Chicken Biryani.

When it comes to rice, chicken biryani is one dish loved by everyone. The aroma of all the spices that blends in the biryani cannot stop anyone from having it.

It's very important to use the right spices in biryani. I have made use of the following spices.

• Few cloves.
• Bay leaves.
• Cardamom.
• Black pepper.
• Cinnamon sticks.
• Star Anise.

Other ingredients.

• 1 thin sliced onion.
• Spring onions diagonally chopped.
• 3/4 cooked Basmati rice.
• Dry chicken. I have made use of- Its my cuisine special chicken that I had prepared extra for the biryani. 
• Cooking oil or clarified butter.
• Few cashews and raisins.
• Cilantro leaves.
• 3 tbsp of skimmed milk with little saffron flakes added in milk. 

Step 1- Preparing onion masala.

• In a non stick wok or vessel heat 2-3 tbsp oil or clarified butter and put in all the spices mentioned above. Add the raisins and cashew nuts.
• After a minute, add thin sliced onion and keep stiring till onion is golden brown. Add  in the spring onions and cook for 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes,  remove half of this onion masala in a separate dish while other half remains in the pan for layering the biryani.

Step 2 - Layering the biryani.

• We have some masala onions prepared in the pan. Layer this with a part of the 3/4th cooked white basmati rice.
• Layer this rice with chicken and some onion masala.
• Again we put white rice over this chicken masala and put another layer of chicken masala over the rice.
• Place the final layer of rice over the chicken. Make sure the flame is low.

Step 3-

• Put a tbsp of clarified butter on the biryani and some over the edges and sprinkle 2 to 3 tbsp of saffron milk over it and close the lid and leave it on low flame for another 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and slowly move the biryani from edges and mix without breaking the rice.
• Serve hot with Boondi or Cucumber Raita which is seasoned with cilantro, cumin powder, mint, chaat masala and other herbs and spices of your choice.