From my understanding, Biryani is a recipe that takes all day, (and then some) if done in the traditional manner! It is also a dish cooked with the bone in the meat, which naturally adds flavor as well as nutrition, the variety of spices used is wide and every region/family has its own version! I believe that cooking all day with love for the dish, the flavours and the potential diners is wonderful and there are occasions when I do that, but not tonight! At the risk of offending the true Biryani aficionados, and throwing caution to the winds and WAAAY too busy to spend a whole day on one recipe, armed with a trusty Thermomix…(what else??) this is my version. And damn delicious it is too…if I say so 'may-self'! You can use brown/red/white or black rice if you wish or a combo and if you are really going out on a limb, how about replacing the rice with quinoa….there are no bones, no layers of rice and chicken, it is simple in the extreme. So perhaps I should call it something else? Suggestions willingly accepted. (Oh and don’t forget the Naan)
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Need
- 1/2 cinnamon stick(s)
- 2 Tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1 Tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or to taste)
- 1 Teaspoon pink salt flakes BUY
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 4 red onions, peeled
- 1 brown onion (approx 80g)
- 20 Grams peeled ginger root
- 20 Grams
- 400 Grams liquid chicken stock
- 1200 Grams chicken thigh fillet, cut in large pieces
- 400 Grams water
- 200 Grams rice of choice
- 100 Grams dried currants
- 2-4 bay leaves
- 2 Teaspoons cardamom seeds
- 1 Pinch saffron threads
- 100 Grams butter or ghee BUY
- almonds pistachios, or other nuts of choice, toasted
Do
- 1
Place cinnamon, coriander, chilli flakes and salt into Thermomix bowl and mill 5 sec/speed 10.
- 2
Add garlic, onions, ginger and EVOO and chop for 2 sec/speed 6. Sauté 8 min/Varoma/speed 2.
- 3
Add stock and cook 6 min/100ºC/Reverse/speed soft.
- 4
Preheat oven to fan forced 200ºC.
- 5
Place chicken fillets into the base of a large baking dish with a lid. Pour aromatics mixture on top and stir through water, rice, currants, bay leaves, cardamom seeds and saffron threads. Cover and bake for 1 hour.
- 6
Check liquid and add more water if needed. (Rice will absorb more or less water depending on variety used.)
- 7
Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Stir through butter or ghee.
More
Serve with nuts and sliced chili's and garnish with fresh bay leaves. A dollop of natural yogurt is also nice.
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of eight, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
