Topic: Chicken Biryani and Chicken Bhuna

[Curry King]

Anyone have restuarant style recipes for Chicken Biryani and Chicken Bhuna?

I wouldn't mind trying them to make a change from vindaloo every time  :

[Yellow Fingers]

These are two recipes I would like too.

What I can tell you is that the method of making the biriani is to fry off some pre cooked pilau rice in some of the base sauce, adding pre-cooked meat and veg as you go, but I don't know what extra in terms of spices is added. However this should make a starting point for experimentation.

I once made a bhuna that tasted exactly like my takeaway one; very rich flavour and nice and thick. However when I made it I was in a big rush so everything went in with the gas on full heat. I basically added the usual garlic and ginger together with some finely chopped onion, fried this off for a couple of mins, then added pinches of several (about 9) spices i had to hand, and some tomato puree and water. But because I was in a rush I couldn't remember later what I had used, and I haven't managed to reproduce it since. I was really fed up because this really was the closest match to any restaurant recipe I had ever made.

So not much help to you, but the the reason I mention it is because just by being in a rush I accidently stumbled on the way the restaurants cook, i.e. full heat and quick, and secondly there wasn't a whiff of base sauce or spiced oil used. Infact I used very little oil, there was no skimming it off at the end.

The one conclusion I took from this is that the bhuna spicing must be much more involved than a madras for example.

[CurryCanuck]

                                                      BIRYANI

1 lb boneless meat (chicken/lamb), cut in 1 inch strips
2 cups rice, washed and drained
5 cloves garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
5 dried red chillies
2 medium onions, sliced into rings
2 medium tomatoes, diced
5 mint leaves
pinch of saffron (optional)
3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 tablespoon butter
3 pods cardamoms
3 cloves
2 inch stick of cinnamon
salt to taste

Make a paste of the garlic, ginger and chillies in a food processor.

Saute the onions in the butter until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the onions, and put them aside. Put the ginger-garlic-chili paste into the same pan used above and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the meat and saute. Lamb should be sauted for about 7-8 minutes, while the chicken will take about 4-5 minutes. The meat should be about half cooked at the end of this step Add chopped tomatoes, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, turmeric, mint leaves and salt and saute for 2 minutes. Add a little water and cook until the meat is almost cooked. Now add the rice and potatoes. Add the rest of the water and simmer covered, on a very low flame for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is cooked. Serve hot, garnished with the fried onions.

[CurryCanuck]

                                                    BHUNA

Ingredients
chicken breasts, skinned and cut into strips
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garam masala

For the marinade:
6 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
? tsp turmeric
1 tbsp paprika
3 cardamoms, crushed with husk removed
? tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground chilli
1 tbsp cumin
a handful of fresh coriander
For the rice:
2 cups basmati rice, washed well
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
? cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method
1. Mix the marinade ingredients together and marinade the chicken for 2 hours.
2. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan and fry the onion in a pan.
3. Add the rice, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom and fennel seeds.
4. Add cold water to 1in above the level of the rice and bring to the boil.
5. Boil for 5 minutes and cover with a lid.
6. Turn off the heat and leave for 20 minutes.
7. In a non-stick pan heat the oils and fry the chicken until tender and cooked through.
8. When the chicken is cooked, add the garam masala and chopped coriander and serve with the rice and a warm naan bread.