Chicken Biryani

Half kg chicken. Make few slits on all the chicken pieces and add to a large bowl. Then add:

• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Indian curd)
• 1¼ tablespoons ginger garlic paste
• ½ to 1 tablespoon garam masala (or biriyani masala)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ to 1 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

Mix everything well and marinate the chicken. Cover and set this aside for 1 hour. You can also rest it overnight in the fridge.
Heat ghee or oil in a heavy bottom pot or pressure cooker. Make sure you use a large one for this. Using whole spices is optional but recommended. Use whatever you have. I use:

• 1 bay leaf
• 4 green cardamoms
• 6 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon piece
• 1 star anise
• ¾ teaspoon shahi jeera (caraway seeds)
• 1 strand mace

Add thinly sliced onions. On a medium heat, fry them stirring often until uniformly light brown.
Add marinated chicken & saute until it becomes pale for 5 minutes.
Taste test and add more salt if needed. I added ¼ more salt here. Add:

• ¼ cup plain yogurt (Indian curd)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (or biryani masala)
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
• 1 slit green chili pepper (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves (pudina)