Biryani

[Ally]

Ingredients
1 tsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp medium curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, roughly chopped
4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
300g basmati rice
1 x 28g chicken stock pot or 1 chicken stock cube
320g green beans, cut in half
juice of 1 lemon
small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Instructions
1. Heat a large sauté pan until hot, then add the rapeseed oil and onion and fry over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes until just softening.

2. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, curry powder, cumin and ground coriander, stir through and fry for a further minute, then add the chicken pieces and fry for 3-4 minutes until just beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the tomatoes and stir-fry for another minute, then add the rice and stir through. Add the stock pot or crumbled stock cube and 600ml of cold water. Stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Lift the lid and stir, then scatter the green beans over the top, cover and cook for a further 3–4 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice and beans are tender.

5. Stir the lemon juice and chopped coriander gently through the rice, then spoon the biryani onto warm serving plates. Serve each portion with a dollop of yoghurt and mango chutney.

*I didn't use a whole lemon...just a squish.

[miasmum]

Thanks Ally. I’ll give this a go at the weekend

[Diflower]

Thanks so much Ally, will copy it out

[JanB]

Thanks Ally, sounds lovely

[meriad]

sounds delicious

Just thinking from a weight loss point of view - think it'd work with chicken breast as well or will that make it too dry?

[Diflower]

I'm making it tonight and will be using breast, as that's what I have, so will report back.

[Workingman]

Ally, do you remember a while back the thread on the BBC's top 20 recipes?

Your version knocks theirs into a coked hat.... it had raisins in, as I mentioned at the time.

I will give this one a go though I am not a big fan of Biryani.

[JanB]

I bought some chicken thighs in Pingo earlier, not much of a fan, but Grumpy likes them. Will try the recipe this week~end

[Diflower]

It was lovely
Scaled it down roughly, for two portions.
Used one large chicken breast, still lots each. Left it in quite big chunks, not dry at all.
The beans, I cooked for about 5 minutes but they were still a bit hard, so I'd add those a bit earlier next time.
Definitely a winner

[Ally]

I just C&P the recipe and forgot to say I used chicken fillets...but then i always do. Unless it's a sticky chicken thigh thing I'm doing.

There was ample left over for Jacob yesterday for lunch.

Di...I steamed the beans for a couple of minutes before adding at the end as I didn't want them mushy.