Recipe for South Indian Chettinadu style chicken biryani with a special biryani masala made from scratch.
Here is another easy recipe for making your biryani Sunday extra special. The spices are roasted and ground to a paste. The chicken is cooked in this aromatic masala paste making it very flavourful.
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Here is the video of how to make Chettinadu Chicken Biryani
For the Biryani Masala
1 tablespoon groundnut oil 1 star anise 2 inch piece cinnamon (cassia) 4 cloves 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3 cardamom 1 small piece kal pasi 1 teaspoon poppy seed 2 pods garlic 2 inch piece ginger 6 green chillies 1 handful shallots 1/4 cup water
Other Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice 2 tablespoon ghee 2 tablespoon groundnut oil 2 bay leaf 2 sprigs curry leaves, chopped 1/2 cup onions, sliced 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 tomatoes, chopped 2 tablespoon mint leaves, chopped 2 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped 1/4 cup plain curd 750 grams chicken bone-in 2 teaspoon salt 3 cups water 1/2 of a lime, juiced
For the Biryani Masala
First let’s make a masala paste for the biryani from scratch. We will be roasting all the spices and herbs in oil and then grinding them to make an aromatic biryani masala paste. Here is how to do it. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. I used groundnut oil today. Any kind of vegetable oil will work just fine. Add in the spices. star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, black pepper, cardamom, a small piece of kalpasi, and little poppy seeds. Keep the flame on low and saute the spices till they are aromatic and slightly change in colour. It will take about a couple of minutes. Add in the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Adjust the amount of green chillies according to your taste. Add in a handful of shallots along and saute them for a couple of minutes. After a couple of minutes, the masalas are roasted and ready to be ground. Transfer the ground masalas to a mixie. Add in about a quarter cup of water and grind to a smooth paste. Make sure to grind the masalas to a really fine paste.
To make the biryani
We shall be doing the biryani in a pressure cooker. Add little ghee to the pan. Add in a little oil along. Add a couple of bay leaves. Add in chopped curry leaves. Add in the sliced onions. Saute the onions till they are slightly brown in colour. It will take about 3-4 minutes on medium flame. Once the onions are slightly brown, add in the red chilli powder. Add in the turmeric powder. Saute for a few seconds. Add in the tomatoes and saute for a minute. Add in the mint leaves and the coriander leaves. Make sure to chop the leaves and then add. Saute for a minute. Add in the ground biryani masala paste. Along with the masala paste, add in plain curd / yogurt. Mix well to combine. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for five minutes. Once the masalas are cooked, add in the chicken pieces. Always use chicken with bone in as the bone has a lot of flavours that will penetrate into the rice and make the biryani more tasty. Add in the salt. Mix well to combine. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for 10-12 minutes. No need to add any water as the chicken will release water while cooking and that will suffice. Saute once in a while so the masalas do not scorch at the bottom. While the chicken is cooking, wash and soak the basmati rice in water for about 15 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, add in about 3 cups of water. We used about two cups of rice today. We will have to add 1.5 cups of water for every cup of rice used. After adding the water, mix well to combine. Let it come to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add in juice of half a lime. Taste for seasoning at this stage and adjust for salt if necessary. Add in the soaked and drained rice at this stage and mix well. Cover the pressure pan with lid and add in the whistle weight. Cook for 5-6 minutes on medium flame or two whistles. Cook on medium flame. After the said two whistles, remove from heat and wait for the pressure to release naturally. Our Chettinadu style chicken biryani is ready. Serve hot.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 45m
For the Biryani Masala
1 tablespoon groundnut oil 1 star anise 2 inch piece cinnamon (cassia) 4 cloves 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3 cardamom 1 small piece kal pasi 1 teaspoon poppy seed 2 pods garlic 2 inch piece ginger 6 green chillies 1 handful shallots 1/4 cup water
Other Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice 2 tablespoon ghee 2 tablespoon groundnut oil 2 bay leaf 2 sprigs curry leaves, chopped 1/2 cup onions, sliced 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 tomatoes, chopped 2 tablespoon mint leaves, chopped 2 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped 1/4 cup plain curd 750 grams chicken bone-in 2 teaspoon salt 3 cups water 1/2 of a lime, juiced
For the Biryani Masala
First let’s make a masala paste for the biryani from scratch. We will be roasting all the spices and herbs in oil and then grinding them to make an aromatic biryani masala paste. Here is how to do it. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. I used groundnut oil today. Any kind of vegetable oil will work just fine. Add in the spices. star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, black pepper, cardamom, a small piece of kalpasi, and little poppy seeds. Keep the flame on low and saute the spices till they are aromatic and slightly change in colour. It will take about a couple of minutes. Add in the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Adjust the amount of green chillies according to your taste. Add in a handful of shallots along and saute them for a couple of minutes. After a couple of minutes, the masalas are roasted and ready to be ground. Transfer the ground masalas to a mixie. Add in about a quarter cup of water and grind to a smooth paste. Make sure to grind the masalas to a really fine paste.
To make the biryani
We shall be doing the biryani in a pressure cooker. Add little ghee to the pan. Add in a little oil along. Add a couple of bay leaves. Add in chopped curry leaves. Add in the sliced onions. Saute the onions till they are slightly brown in colour. It will take about 3-4 minutes on medium flame. Once the onions are slightly brown, add in the red chilli powder. Add in the turmeric powder. Saute for a few seconds. Add in the tomatoes and saute for a minute. Add in the mint leaves and the coriander leaves. Make sure to chop the leaves and then add. Saute for a minute. Add in the ground biryani masala paste. Along with the masala paste, add in plain curd / yogurt. Mix well to combine. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for five minutes. Once the masalas are cooked, add in the chicken pieces. Always use chicken with bone in as the bone has a lot of flavours that will penetrate into the rice and make the biryani more tasty. Add in the salt. Mix well to combine. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for 10-12 minutes. No need to add any water as the chicken will release water while cooking and that will suffice. Saute once in a while so the masalas do not scorch at the bottom. While the chicken is cooking, wash and soak the basmati rice in water for about 15 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, add in about 3 cups of water. We used about two cups of rice today. We will have to add 1.5 cups of water for every cup of rice used. After adding the water, mix well to combine. Let it come to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add in juice of half a lime. Taste for seasoning at this stage and adjust for salt if necessary. Add in the soaked and drained rice at this stage and mix well. Cover the pressure pan with lid and add in the whistle weight. Cook for 5-6 minutes on medium flame or two whistles. Cook on medium flame. After the said two whistles, remove from heat and wait for the pressure to release naturally. Our Chettinadu style chicken biryani is ready. Serve hot.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 45m
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/chettinadu-chicken-biryani/
Recipe for one pot pulao made with thatta payaru known as cowpea. Perfect for busy weekdays and here is another delicious lunch box recipe that can be made in under 30 minutes.
Cowpea is cultivated all over the Kongunadu region due to its nature of being tolerant to drought and heat than other legumes. A single seed can contain upto 25% protein. Cowpea is perfect for cultivation in poor dry conditions and it makes it an important crop for arid and dry regions where many other crops fail to grow. Its also a rich source of folic acid. Cowpea is a high-quality plant protein source eaten throughout the world. The plant itself is used as forage for cattle so the name “cowpea”. It comes in a variety of colors – white, brown and red. The brown cowpea is what is predominantly used in Kongunadu.
But due to its anti nutritional properties like phytic acid and protease inhibitors, soaking the seeds overnite is preferred to increase the bioavailability of nutrients.
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Here is the video of how to make thatta payaru pulavu | cow pea pulao Print
1/2 cup cowpea (thatta payaru) 2 tablespoon coconut oil 2 inch piece cinnamon / cassia 2 cloves 2 cardamom 2 bayleaves 1 star anise 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 sprigs curry leaves, chopped 2 green chillies, chopped 1 cup onions, chopped 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste 2 tomatoes chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped 1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped 2 cups water 1 cup seeraga samba rice 1/2 a lime , juiced
We will be using brown cowpea today for making this recipe. Brown cowpea is preferred. The cowpea needs to be washed and soaked overnight in water. Soaking hard lentils overnight helps increase the bioavailability of the nutrients present. Cowpea is rich in protein and folic acid. A single seed can contain upto 25% protein. Do include cowpea in your diet if you are vegetarian. After soaking, the cowpea is ready to go into our pulav.
Let’s make the pulav Take a pressure pan and add in coconut oil. Any oil is ok but coconut oil goes so well in this recipe. I used a 5 liter pressure cooker today to make this recipe.
Once the oil is hot, add in the whole spices. Add in a piece of cinnamon, a couple of cloves, a couple of cardamom and bay leaves and a small piece of star anise. Add in little fennel seeds along. Chop some curry leaves and add it to the pan. Add some chopped green chillies along.
Saute the spices and herbs for a few seconds. The spices should turn aromatic once sauteed in oil. Make sure not to burn the spices. Once the spices are aromatic, add in the chopped onions. Saute the onions until the onions are soft. It will take about 3-4 minutes on medium flame. Once the onions are soft and slowly starting to change color, add in the turmeric powder and the red chilli powder. Add in the ginger garlic paste. Saute the spice powders and the ginger garlic paste for a minute.
Add in a couple of tomatoes that are chopped fine. Mix well to combine. Add in the salt at this stage. Along with the salt, add in the mint leaves and coriander leaves. Make sure to chop the herbs and add to the pan. Mix well.
Add a few tablespoons of water to the pan to avoid scorching at the bottom. Mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for about five minutes. We are looking for the tomatoes to be mushy.
Tomatoes should be soft and mushy after about five minutes of cooking. Add in about two cups of water to the pan at this stage.
After adding the water, add in the soaked and drained cowpea to the pan. Mix well to combine. Check for seasoning at this stage and add in some salt if necessary. If you think the pulav needs more spice, throw in some green chillies if need be. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a medium flame for about 15 minutes.
While the cowpea is cooking, let’s get the rice ready. I am using seeraga samba rice today. Seeraga samba rice is a short grained rice variety that is traditionally used for biryanis and pulav in Tamil nadu and certain parts of South India. If you cannot get hold of this rice, basmati rice will work just fine. Wash the seeraga samba rice in water once and soak the rice for about 15 minutes.
Once the cowpea is firm but tender, add in the rice. Drain the rice and then add it to the pan. Mix everything well. Add in juice of half a lime to the pan. After adding the lime juice, cover the pressure pan with a lid.
Make sure the flame is at a medium. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. About two whistles in an Indian style pressure cooker. After the said whistles, switch off the flame and wait for the pressure to settle. Once the pressure settles, open the pan.
Gently fluff up the rice. If doing this dish for a party, add a couple of tablespoons of ghee at this stage to make this dish very rich. Our thatta payaru pulavu / cow pea pulao is ready to be served.
You can serve the pulav with fried vadagam or appalam.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 8h
- Cook Time: 30m
