Home-Style Chicken Biryani Recipe

Dry-grind a tablespoon of peppercorns, 5 cloves, 5 cardamoms, 1-inchcinnamon stick, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 2 dried red chillies, 1 bayleaf. Store the powdered garam masala in an airtight bottle.

To prepare the rice: Thoroughly wash the rice and put it into an electric rice cooker. Add the same quantity of water, 1 level tablespoon of salt, the bayleaf, 5
peppercorns, 3 cloves, the cinnamon stick, the mace, 3 cardamoms, the black
cardamom, the turmeric, and half a cup of beaten yogurt. Mix the contents
thoroughly and put it up to cook. The rice cooker will switch off automatically
when the rice is cooked.   
 
To prepare the chicken: Heat four tablespoons of groundnut oil in a wok. Add the chopped onions,green chillies, cumin and poppy seeds, ground coriander, ginger and garlic
paste, 5 peppercorns, 3 cloves, 3 cardamoms, and keep stirring until the onions
turn golden brown.  Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for about five
minutes. Then add the chopped coriander, the mint, the remaining yogurt, the
chopped tomato, the teaspoon of garam masala powder, salt to taste, and just
enough water to prevent the mix from sticking to the bottom of the wok.
Continue to stir-fry, adding a little water from time to time until the chicken
is cooked, but keeping the dish relatively 'dry'.
 
Empty the contents of the wok into the rice cooker, then add thepre-fried onions and mix well, making sure to separate the cooked rice if it
has caked.
 
Serve hot, accompanied by a green salad or roasted poppadoms.