Bhatkali Chicken Biryani

In my Bhatkali Mutton Biryani post, I wrote briefly about the Nawayath community of Bhatkal and their cuisine. Today in this Bhatkali Chicken Biryani post, let me take you a little deeper into their history and culture. Between the 8th and 15th centuries, the town of Bhatkal was one of the primary ports on the west coast of the Indian sub-continent. This port specialized in the trade of sugar, spices, rice and horses. Yemeni horses exported from the port of Hormuz in Iran were traded across the Indian sub-continent through the port of Bhatkal.

As time passed, the traders from the Persian regions viz Iraq, Iran, Yemen etc. settled in this coastal town and formed the Nawayath community – the Newcomers Community. Some of these traders married into the local community and this over time led to an entanglement of customs, languages and cultures. It is due to this that although Nawayath Cuisine can be broadly classified as South-Indian coastal cuisine, the flavour is milder.

While this cuisine showcases Indianised versions of many Arabian delights, there are also the dishes from the local regions which have influenced some of their dishes like the “Saat Padra Navariyo” which is a baked, layered dessert remiscent of the Goan Bebinca, while the “Haldi Pana Nevri” is nothing but the “Haldi Kole Patholi” which is much loved and enjoyed among the GSB Community and the Catholic communities in the region.

How to make Bhatkali Chicken Biryani

Well, the method of making the Bhatkali Chicken Biryani is similar to the Mutton Biryani, except that the protein is leaner and hence pressure cooking isn’t necessary. To start off, wash the long-grain basmati rice well until the water runs clear and soak it for atleast 15 minutes. Make deep gashes in the Chicken drums and thighs, wash and drain off the excess water or pat-dry. Prepare the ‘Beresta’ by frying the thinly sliced onion in ghee until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and let it crisp up as it cools.

Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies (I used cayenne peppers) and keep it aside. heat some ghee in a pressure cooker and fry some chopped onions until they turn translucent. Add slit green chillies to this and fry. Follow this with the ginger+garlic+green chilli paste and some chopped mint leaves. Add some chopped tomatoes followed by garam masala and turmeric and fry until the tomatoes turn mushy and all ingredients are well incorporated. Add salt as per your taste, along with the chicken and some water. Cook on an open flame for a couple of minutes.

Cover the pot and cook until the chicken is well cooked. Take it off the flame and sprinkle the gravy with some chopped coriander leaves. Retain the stalks from the coriander to flavour the rice. Once, the gravy is done and ready, we proceed to preparing the Biryani rice.

In a large enough vessel that you will later use for dum-cooking the Bhatkali Chicken Biryani, take the freshly boiled water as mentioned in the recipe and flavour it with bay leaves, green cardamom, finely chopped coriander stalks, lime juice, ghee and adequate salt. Drain the soaked Basmati rice and add it to the vessel and bring the water to a rolling boil. Cover the vessel with a tight-fitting lid and cook the rice until it is about 80% cooked. Transfer it to a colander and run it through some cold water to stop the rice from cooking further. Keep it aside while we prepare for layering the Bhatkali Chicken Biryani.

Transfer the Chicken gravy to the vessel you cooked the rice in. Spread half the cooked rice on top of the gravy. Sprinkle some saffron milk on top of the rice. This is an optional step and can be skipped as Bhatkali Chicken Biryani is predominantly white but, I personally prefer a bit of saffron in my Biryani and hence added it. Sprinkle some rose water followed by chopped coriander leaves and some of the beresta. Top this with the remaining rice and sprinkle the remaining ingredients on top as done before. With the back end of a spoon, make holes in the rice to allow the steam to circulate freely. Sprinkle some ghee on top of the rice.

Cover the pot with aluminium foil and close it with a tight-fitting lid. you can also seal the lid with dough to make it air-tight. Cook the biryani on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Turn off the flame and let the Biryani sit for another 15-20 minutes to let all the flavours to settle and infuse well. Serve the Bhatkali Chicken Biryani with a raita of your choice. Do let me know if you enjoyed my take on the Bhatkali Chicken Biryani.

Bhatkali Chicken Biryani

Jason Alfred Castelino @ www.oneplateplease.com

A delectable Chicken Biryani with subtle flavours, from the town of Bhatkal on the coast of Karnataka

4 from 2 votes

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Coastal Karnataka Cuisine, Indian, karnataka cuisine, Nawayath Cuisine

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• Medium sized Pot
• Large thick Bottomed Pot
• Colander

Ingredients

  

For the Chicken Gravy:

• 2 inch Ginger peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 4 pc Cayenne peppers divided (see notes for green chilli substitution)
• 2 tbsp Water for grinding
• 6 tbsp Ghee
• 3 pc Onions, Large, chopped fine
• 3 pc Tomatoes, Large, chopped fine
• ⅔ cup Mint leaves chopped fine
• 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• Salt, as acquired
• 1 kg Chicken – Thighs and Drum, on the bone, de-skinned, washed and pat-dry
• ½ cup Water
• 1 cup Coriander leaves, chopped fine (use the stalks for the rice)

For the Biryani Rice:

• 7½ cups Water, freshly boiled
• 4 pc Bay leaves
• 4 pc Green Cardamom, bruised
• Coriander stalks, chopped fine
• 1 pc Lime, juiced
• 3 tbsp Ghee
• Salt, as acquired
• 1 kg Basmati Rice, Long grain, (about 4 cups), (washed and soaked for atleast 15-20 minutes)

For Layering and Dum-cooking the Biryani:

• ¼ Cup Saffron Milk (soak 1 tsp saffron strands in ½ cup warm milk for about 15 mins)
• 3 tsp Rose water
• 1 cup Coriander leaves, chopped fine (use the stalks for the rice)
• 1 pc Onion, Large, – for the Beresta (thinly sliced and fried in ghee until golden brown)
• 4 tbsp Ghee

Instructions

 

Making the Chicken Gravy:

• Grind the ginger, garlic and half the cayenne peppers (or green chillies) with minimal water to a smooth fine paste and set aside
• Heat the ghee in a pot and fry the chopped onions until they turn translucent
• Slit the remaining cayenne peppers (or green chillies) and add to the pot
• Follow this with the ginger-garlic-cayenne pepper paste and the mint leaves
• Add the chopped tomatoes along with the garam masala and turmeric powders. Mix well and fry until the tomatoes turn mushy and all ingredients are well incorporated
• Add the salt
• Make deep gashes on the Chicken thighs and drums and add them to the pot, followed by the water
• Give a good mix and cook for a couple of minutes before closing the lid and cooking for about 20 minutes until the meat is cooked
• Give the gravy a good stir and add the chopped coriander and set aside and proceed to cooking the rice

Making the Biryani rice:

• In the vessel you will use for layering and dum-cooking, take the freshly boiled water along with bay leaves, green cardamom, coriander stalks, lime juice and salt
• Add the soaked and drained basmati rice and bring the water to a rolling boil
• Cover the vessel with a tight-fitting lid, lower the flame and cook for about 6 minutes
• Turn off the flame and let the rice cook in its steam for about 4 minutes
• Open the lid and fluff up with a fork. transfer the rice to a colander and run it through some cold water to stop the cooking

Layering and Dum-cooking the Biryani:

• Transfer the chicken gravy to the vessel used for cooking rice
• On top of the gravy, spread about half of the cooked rice
• Sprinkle some of the saffron milk and rose water and layer with half the coriander leaves and Beresta (fried onions)
• Repeat this layering process with the remainder of the rice
• With the back end of a spoon, make holes in the layering to enable the steam to circulate freely
• Sprinkle the ghee on top of the rice
• Cover the vessel with Aluminium foil and a tight-fitting lid
• Cook the Biryani on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes
• Turn off the flame and let the Biryani sit for another 15-20 minutes to let all the flavours to settle and infuse well

Serving:

• Spoon through all the layers, to grab a bit of each layer in every serving
• Enjoy the Biryani with Raita of your choice.

Notes

• Substitute each Cayenne Pepper with 2-3 green chillies
• The rice needs to be about atleast 80% cooked. The method I mentioned, works for me. Do check to see that the rice is not overly undercooked nor should it be overcooked, resulting in a mushy biryani

Keyword Bhatkal Biryani, Bhatkal Biryani Recipe, Bhatkali Biryani, Biryani, Biryani recipe, chicken, Chicken Biryani, Dum Biryani

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