First we begin by marinating the chicken. Remove the skin and wash the chicken pieces well. I prefer chicken drumsticks, but you can always use thighs, breast meat or a combination of them all. In a large bowl, mix together the the yoghurt, garam masala, biryani masala, ginger and garlic paste, some salt. Add the chicken to this, mix well to combine and let this marinate for atleast 1 hour in the fridge.
Wash and soak the rice and let this soak for 15mins,after which you drain the water out and set aside.
When it is time to make this amazing dish, heat both the oil and ghee (clarified butter) in a heavy bottom large pot. Add the bay leaf, cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds.
Next add the onions, chile and also the mint and coriander leaves. Cook this on medium low heat. Once the onions have softened, add the tomatoes and continue to saute.
Add the marinated chicken along with the chile and coriander powder and mix well to combine. I reduced the heat to low and allowed this to cook for about 7minutes.
Then I added about 5 cups of water and also the rice. Also add some more salt. I then covered this pot and let it cook on medium low heat. If you are making this in a pressure cooker, pressure cooker it for just a whistle.
Now to the optional step of the food color. Add a few drops of red food color and let it sit for another 5 minutes.
Gently fluff the biryani and transfer to a serving dish.
I garnished it with some lemon wedges and onion slices. A boiled egg goes great with it.
Serve this biryani when its hot along with a cooling raita.
