Tamil Nadu Style Biryani

I had the good fortune to taste some amazing biryanis during our trip down South.

We savoured 2 different versions of the Tamil biryani - First at De Rock, Coonoor and then at a nondescript restaurant in Kodaikanal market (which is bang next to Kodai Dairy, in case you go there for cheese).

Next we enjoyed the Kerala style biryani, although this was quite nice to taste, it was a tad wet for our liking. Of course, I know that biryani changes from hand to hand, even if the spices used are the same. So maybe I need to try the Kerala style biryani again.

What I made on Sunday was the Tamil Nadu style biryani, since I had asked the lady who served us to divulge their secret. I then researched a lot and spoke to a friend's mom for more insight.

Finally, I combined techniques from my mum-in-law's traditional Kachchi Dumm Biryani and the overall spices from the lady's recipe.

BTW, the 3 big basic differences between a Tamil Style biryani vs other biryanis are:
1. Non use of turmeric and red chilli powder
2. The method of cooking rice and chicken together as opposed to cooking separately and then layerig one above the other. The Tamil method is the same as the Arabian way.
3. Generous use of 'black gold' i.e. pepper...leading to it's dark colour

Here goes...

INGREDIENTS:
1. Chicken - With bones - 1/2 kg
2. Rice - 3 katoris/cups - 1/2 kg - ideally jeeraga samba or kali jeera - I had surti kolam on me and that's what I went with.
3. Onions - 4 large ones - sliced thin & long using a mandoline slicer - any other way need you to have zen patience and a sharp shooter precision.
4. Salt - To Taste - I add this in bits. Some to the marinade & some to the overall dish.
5. Black Pepper - 1 tsp + 1 tsp - I refrained from using more since I had some high quality extremely fragrant & kicky pepper that I had got from the South trip
6. Lemon Juice of - 1/2 lemon
7. Curd - 3/4 cup
8. Ginger Garlic Paste - 3 tablespoons
9. Tomatoes - 2 large - chopped fine
9. Oil - Enough to fry the onions well
10. Ghee - 2 tbsps
11. Whole Spices - 6 Black Peppercorns, 1/2 inch Cinnamon, 1 Bay Leaf, 2 Star Anise, 1 Javithri phool (Dried Mace Flower), 4 Clove, Chip of Nutmeg, 10 Raisins (I don't add these), 4 Cardamoms (I don't use these either)
12. Fresh Mint Leaves - thick handful
13. Fresh Coriander Leaves - thick handful
14. Green Chillies - 4 / to taste (I actually used 6 small green spicy ones, since this dish does not have red chilli powder
15. Milk - 1/2 Cup
16. Saffron - a pinch
17. Garam Masala - 1 tablespoon - You can make your own too by dry roasting Fennel Seeds, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, Black Pepper and then making a powder of them.

PRE-PREPARATION
1. Marination:
a. Make a green paste of the mint and coriander leaves.
b. Clean the chicken pieces and place in a bowl. Add in the curd, lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, paste of the mint and coriander leaves, salt and a tsp of salt and pepper each. Mix well and keep aside.
NOTE: This is where I deviated 1st from the Tamil lady's recipe. I added the tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, & the green paste to the marinade as we do in my family biryani recipe (Kachchi style). She had added this later. I will mention when as we go along, for those who want to stick to the original.

2. Brista i.e. frying the onions till they turn a deep golden brown
a. Heat enough oil in a pan to just cover the onions and once hot, add in the thin sliced onions. Keep turning every 30 secs as the onions on the outer ring tend to brown faster.
b. Keep a sharp eye on the onions. They should be crisp and deep golden enough to get crunchy but if you go over, they tend to disintegrate completely when you crush them; also they turn bitter. Do in smaller batches if not confident.
c. Using a slotted ladle take the onions out of the oil and spread them on soaking paper to absorb excess oil.
d. Once they have cooled down, take 3/4 of the onions brista and crush them in your hands and add to the marinade.
NOTE: This is the 2nd deviation. In the lady's recipe onion is added & fried later, but I figured, I'll take the best of both the worlds and add max marinade punch to the chicken.

3. Rice
Soak the rice in water for 10 mins. Drain water and keep aside

PREPARATION
1. Heat the ghee and 3 tbsps of vegetable oil in a pan.
2. Once oil is hot, add in all the whole dry spice. Let sizzle.
3. Add in the green chilies.
4. Add in the marinaded chicken, salt and garam masala along with a cup of water and let it cook for about 7 mins, to semi cook the chicken.
NOTE: In the lady's version, after the dry spices, onions are added next till they brista. Then ginger garlic paste is added, then tomatoes (till they cook through), then the green paste & mixed well. Since, I had already added all this to the marinade, I just had to straight off add the chicken.



5. Now add in the rice and gently mix well. Be gentle, so as to not break the rice.









6. Add 5 1/2 cups of water to the mix.





7. Sprinkle the remaining onion brista on top.


8. Place a flat bottomed pan under the vessel and place on dumm.

Dumm: Make a dough of flour. Stick it all at the edges of the vessle and place a lid on top, sealing the lid to the vessel. Check for any spaces and gaps.

Let cook undisturbed for 45 mins. After 45 mins turn off heat & let the biryani sit for about 1/2 hour before you open up the spice aroma box.

Tada! You should have a good looking biryani. Leave window open to make the neighbors wonder!

I had also fried big chunks of potatoes separately and had added them to the vessel along with the chicken. This is optional though and is from the Kachchi Biryani (also the Biryani from Bengal).

Serve with a raita. For it, chop onions, tomatoes, some chillies, mint & coriander leaves and add to the curd along with a pinch of salt and pepper and chill in the refrigerator.

By the way, enough friends ask this, so -
tsp = teaspoon
tbsp = tablespoon