I am not an expert in Indian cuisine, I believe I am far from the expert, but this year I began to experiment and test the recipe for my own pleasure without sharing on my blog.

I think, I only needed to practice. So, I came to the conclusion that my family really enjoys some of the dishes that I’ve made for them, like this chicken Biryani. Many people have their own Biryani; Indonesia, to the Middle East, but I will stick to the one that I have practiced.

Indian cuisine is a culinary art and a bit intimidating to me. I am simply saying that because for a person that literally
didn’t grow up with it. All those fragrant spices, and aromas of Indian cuisine combined in one dish, it could really be even intimidating to adjust a taste buds.

To be quite honest with you all, I was a bit scared to post this recipe. I did not want to offend anyone by perhaps missing a step or an important ingredient. I’ve practiced and made it the way my family loves it the most, without going maybe too far from the traditional way of making it.

On the other hand, you can read what I said on my Instagram about cooking food that you are not familiar with, or if it seems too complicated for you. My advice is to experiment and have fun. If you don’t have fun, then there is no pleasurable cooking for you.

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Also, out of the respect, I apologize in advance if I didn’t make it the way you make chicken Biryani or the way your mama makes it. With that being said, this one was extremely delicious. As much as it sounds complexed or complicated, it was actually rather enjoy cooking.

Maybe because I really love cooking, that even complicated dish is not as hard for me. I did not include boiled eggs this time, but it is great to add if you wish to do so.

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Easy Chicken Biryani

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword asian food, indian food, rice, chicken

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4

Author Sandra | Sandra’s Easy Cooking

Ingredients

• 1 lb 454g Basmati Rice
• 1 tbsp. Clarified butter Ghee + 1 teaspoon Oil
• 2 dried Indian Bay leaves if you could find
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 clove
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 Garlic cloves crushed
• 2 tbsp. Ginger crushed and minced
• 1/2 -1 jalapeno sliced or any green chili that you prefer.
• 1 tsp.Cumin seeds powder
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken tights, slice in the bite-size pieces.
• 1 tsp. Chili powder
• 1 tsp. Turmeric powder + 1/8 tsp. More of the rice
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2-3 tablespoons Yogurt
• Salt to taste
• About 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tablespoon per serving of Fried Onions

Instructions

1. Wash the rice about 2 times, then fill the pot and soak the rice for about 20 minutes.

2. In the large pot add clarified butter and heat it until it is melted, then add oil.
3. Add cardamom, bay leaf, clove, and cinnamon stick. Stir and let it fry for 10-20 seconds, and until it becomes fragrant.
4. Stir in chopped onion, and fry until light golden brown. Stir in garlic, ginger and seeded jalapeno/green chili (if you want extra spicy, leave seeds). Stir in chicken cubed pieces and fry about 3-4 minutes.
5. Stir in chili powder, 1 teaspoon crushed or powder cumin, 1 teaspoon turmeric and cook several minutes, just to combine and coat it nicely.
6. Stir in tomato paste, and cook about 5 minutes. Mix yogurt with 1/4 cup of water to start; stir the sauce very well. Now add salt to taste, a generous pinch or two, and add chopped cilantro, reserve some for the garnish.  Add WATER as needed. It took me about 1 cup from start to finish. Just keep adding a splash or so, when you see it’s too low and it could potentially burn.
7. Cover the pot and turn the heat to low temperature. Cook until the chicken sauce is thickened about 20 minutes. Stir a few times just to make sure it’s not sticking.
8. Meanwhile, cook rice. Drain the rice from the water where it was sitting, then refill the pot again with about 3 inches of water above the rice, add about 1 teaspoon of salt, add bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/8 tsp. Turmeric powder for the yellow rice option (it is optional, you can leave the rice white as it will soak the sauce color too),
9. Bring the water to a boil, and cook the rice until it is half cooked, about 7 minutes on medium-low temperature.
10. When the Chicken is done completely, Spoon out at least 1/2 of the grease in the separate bowl; set aside.
11. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon garam masala on top of the chicken.
12. Drain rice, and add it on top of the chicken sauce in the pot, covering it completely. Equally, pour the reserved greased on top of the rice. This will flavor the rice on top and give that nice moist flavor. Not too dry! Do not disturb it by mixing and combining at this point. Turn the heat on low temperature and cook/steam for 8-10 minutes, or until the rice is completely fluffy and done.
13. When serving, plate the Chicken Biryani in the plate, platter or individual bowls by using a large spoon and going out all the way to the chicken or bottom of the pot. Before serving, add chopped cilantro, and about 1 tablespoon of fried onion for extra flavor and crunch. You can include some nuts instead. Read notes!
14. Serve immediately!

Recipe Notes

I think mushrooms could really compliment this dish very well. If you do not like cilantro, you can use flat leaf parsley. Also, you may use toasted, sliced almonds or any nuts that you prefer. It is for extra crunch. You can use coconut oil. Instead of water, you can add chicken stock. The addition of Turmeric powder to make my rice yellow was a wonderful compliment. Turmeric is Power food, and I recommend it. We enjoyed it very much, plus it gives a wonderful warm taste. I used Tomato paste because it gave me an amazing flavor, but you can use 1 cup of cored and diced fresh tomatoes. It is up to you. Especially when tomatoes are not in season, I think tomato paste or even canned stewed and peeled tomatoes would work very well. Usually, I use my grinder for the spices. So, most of my spices are roughly in the powder form. I keep them in the little jars, like cumin or coriander. I think it is just amazing even though it’s probably not the most traditional way of making it, but it makes one wonderful meal regardless. For the vegetarian version, I would definitely recommend quick boiled (3 minutes) cauliflower and mix in 1 cup of sliced mushrooms instead of the meat/poultry. I made that one before and it was delicious.

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Are you getting caught up in the Olympic games? I am hooked big time. We just cannot stop watching.

In between the breaks I prep food, and then cook something quick so we could munch while watching.  So, that’s how these quick and delicious wraps were born.

So, I must admit I tested a few recipes and these Asian Style Chicken and Pineapple Lettuce Wraps were Da Bomb. I even took my time to make a video.

I had to unglue myself from the television and start working for a bit, ya know, at least while my kids are in school.

Anyhow, what are you all cooking these days? It’s so darn hot outside that I just want to be in the cold room with A/C blasting.  I can’t tolerate hot weather, especially when it’s muggy, humid and sticky.

Now, these wraps are pretty light. My kids wrapped the chicken in the lettuce, then placed the whole wrap in the french bread.

My daughter’s comment was: “this needs some cheese” and my youngest one drizzled ketchup all over the chicken. Yeah, go figure. Well, as long as they eat their food, I am happy.

I enjoyed it very much just the way they are. I loved the sweetness that pineapple brought and a bit spiciness from gochujang (Korean Chili Paste).

You can use Sriracha if you’d like, which I am a huge fan, however, I also love Korean chili paste. It simply has that one of a kind taste that conveys such a great amount of flavor to numerous meals.

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Yield: 4 SERVINGS

Asian Style Chicken and Pineapple Lettuce Wraps

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Easy and tasty Asian inspired Chicken and Pineapple Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. Oil olive oil, canola oil, etc.
• 2 Green onions chopped (reserve green part for the garnish)
• 1 Lbs. Ground Chicken
• 1 cup Mushrooms diced or sliced
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 2 tbsp. Soy Sauce Lite add more if needed
• 1-2 tbsp. Gochujang Korean Hot Chili Paste
• 1 cup Fresh Pineapple cubed into bite size
• Butterhead Lettuce Boston or any on hand.
• Garnish:
• Green onions green part
• Sesame seeds
• Serve with extra soy sauce

Instructions

1. Heat the wok or a pan, until hot. Add Oil and chopped spring onion, then saute for 30-40 seconds.
2. Add ground chicken and cook until done, 5-6 minutes.
3. Add Mushrooms, diced or sliced, stir well.
4. Add Onion powder and Garlic powder, then stir and pour in Soy Sauce and Gochujang. Stir everything well to coat.
5. Add in pineapple (read notes). Stir, and sesame seeds and serve with lettuce garnishing it with extra sesame seeds and green onions.

Notes

Q: Can I use canned Pineapple?

A: YES! Make sure to drain the juice and use pineapple. Fresh, ripe Pineapple is the best option, but whatever you have on hand.

Q:Can I use Ground beef or pork?

A: Yes! Pork, a mix of both Pork and Chicken or ground beef. Ground beef has fatter unless it is extra lean, so maybe you could spoon out some leftover fat, before serving the meat.

• Gochujang could be found in Korean/ Asian Markets, International, even some Kroger’s carry it. Or you can find it online! You can also substitute with Sriracha. Purple leaves on the picture: Radicchio, also known as Italian chicory red Verona. It has a bitter and spicy taste and I really didn’t care that much for the taste. It looked pretty while taking pictures, but, I really did not like it at all. So, if you like Radicchio use it, but if you do not, I recommend any type of lettuce and the best one is Boston Butterhead Lettuce. That’s my favorite lettuce. Add Soy sauce to please your taste buds. Also, you may use freshly chopped garlic and/or onion

Did you make this recipe?

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