Easy Sindhi Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken, cut into about 12 pieces
• ½ kg long-grain basmati rice
• ½ cup oil, plus more for shallow-frying
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 6 green chilies
• 8 whole green chilies
• 2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• Regular red chili powder, to taste
• 2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp whole garam masala
• ½ tbsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp amchur powder
• 2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, divided
• Salt for boiling the rice, as needed

Instructions

1. Soak the rice: Rinse the basmati rice until the water runs mostly clear. Soak in fresh water for about 30 minutes.
2. Fry the onions: Heat ½ cup oil in a heavy pot. Add the onions and fry until golden. Remove half and reserve; leave the rest in the pot.
3. Blend the masala base: Blend the tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, 6 green chilies, some cilantro and a few mint leaves until smooth.
4. Fry the chicken: Add the chicken to the oil and remaining onions. Fry for about 5 minutes, until the chicken changes color.
5. Cook the blended mixture: Add the blended tomato mixture. Cook over medium heat until the moisture reduces and the oil begins to separate.
6. Add the spices: Add the Kashmiri chili, regular red chili to taste, ground coriander, whole garam masala, garam masala powder, amchur and salt. Mix and cook briefly.
7. Add the yogurt: Add the yogurt and continue cooking until the chicken and spices are thoroughly cooked and the oil separates again.
8. Add fried onion: Stir some reserved fried onion into the chicken masala. Save the remainder for layering and garnishing.
9. Fry the potatoes: Shallow-fry the potato chunks until lightly golden and almost cooked through.