Cracked Wheat Biriyani - submitted by Dahlia on 06-15-2009 (Rava Biriyani, Rava Chicken Kichadi, Cracked Wheat Upma)
Ingredients
Cracked Wheat - 2 cups (You could also use rava instead)
Chicken - 1/2 lb (1/4 kg or little lesser)
(Alternatively, you could also use 1 cup of chopped assorted vegetables or 1 cup of shrimp)
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Tomato - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Green Chillies - 2
Biriyani Masala - 1 tblsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Powder - 1 tsp
Chilly Powder - 1 tsp (or as needed)
Mint leaves - handful
Cilantro - handful
Whole Garam Masala - (1 bay leaf, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 cloves, 3 cardamon)
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Water - 3.5 cups (exact measure for craked wheat)
If you are making biriyani with rava, use just 2.5 cups of water.
Ghee/Oil - 2 tblsp
Salt - as needed 
Method
1. Marinate the chicken with yogurt, ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, salt, fennel powder, chilly powder and turmeric powder.
2. Roast the cracked wheat in some ghee/ oil. This step is optional but adds a nice nutty flavour and helps keep the grains seperate without forming lumps.
3. Heat 1 tblsp of oil/ghee in a pan and add the whole garam masala to it.
4. Saute the onions and green chillies till it turns golden brown.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and let it cook till the tomatoes become nice and mushy.
6. Add chopped mint leaves and cilantro (corriander leaves) and saute for a minute.
7. Next add the marinated chicken and biriyani masala. Cover and let it cook in the marinated liquid until the chicken is completely cooked. (If you are making veg biriyani, add the chopped vegetables directly at this stage.)
8. Add 3.5 cups of water, required salt and bring it to a boil.
9. Add the cracked wheat to this and bring it to a boil once again.
10. Reduce the flame to the lowest setting, cover with a lid and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Do not mix in between
11. Fluff up with a fork and keep covered for another 5 minutes. 12. Garnish with chopped cilantro, toasted nuts and raisins and serve with raita. Tips - You could also make vegetable cracked wheat biriyani, mushroom craked wheat biriyani or shrimp craked wheat biriyani. - Instead of cracked wheat, you could use other ingredients like rava, grits or cornmeal to make rava biriyani, grits biriyani or cornmeal biriyani. Serves : 4 Comments Comment by Namagiri Sridhar
Hi Chef
Thanks for the quick responses. So I guess after adding fresh or frozen veggies add all the masala stuff that chicken was marinated in and cook the veggies? right? I am going to make this tomorrow morning. Got everything except mint though. Reply :- Hi Namagiri, If you are making biriyani with chicken, you need to marinate with with few spices. When making with vegetables, you do n't have to marinate it. You can directly add the vegetables. The spices from the biriyani masala should be sufficient and you don't need the extra spices that are needed to marinate the chicken. Vegetable biriyani requires less spices than the one with meat. Sorry about not being very clear with the steps. Do ask if you have any other doubts. |
Comment by Namagiri Sridhar
I guess if we are using veggies we have to use fresh ones ( and not frozen) and marinate them like chicken in first step? Reply :- Hi Namagiri, fresh veggies always tastes better than frozen ones. I just add the veggies directly without marinating. |
Comment by Namagiri Sridhar
Hi Chef
Is there any substitute for briyani masala? Reply :- Hi Namagiri, just substitute with 2 tsp corriander powder and 1 tsp chilly powder. |
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