America’s Test Kitchen’s Chicken Biryani

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

GARNISH & SAUCE

½ teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled

3 tablespoons warm water

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

BIRYANI

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups thinly sliced onion

1 ¼ teaspoons table salt, divided, plus salt for cooking rice

1 cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 cups basmati rice

⅓ cup dried currants

908 grams (2 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1 ½” chunks

½ teaspoon pepper

1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon garam masala

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. FOR THE GARNISH AND SAUCE: Combine saffron and water in bowl and set aside. Combine yogurt, cilantro, mint, garlic, salt, and pepper in second bowl and set aside.

2. FOR THE BIRYANI: Set fine-mesh strainer in medium bowl. Melt butter in 12” non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until dark brown, 11 to 14 minutes. Transfer onion to prepared strainer and press with spatula to squeeze out excess butter (reserve butter). Spread onion on small plate and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside onion and butter (do not wash skillet).

3. Meanwhile, bring 12 cups water, cinnamon stick, and cumin seeds to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Add rice and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain rice in fine-mesh strainer. Return rice to saucepan and stir in currants, reserved butter, and ¼ teaspoon salt; cover and set aside.

4. Combine chicken, pepper, and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt in now-empty skillet and cook over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in jalapeño, ginger, garam masala, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in yogurt until combined.

5. Spoon rice over chicken mixture and spread into even layer. Drizzle saffron mixture evenly over rice, spiraling in from edge of skillet to centre. Cover skillet, return to medium heat, and cook until heated through and steam escapes from under lid, about 5 minutes. Off heat, sprinkle biryani with reserved fried onion, mint, and cilantro. Serve with yogurt sauce.

Note: To make this dish spicier, reserve and add the jalapeño seeds to the biryani as desired. You can substitute long-grain white rice for the basmati, if you like; it will be less fluffy and will need to cook for about 12 minutes in step 3.