Kolkata chicken biryani

Monika Manchanda’s Calcutta-style chicken biryani combines boneless chicken, basmati rice and fried potato in a sealed pot. The selected earthen-pot preparation uses yogurt-marinated chicken, ghee and a ginger-garlic-green-chilli paste.

Chicken is marinated with curd, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Basmati rice is partially boiled with black cardamom and tej patta, then drained and held aside. Black peppercorns, cloves, green cardamom and cinnamon are dry-roasted, cooled and ground to a fine powder.

Finely chopped onion softens and browns lightly in ghee in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. Ginger, garlic and green chillies are mashed in a mortar and pestle and added to the onion, followed by red chilli powder and turmeric. The marinated chicken is mixed in and cooked covered, with a little water added if needed.

Potatoes are cut into quarters and fried until crisp and cooked. The earthen pot is greased with ghee, then filled with alternating layers of rice, chicken gravy and potato, ending with rice. The remaining ghee is heated and poured over the top layer.

Wheat-flour dough seals the mouth of the earthen pot under its lid, and a mortar supplies the selected weight. The biryani cooks on low heat and rests before opening. It is served hot with the selected Burani raita and Laal Maas accompaniments.