Mughlai Chicken Biryani

Of all the biryani recipes that ive tried in my kitchen, this one is my personal favourite. I made this on the day of Eid and it was a huge success. Everyone liked the distinctive aroma of the spices and the perfect blend of cashews and almond paste and all the ground spices. It involves a little extra work when compared to the usual biryani recipes. But the outcome is worth all the effort. 

Ingredients

Chicken cut into small pieces 1 1/2 kg
Medium onions sliced 2
Garlic cloves, crushed 6
Ginger, ground 2 tsp
Yoghurt 1/2 cup
Tomatoes 1/4 kg
Green whole cardamom 10
Black whole cardamom 4
Black cumin seeds 2 tsp
Cloves 10
Black pepper 2 tsp
Cinnamon stick 2
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Salt 3 tsp
White pepper 1/2 tsp
Ground nutmeg 1 tsp
Green chilies chopped 2
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Oil 1/2 cup
Saffron, dissolved in a cup of hot milk 1 tsp
Rice 5 cup

Directions

Heat oil in a pan and add onions. Cook on medium-low heat until golden brown.
Remove onions and add chicken to the pan, stirring until brown.
Meanwhile, in a blender, add yoghurt and half of the cooked onion and garlic/ginger.
Blend and add to chicken also add tomatoes, cloves, black pepper, black cumin,cardamoms and a stick of cinnamon.
Add coriander powder, salt and white pepper.
Cook for half an hour on medium heat.Stir frequently.
When the water has dried up and the chicken is done, add nutmeg.
Boil rice in eight cups of water with salt and the remaining spices.
Cook approximately for 10 minutes.
Drain the water leaving the whole spices with the rice.
In a pan, make alternate layers of rice and chicken.
Add half of the lemon juice, remaining onions and the chilies.
Pour 1/4-cup oil on the top along with the saffron/milk mixture.
Place in pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for one hour.