Lucknowi Murg Biriyani

The Valentine’s week is on the move and it is always a pleasure to cook something delicious for your loved ones. Today sharing with you all a delicious royal Biriyani from the heart of Lucknow….Lucknowi Murg Biriyani. I have already shared with you Shahi Biriyani recipe but today’s Lucknowi Murg Biriyani is more flavorful but more healthy than regular Biriyani’s as I use mainly vegetable oil and a very less amount of ghee, for those who stay in heart should remain heart healthy. To make it more royal and eye appealing you can garnish with silver or golden varak which I skip. Get ready take a look of the recipe and just bring smile to that special face. Enjoy Lucknowi Murg Biriyani.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 ½  hour
Serves: 4

Ingredients: 
500 grm long grain Basmati
4 chicken leg pieces
2  lemon juice
1 ½  tbsp chicken biriyani masala
1 tsp red chilly powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 bay leaves 
2 green cardamom
4 cloves 
1 inch cinnamon
5 to 6 all spice 
1 star anis
4 whole black pepper
3 big onion sliced
1 big onion chopped
8 to 10 garlic 
1 tsp grated ginger
1  small tomato 
3 tbsp thick yogurt
4 whole green chilly
½ tsp rose water
 4 drops kewra essence
4 drops metha attar
few  strands of saffron
1 cup milk
4 big potatoes boiled
4 eggs boiled 
4 tbsp vegetable oil 
1 ½  tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
hand full of freshly chopped coriander and mint leaves
handful of cashew and pistachio 
a pinch sugar
Salt to taste

Methods Of Cooking: 

First wash the rice and soak it in water for 30 minutes. Marinate the chicken pieces with little turmeric, salt and lemon juice for half an hour. Take tomato,onion,ginger and garlic add biriyani masala, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, salt and make a smooth paste. Marinate the boiled eggs and potatoes with salt and little biriyani masala and a drop of meetha attar. Now heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan fry the sliced onions with pinch of sugar till brown and crisp. Keep aside. Now in that oil or add a little more if needed fry the cashew and pistachio. Keep aside. Then fry the marinated boiled potatoes and eggs and keep aside. Mean while soak the saffron strands in a cup of milk with rose water kewra essence and meetha attar. Now to cook the rice boil water and then add the presoaked basmati rice and cook till half done.Squeeze one whole lemon and put off the flame. Drain the starch and leave it in an open in a wide mouth vessel so that rice grain doesn't stick to one another. Heat oil in a pan now add the whole spices. When you get the aroma of the fried masala then add spicy tomato paste made earlier and yogurt. Stir and cook til oil seperates. Now starin the chicken from the marinate and add and fry well with the masala. Add little by little hot chicken stock or water so that you don’t burn the spices. Once well fried in the masala add 1 cup of hot stock or water and green chilly. Cover and cook till the chicken is well cooked and it is almost dry. Add drop of meeta attar rosewater and kewra essence. Mix well and put off the flame. Take a heavy bottom pan and spread a tablespoon of ghee on the base. Now make a layer of semi cooked rice and then the layer of cooked chicken and again a layer of rice. Above it the fried potatoes and egg then again a layer of rice. Sprinkle the saffron milk mixture and the rest of the ghee above the last layer of rice with fried onion, fried nuts and freshly chopped mint and coriander leaves. Now cover the pan and seal the edges with whole wheat dough. Now simmer it on a low flame for 15 to 20 minutes in a low flame, it helps the rice to get well cooked. Put off the flame give 10 minutes standing time before serving. In each serving plate add one potato and egg each with chicken in layers. Serve with sliced onion and lemon slices with any raita of your choice I try it with grapes raita. Relish the royal Lucknowi Murg Biriyani.

Happy Cooking!