Thalassery Biryani

Swasthi Shreekanth’s Thalassery chicken biryani layers a thick chicken gravy with Jeerakasala, also called kaima rice, cooked by absorption. The selected preparation uses ghee-fried onion, cashews and raisins, a complete ground spice blend, herbs and an optional rose-water finish.

Star anise, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, shahi jeera, fennel seeds, red chilli and peppercorns are cleaned and ground finely without preliminary roasting. Cashews and raisins are fried in ghee and moved to a plate; thinly sliced garnish onion is fried in the same pan and held with them. Main sliced onion is then fried in the remaining ghee.

Ginger-garlic-green-chilli paste joins the main onion before the chicken, turmeric and part of the ground blend. The chicken cooks covered, then chopped tomato, salt and curd are added and stirred through. It continues cooking under cover until tender with a thick gravy. The Jeerakasala rice is washed and drained through a colander.

A separate pot heats ghee with bay leaf, star anise, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and fennel seeds. The rice is sautéed, salted and stirred gently with hot water, then cooked by absorption under cover; extra warm water is sprinkled only if needed. Mint and coriander are mixed into the cooked chicken, which is levelled before layering.

Half the rice is layered with a further portion of the same ground spice blend, fried onion and mint. The remaining rice receives coriander, mint, more fried onion, cashews, raisins and finishing ghee mixed with the selected optional rose water. Foil seals the pot beneath a steel plate and a heavy object. It cooks over a tawa, rests and is served with onion raita, giving each portion both chicken masala and rice.