Chicken Pulao

Chicken Pulao

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon long back - when I ventured into Lazeez at Bhowanipore. The bright sun outside was blinding but once inside the cools of the Airconditioner and the glass of Jal Jeera is put on the table comfort sets in. Now Lazeez is famous for its Indian food - notably the Tandoori chicken which does brisk business. But we wanted Biryani but Biryani was not to be found and it was then that we were suggested Pulao.Chicken Pulao was the order.And thats how I first tasted Pulao and it was delicous indeed.

Pulao along with Biryani are amongst the most delicious dishes cooked in a typical Indian household.Even though I personally rate the Biryani a cut above the rest of Indian cuisine but preparing a Biryani is an event by itself. The long hours, tedious effort and the complexity of the process involved to prepare a Biryani often makes people avoid it altogether. Something on the lines of the Biryani but takes half the effort and at the same time tastes great.Pulao can be of several types. Any given Indian restaurant is bound to have its share of Peas Pulao, Cashew-Raisins Pulao,Zafrani Pulao,Kashmiri Pulao, Chicken Pulao, Egg Pulao and a whole lot of others.

Chicken Pulao Cooked Differently

The generic process of preparing a pulao is:
-   Prepare rice which is 90% boiled.The grains should be free from each other.
-   Prepare the ingredients which are intended to be used in the pulao.
-   Fry the spices in oil, add the ingredients and rice.Stir and mix the ingredients together.  The scent and flavour of the ingredients gradually dissolve in the rice and gives it a flavour. Thats it. Its that simple.
Heres the preparation method:



ONE:Preparing the rice
Time Required: 12-15mins.

• Finest quality basmati rice - 500 gms.
• Ghee - 3 table spoon
• Salt - To taste
• Sugar - Half tea spoon.

Spices:

• Bay leaves - 2
• Jaiphal(Nutmeg) - 1 whole
• Jaitri(Mace) - 1 whole
• Green Cardamon,peeled - 4 
• Black Cardamon - 1
• Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch piece.
• Black Pepper,crushed - 8-10 pieces.
• urmeric Powder - 2 tsp.The objective is that the pulao should acquire a yellow colour.

Procedure:

• Wash and rinse the rice in cold water and keep it soaked for 30 mins. Any super fine Basmati rice will grow after it has been soaked for sometime.
• For open pan cooking:Boil water in a deep heavy bottomed pan.
• Pour the soaked rice in the boiling water. The boiling will subside for sometime within which add all the ingredients as mentioned above.
• Let the rice boil for 12-15 mins. It should be 90% done by that time.
• Drain the water using a strainer and spread out the rice on a wide container so that the remaining moisture gets evaporated.

TWO:Prepare a Thick gravy chicken curry.
Time Required: 1 hour.

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 1 kg.Large cuts. Skinless.
• Onion - 250 gm. Half of it sliced and the remaining half made into a fine paste
• Ginger - A 1 inch slice. Paste.
• Garlic - 3-4 cloves. Paste.
• Cumin Powder(Jeera) - 1.5 tsp
• Coriander Powder(Dhaniya) - 2.5 tsp
• Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder(these are not that hot!) - 1 tsp. Used basically for the colour of the curry
• Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp.
• Salt - To taste.
• Vegetable Oil - 2 tb sp

Marinade:

• Mix all the ingredients as mentioned above excepting the sliced onions and keep aside for 2 hrs.The marination time varies from person to person. I always love marination on the higher side. 

Cooking:

• Cooking Time:40-50 mins.
• Bay Leaf - 2 nos.
• Green Cardamon - 3-4 nos.
• Clove - 4-
• Cinnamon stick - One 1 inch stick
• Sliced onions - which were cut during the preparation phase.
• Vegetable Oil - 3-4 tbsp.
• Curd - 100 gms. Whisked.

Procedure:

• Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan
• Add the bay leaf along with the spices 
• Once the spices start to crackle and a strong aroma evolves, add the onion slices. Some(less than 1/2 tsp) amount of sugar may be added for caramelization. 
• The onion slices will gradually start to turn brown - and then add the entire portion of the chicken marinade.
• Turn the heat to high and stir continuously.
• Slowly, the colour of the mixture will turn to dark brown.
• When oil starts to separate from the mixture, the spices will start to release their flavours.
• Add salt and mix it well.Scrape the bottom of the pan, so that no curry ingredients stick to the surface.
• Lower down the heat now. Add 150 ml of warm water and cover pan with a lid.
• Let it cook for 20 mins. At the end of which, the chicken will turn soft and well boiled. I have always preferred super soft meat pieces.
• Remove the lid, add the whisked curd and stir up the ingredients so that it is uniform all through out.
• Give it 2 mins - more time will cause the curd to split - and shut down the oven.
• Separate the chicken pieces from the curry in a different container.

THREE:Pulao
Time Required 20 mins.
Ingredients:

• Vegetable Oil - 3 tablespoon
• Ghee - 3 table spoon.
• Onions - Sliced longitudinally - 250 gms. Then fried till golden brown.

Procedure:

• Heat the Ghee and Oil in a heavy bottomed big wok/kadai so that there is room to stir all the ingredients.
• Turn the heat to low.
• Add the cooked chicken pieces from the curry.
• Add the rice and stir them thoroughly for 15-20 mins so that the flavour of the chicken diffuses in the pulao rice.
• Spread some of the thick gravy over the pulao and mix well. But ensure that the gravy doesnot make the rice stick.
• In the end spread the fried brown onions.

Serve with raita or other chicken dishes.