything to doneness. If you don't have a heavy bottomed pot, and are using a regular pot, you can place it on a tava (or flat griddle) and then place it on the stove on a medium flame to avoid burning the chicken. The tava or griddle creates a degree of separation between the flame and the pot and provides the perfect heat source.