Chicken Pulao
Author: 
Recipe type: Main, Entree
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
A delicious, easy to make one-pot rice and chicken dish mildly spiced with Indian flavors, the chicken pulao makes for an enticing complete meal on its own.
You will need:
For marinating chicken,
  • Yogurt - ¼ cup
  • Red chili powder - ½ tsp
  • Garam masala powder - ½ tsp
  • Salt - ½ tsp
For chicken pulao,
  • Rice - 1½ cups
  • Chicken - 1½ lb, marinated
  • Ghee or oil - 3 tbsp
  • Bay leaves - 2, dried
  • Cinnamon - 1" piece
  • Cloves - 3
  • Green cardamom - 2
  • Star anise - 1
  • Mace - 1 piece
  • Onion - 1 large, finely chopped
  • Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp, heaped
  • Green chilies - 2, finely chopped (optional)
  • Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
  • Red chili powder - 1 tsp
  • Coriander powder - 1½ tsp
  • Cilantro leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped
  • Water - 2¼ cups (see Notes)
  • Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Saffron - a pinch, crushed (optional)
For garnish,
  • Ghee or oil - 2-3 tbsp
  • Cashew nuts - 6, broken
  • Golden raisins - 8-10
  • Onion - ½ cup, thinly sliced into half moons
  • Salt - a pinch (see Notes)
  • Sugar - a pinch (see Notes)
  • Cilantro leaves - a few
How to:
  1. Marination: Cut chicken into medium-sized pieces. In a bowl, coat chicken pieces with yogurt, red chili powder, garam masala powder and salt. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
  2. Pulao: Wash and drain rice in cold water a couple of time. Soak rice in water till needed.
  3. Heat 3 tbsp of ghee or oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan or pressure cooker. Add whole spices and allow them to sputter and become fragrant.
  4. Add onions and saute them till they are lightly caramelized. a light golden brown color. Add ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilies and saute for a couple of minutes until the raw smell goes away.
  5. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder and mix well to combine.
  6. Now add the chicken pieces along with all the marinade juices and chopped cilantro. Stir to coat the chicken well in the masala and cook to seal the juices, 5-6 minutes. The chicken and yogurt will let out water, cook the chicken on low heat until its mostly but not fully done. If you think it needs some water, sprinkle some of the water called for in the recipe. In 8-10 minutes, the chicken will be coated in a thick gravy.
  7. At this point, drain the rice and add to the pan. Stir to coat in the gravy and fry for a few seconds.
  8. Add water, lemon juice and saffron. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste and simmer covered for 18-20 minutes or until the rice is done. Once done, fluff the pulao lightly with a fork.
  9. If you are using a pressure cooker, cover with the lid, put the weight on and cook on medium-high heat for one whistle. Allow pressure to release naturally before opening the lid and fluffing the pulao.
  10. Garnish: While the rice is cooking, you can get the garnishes ready. Heat 2-3 tbsp ghee or oil in a skillet. Add cashew nuts and raisins and fry till raisins are plumped and nuts are golden. Drain, remove and set aside.
  11. Add the sliced onions, sprinkle salt and sugar and fry on medium-low heat until they are crisp and golden brown. Keep stirring to avoid burning. Drain well and remove to a paper towel lined plate. Spread it out on the plate and it will crisp up more as it cools. This is the birista.
  12. Garnish chicken pulao with a few cilantro leaves, fried cashew nuts, raisins and onions (birista). Keep pulao closed until serving time.
  13. Serve pulao with onion yogurt, pickles and poppadoms.
Notes:
1. Use coconut milk instead of water or part coconut milk and part water. It imparts a lovely, mild flavor to the pulao. The amount of cooking liquid needed is 1½ times the amount of rice you will use.
2. This recipe does not use tomatoes, the yogurt imparts a subtle tang to the pulao.
3. While making the fried onions for garnish, sprinkle a bit of salt and sugar to quickly and evenly caramelize the onion slices. Make sure the slices are uniform so that they are fried evenly.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2017/03/25/chicken-pulao-indian-chicken-pilaf/