Whoever believes that a delicious vegetarian biryani is nothing but a myth should order a pot of Hyderabadi Vegetarian Biryani for themselves from Biryani By Kilo. We had it a couple of weeks ago and all of us, including die-hard non-vegetarians, left craving for more. The biryani was well cooked and was rich in flavours, thanks to its signature style that involves preparing every order in individual handi (a deep, wide-mouthed clay pot used for cooking food), which is then sealed with dough and dum-cooked (slow oven cooking technique) and sent as it is to your residence.
Launched in 2015 by food industry veterans Kaushik Roy and Vishal Jindal, Biryani By Kilo claims to use Daawat basmati rice specially aged for two years to make their biryanis and their spices are sourced directly from Kerala. And, while Hyderabadi, Lucknowi and Kolkata Biryani are there staples and are available at all outlets at all the time, they also introduced Malabar and Ambur Biryani alongside kababs, kormas and curries, and desserts sometime ago. So, we decided to order something from their new additions and were sent a portion of Chicken Ghee Roast, Ulta Tawa Parantha, Malabar Prawn Biryani and two Matka Phirni.
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While we were pleasantly surprised by the flavourful and tender chicken paired with soft paranthas, we were left disappointed with the prawn biryani. Towards the end, we had Phirni, which had managed to draw the right balance when it comes to the sweetness level and we would recommend you to try it.
However, knowing that this is the season of house parties and Biryani continues to top the list of dishes that gets a thumbs up from everyone, we requested the chefs of Biryani By Kilo to share their recipes and here it is:
Chicken Hyderabadi Biryani
Ingredients: 6 pcs of raw chicken (around 50-60 grams) | 650 gms Dawaat rice | ½ teaspoons garlic paste| green chillies | ginger | garam masala powder | 1 cup plain yoghurt | oil - 12 to 15 tablespoons | brown onion | desi ghee – 15 to 20 teaspoons | turmeric powder | red chilli powder | salt
Method:
1. Put the chicken into a large, deep, non-metallic mixing bowl.
2. Grind some green chillies, half garlic clove and 1 small piece of ginger into a smooth paste in a food processor.
3. In this paste, add garam masala powder, turmeric powder, yoghurt, red chilli powder and salt. Mix it well and add chicken pieces into this mixture. Coat each piece of chicken properly and keep it aside.
5. Put these chicken pieces alongside the masala in a handi
6. Top it with a layer of brown rice and add desi ghee.
7. Now seal the handi with dough and slow cook it for 30-35 mins