Chicken Briyani 

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1½ kg chicken, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Ingredients A

• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 cloves
• 5 cardamom pods
• 1 large onion, sliced

Ingredients B

• 5 cm piece of ginger
• 10 garlic cloves
• 5 red chili peppers
• 1 large onion
• 3 stalks cilantro, chopped
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 4 tsp coriander seed powder
• 2 tsp white cumin seed powder
• 1 tsp each of salt and sugar, or to taste
• 1 handful of mint leaves 

Rice

• 3 cups Basmati rice, washed and drained
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 2 lemongrass stalks, pounded
• 5 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
• ½ cup Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder
• 4½ cups warm water
• 1¼ tsp salt, or to taste

Ingredients C

• 2 red onions, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves

To serve

• 2 tbsp Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder
• ½ warm water
• 1 tbsp rose water (or ½ tsp rose essence)
• 2 tbsp melted ghee

Decorative ingredients

• 1 handful of mint leaves
• 1 handful of cashew nuts, toasted
• 1 handful of raisins
• Small amount of fried onions
• Small amount of saffron or yellow food colouring

Method

Instructions

Chicken

1. Mix well Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder, warm water and lemon juice.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Rub the Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder mixture and salt into chicken pieces. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
3. Blend Ingredients B together with half a cup of water.
4. Heat ghee and vegetable oil. Fry Ingredients A until frangrant.
5. Add the marinated chicken pieces and stir fry for a short while.
6. Add all other ingredients except for mint leaves and cook the chicken until almost dry.
7. Add mint leaves and cook for 5 more minutes.

Rice

1. Mix well Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder and warm water.
2. Heat ghee and fry Ingredients C until fragrant.
3. Add rice and stir fry for a short while.
4. Transfer the rice to a rice cooker. Add the Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder mixture and the remaining ingredients and stir well.
5. Turn on the rice cooker. Once the rice is cooked, remove all herbs and spices.

To serve

1. Dissolve 1 pinch of saffron in a quarter cup of warm water. Alternatively, you can use yellow food colouring instead of saffron.
2. Mix well Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder and the other quarter cup of warm water.
3. Mix the saffron water, the Fernleaf Full Cream Milk Powder mixture, rose water and ghee.
4. Transfer two-thirds of the cooked rice from the rice cooker into a deep bowl.
5. Add the saffron water mixture and mix well.
6. Transfer the saffron rice back into the rice cooker and mix lightly.
7. Remove half of the rice from the rice cooker.
8. Add the cooked chicken with its sauces on top of the rice in the rice cooker.
9. Cover the chicken with the rest of the rice. Top with the decorative ingredients.
10. Turn on the rice cooker and serve when the rice is ready.