This recipe is delicious, but will make the rice poisonously salty as written. Perhaps that 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt should be 1 1/2 teaspoons?
Chicken Biryani Spiced with Saigon Cinnamon
Using Saigon cinnamon, a fiery sweet spice, adds complexity and fragrance to this simple one-pot chicken and rice dish.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup basmati rice3 tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. whole coriander
3 chiles de arbol, crumbled by hand
1 ½ tbsp. kosher salt
2 ½ tsp. ground Saigon cinnamon
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
4 skinless, bone-in chicken legs
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 2" piece ginger, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
¼ cup toasted sliced almonds, for garnish
Fried shallots, for garnish
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the rice in a small bowl and cover with water; let it soak for 20 minutes. Drain the rice and set it aside.2. Heat the oil in a 4-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the coriander and chiles, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the salt, cinnamon, garlic, chicken, onion, ginger, and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions soften, about 6 minutes.
3. Stir in the reserved rice and 1 ¼ cups water, and bring to a simmer. Cover pot and transfer to the oven; cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pot to a rack and let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff the rice with a fork. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with almonds, fried shallots, and cilantro.
Watch the video on how to prepare chicken biryani »
Ratings & Reviews (5)
This is very good! I used chicken stock instead of water, and unrefined sesame oil instead of canola, and only used toasted almonds as garnish. The taste reminds me of Moroccan food. Easy to make and a pleasant level of spiciness!
I did not like this at all! All you can taste is the cinnamon and nothing else....I will not make this again. =(
This recipe is not a Biryani recipe. And that much salt?? Biryani without ghee? No layering of rice and meat? There are no elements of Biryani here. This is more of an everyday chicken pulao/pilaf. It is sad that Saveur recipes are featured with no research at all.
I just made this and it's delicious, no matter whether it's a 'real' biryani; after all, this technique is hundreds of years old and has evolved over time! While it deserves 5 stars for taste, there needs to be some adjustments to the cooking process so I removed 1 star. The original 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt may be too much but 1 1/2 tsp. is not enough. Next time, I'll start at 2 tsp. and add from that point. The chicken pieces should be browned first and removed from the pan. The coriander and chilies de arbol should be added to the skillet once it has cooled a bit; sautéing at medium-high, which is too hot and causes the oil to smoke, results in burned chilies. The onions should then be added so that they begin to soften, before adding the remaining ingredients. Cooking the garlic at the same time will cause it to brown or burn. As the ingredients meld, then return the chicken to the pot and continue to cook for a few minutes. Wash and drain the rice several times after its 20 min. soak, then add the rice and water to the chicken pot and place in the oven.
Chicken Biryani Spiced with Saigon Cinnamon
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