Rice Cooker Chicken Biriyani with Saffron Cream

Name: Rice Cooker Chicken Biriyani with Saffron Cream
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: indian, pakistani
Ingredients: 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs; 1 cup plain yogurt, preferably whole milk; 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder; 1 teaspoon turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon mild chile powder; 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder; 1 onion cut into chunks; 1 2-inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled; 3 garlic cloves, peeled; 1 fresh green chile pepper such as jalapeño or Serrano, stemmed; 3 tablespoons canola oil or ghee (clarified butter); 1 1/2 cups basmati rice, rinsed; 6 cloves; 6 cardamom pods; 1 cinnamon stick; 3 cups chicken broth (use low-sodium if canned) mixed with 1/4 teaspoon garam masala; 1 teaspoon salt; Pinch saffron threads mixed with 2 tablespoons heavy cream; 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, more for garnish; 3 tablespoons chopped mint; 1 lime; Oil for frying; 1 onion, thinly sliced; Big handful cashews; Big handful raisins

Recipe from Fairuza Akhtar

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Rice Cooker Chicken Biriyani with Saffron Cream — Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 4(388)
Comments: Read comments

Fairuza Akhtar, a restaurant owner in Jackson Heights, Queens, who was born in Pakistan, has developed a quick method for making fragrant, creamy biriyani with whole spices and bites of chicken, at home in her rice cooker. "My mother would fall down in a faint," she said, referring to the traditionally reverent attitude toward biriyanis in Northern India and Pakistan. "But rice cookers are the way of the modern world." —Julia Moskin

Featured in: Making Meals in a Rice Cooker

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

For Biriyani

1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1cup plain yogurt, preferably whole milk
1½teaspoons coriander powder
1teaspoon turmeric powder
1teaspoon mild chile powder
½teaspoon cumin powder
1onion cut into chunks
12-inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled
3garlic cloves, peeled
1fresh green chile pepper such as jalapeño or Serrano, stemmed
3tablespoons canola oil or ghee (clarified butter)
1½cups basmati rice, rinsed
6cloves
6cardamom pods
1cinnamon stick
3cups chicken broth (use low-sodium if canned) mixed with ¼ teaspoon garam masala
1teaspoon salt
Pinch saffron threads mixed with 2 tablespoons heavy cream
3tablespoons chopped cilantro, more for garnish
3tablespoons chopped mint
1lime

For Optional Garnishes

Oil for frying
1onion, thinly sliced
Big handful cashews
Big handful raisins

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Cut chicken into bite-size chunks: 6 to 8 pieces from each thigh. In a bowl, mix yogurt and powdered spices. Add chicken, mix well to coat, and set aside.
Step 2
In a food processor, purée onion, ginger, garlic and chili pepper together. Set aside.
Step 3
In a rice cooker, heat oil in cooking bowl on ''cook.'' When hot, add onion paste and cook, uncovered, until some liquid has evaporated and paste begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Step 4
Add rice and whole spices and stir well. Smooth top and arrange marinated chicken pieces over surface.
Step 5
Gently pour in broth and salt. Cover and let cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes depending on cooker.
Step 6
When done (or when cooker switches to "warm" function), add saffron cream and mix, making sure to scrape and scoop up bottom layer of rice. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and mint on top and re-cover. Let steam 5 minutes more.
Step 7
If making garnishes, heat 1 inch oil in a pot until rippling. Add onion and cook, separating rings, until golden brown. Lift out and drain. Add cashews and raisins to same oil and cook until cashews are golden brown. Lift out and drain.
Step 8
Just before serving, squeeze lime over biriyani and mix very well, fluffing lightly. Scoop onto serving platter and garnish with chopped cilantro and fried onions, cashews and raisins.

Tip

Lacking a rice cooker, biriyani can also be made in a heavy round pot with at least a 3-quart capacity. After adding broth in Step 5, raise heat to bring mixture to a simmer, then immediately reduce heat to very low. For Step 6, turn heat off.

Ratings

4 out of 5

388 user ratings

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Comments

KEJR7 years ago

My Zojirushi rice cooker timed out as soon as I added the chicken, and would not restart until cooled. Must be a safety feature. Had to transfer everything to a Dutch oven and things went downhill from there. If you think your rice cooker may have the same feature, I recommend cooking the paste in a separate pot, then adding to the bottom of the rice cooker and following the remaining steps as outlined. Wait to turn the cooker on until everything's in there.

Eric7 years ago

can you cook this in an Instant Pot pressure cooker?

Iris7 years ago

I did it in the Instant pot but only used 2 cups of stock. Turned out great!

Elise7 months ago

Excellent flavors in this dish. I read the comments and reduced the liquid to 2 cups. I needed an hour in my zojirushi but was perfectly cooked at that time. I also washed the rice 5 times. It did need a bit more salt even though I used chicken stock. Will definitely make again!

Alasdair8 months ago

Well, I made this today and it was pretty good.....BUT 1) You need to reduce the amount of stock/broth significantly. I went 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water. You get plenty of extra liquid from the chicken and onion paste. 2) My Indian girlfriend told me to fry off the whole spices in ghee for a couple of minutes and then add the onion paste. And she should know. It worked great. All in all, very good recipe but reduce the liquid and fry the whole spices before adding the paste.

Linda T3 years ago

I cooked mine on the stove and it got a little dry. Next time I will use 4 cups of chicken broth. And watch the heat more carefully and decrease the cook time on my electric stove!

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