Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients:
Cardamom -2
Ghee -2 tablespoon.
Bay leaf - 1
Ginger paste -1 tablespoon
Cashews -1 tablespoon
Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Basmati rice - 2 cup
Cinnamon stick-1
Cumin- 1/4 teaspoon
Garlic paste- 1 tablespoon
Raisins- few

For Marination
Chicken - 1 kg
Cumin powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt as required
Coriander powder-1 teaspoon 
Red chilli powder-1 teaspoon 
Yoghurt (curd)-1 tablespoon.
Turmeric powder- 1 teaspoon 

For Garnishing
Thinly sliced onion - 2
Chopped mint leaves - 1 teaspoon
Chopped coriander leaves - 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

• First clean and wash chicken under running water.

• Now add all the marination ingredients in it.  Leave marinated chicken in the freezer overnight.

• Meanwhile par boil the rice and keep aside, spread on a plate. If you overcook your rice, it will turn pasty when mixed with the chicken. Dissolve the saffron in ¼ cup milk. Heat some ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and the raisins.

• Thinly slice the onions and fry them in the same ghee. Reserve half of the onions and keep aside. Bring chicken to room temperature.
• Heat ghee in a deep bottomed vessel. 

• Once the ghee is sufficiently hot, add the whole spices-cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamoms, cumin. Allow them to splutter.  Add the onions, ginger and garlic paste and cook covered till the chicken is tender.

• Now add garam masala and roast the chicken till the entire water is absorbed and oil separates from it. Remove the chicken from the pan. In the same pan add a layer of cooked rice, followed by a layer of chicken and then again a layer of rice.
• The topmost layer should that be of rice. Cover the lid and cook on low flame for 10-12 minutes.

•  Switch off the flame ,garnish with onions, mint, coriander and serve hot with raita.