One Pot Chicken Pulao
This one pot Chicken Pulao is our family favourite recipe. It is not just easy but tastes super delicious and perfect for busy weekdays. For this pulao; you'll need bunch of whole spices along with powdered spices that are easily available in any Indian kitchen. Any variety for rice like basmati, soda masoori, keeri samba or ponni rice works with this chicken recipe.
Ingredients
- 500 gram chicken curry cuts preferred
- 1.5 tsp coriander powder
- 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala biryani masala
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 black cardamom
- 1 star anise
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 dry red chillies optional
- 1-2 sliced onions medium sized
- 2 green chillies
- 2-3 tbsp ghee Indian clarified butter
- 1-2 cups water warm
- 2 cups basmati rice
- few saffron strands soaked in hot milk
- salt as per taste
- coriander and mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Marinate chicken pieces with dry spices ( ie. turmeric, coriander, chilli powders) along with ginger garlic paste.
- Season with salt and keep aside for 30 minutes (if you could marinate for 3-4 hour or overnight that would be great).
- Soak basmati rice in water for maximum 30 minutes.
- Take a thick bottom pan on medium-high heat and add 2 tbsp of ghee into it.
- Once it is hot and ghee starts melting; add sliced onions. Gently stir onions and add whole spices ie. cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise and cumin seeds along with dry red chillies. Turn the heat low; so that spices won't get burnt.
- Once onions turns translucent, add marinated chicken into the pan. Gently mix everything together, cover the pan and allow it to cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
- Time to add soaked basmati rice - drain the rice and tip into the pan. Add about 1.5 cups of warm water and season with salt.
- Again; cover the pan and allow it to cook over medium heat.
- Once rice is half cooked (it will take around 10-12 minutes); gently mix everything together.
- Add garam masala/ biryani masala over the top along with slit green chillies. Also add freshly chopped coriander and mint leaves over it.
- Drizzle some ghee and again cover the pan. Turn heat to low and cook until rice is completely cooked (it will take another 8-10 minutes).
- Once rice is cooked, turn off the heat. Let the pan rest aside for 10 minutes; this time helps rice to hold the structure and it won't turn soggy.
- Finally; garnish with saffron water and more coriander on top. Gently mix and serve hot Chicken pulao with some sides like raita, chutney or salad.
Notes
- You can any variety of rice like basmati, sona masoori etc for this recipe.
- If rice looks too dry or sticking to the bottom then add little water but don't add too much else it will results into soggy rice. Also, keep stirring in between so that chicken won't stick to the bottom and everything will be mixed together. But don't over mix as it might break the structure of rice.
- Overnight marination is optional but it definitely add flavours. If marinating overnight then store the chicken in the refrigerator.