Dad's Biryani

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 25 ml oil (extra virgin is best)
• 2 large onions, sliced, not too thickly
• 15 ml rajah curry powder (depending on one's "heat" preference)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ml ground ginger
• 2 ml ground coriander
• 6 -8 chicken pieces (halved)
• salt
• pepper
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 250 -500 ml chicken stock, heated
• 250 ml uncooked brown lentils
• 375 ml uncooked basmati rice
• 5 ml turmeric
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced for garnishing (optional)

Recipe

• 1 heat the oil and saute the onions until tender and translucent.
• 2 add the curry powder, cinnamon, ginger and coriander and fry for another minute.
• 3 season the chicken pieces lightly with salt and pepper and add to the onion mixture.
• 4 brown evenly.
• 5 add the potatoes and tomatoes, reduce the heat and simmer until the meat and potatoes are tender. (add a little of the chicken stock if the dish becomes too dry).
• 6 in the meantime, cook the lentils in salted water until tender. drain.
• 7 cook the rice together with the turmeric in salted water until tender. drain.
• 8 arrange layers of rice, lentils and chicken in a fairly large ovenproof dish.
• 9 cover and bake for about half an hour at 325°f until the dish is heated through.
• 10 garnish with hard boiled eggs just before serving.
• 11 please note the preparation and cooking times vary accordingly.