Chicken Nasi Briyani

While I was talking to my mum, I asked her how she makes her Nasi Briyani... so with a pen and my recipe book next to me, I wrote down the recipe given to me.

Nasi is a malay word for Rice. Briyani or Biryani means fried or roasted. Briyani was brought to the Indian subcontinent by Muslim travelers and merchants. This dish is popular in South-East Asia and in Arabia and within many South-East Asian communities in Western countries.

This is my first home-made Nasi Briyani from scratch. The way my mom taught me different version, no roasted or in the oven at the last stage... I think its the faster version.. hehe... I used the regular white rice but it's better to use Basmati rice. Next time, I will make Beef Nasi Briyani using the Basmati rice with a different method.  

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice - soak at least 30 minutes
4 cups water
4 cloves
4 green cardamon
1 bayleaf
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsp ghee (minyak sapi)
1-2 tsp of evaporated milk mixed with yellow coloring

Chicken Thick Sauce
2 chicken breast - cut in cubes
1/2 tsp minced ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
3-4 candlenuts (buah keras)
1/2 cup coconut milk or yogurt
1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
salt to taste
fried shallots (bawang goreng) 
1-2 tsp evaporated milk
yellow/orange food coloring


Think Sauce:

In a food processor, blend onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder and chilli powder until fine. Add candlenuts and press pulse about 2-3 times (just to make the candlenuts coarsely). Heat large saucepan on medium to high heat. Saute the blended mixture until the oil separates. Add chicken meat, and fry for 5-6mins, keep stiring so they do not stick to the base. Add coconut milk and continue to cook on medium heat. Turn off heat when the chicken is cooked.

Rice:

Heat ghee in a large casserole. Saute cloves, green cardamon, bay leaf, cinnamon till fragrance until nice aroma comes out. Add water to boil. Then add the soaked rice to boiling water. Cook rice as how you cooked your regular rice. (when the rice is cooked and is not shiny enough, add a little more ghee to the rice)

Layering:
In a the same casserole, remove some rice so that you have one layer of rice on the bottom. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp teaspoon of the colored evaporated milk on the rice. Sprinkle some fried shallots (bawang goreng). Put the chicken meat in the middle. Cover with rice and sprinkle another tablespoon teaspoon of the colored evaporated milk and fried shallots. Repeat the layers with the same order. Serve immediately.

The dish may be served with Acchar, Malay Pickle or Raita. (I didnt make any of those instead I made potato cutlet (bagedil).. hehe)

Notes:

• For the thick sauce, you could make it dryer or have some gravy like I did mine, in the picture. 
• If you do not have fried shallots, you can use red onions, slice very thinly and fried until golden brown.

Enjoy!