This biryani recipe isn’t what we’d call 100% authentic. But unlike traditional dum-style biryani, which requires frying of spices and several cooking steps, this version is quick, easy and very tasty. Not to mention that it requires minimal work on the cook’s part. It’s perfect for a hearty family dinner when you’re balancing your work-from-home obligations while keeping the kids occupied, or as a festive meal to share with your family members come Hari Raya.

This recipe uses store-bought ingredients like ready-mixed ground biryani spices and butter chicken paste from NTUC FairPrice, as well as fried shallots, which are available from most supermarkets. These ingredients are also easily found in most dry grocers in the wet markets. We used a butter chicken marinade because it is a not-so-spicy option that suits most palates, but feel free to use any other chicken spice mix, such a ready-to-eat chicken curry paste, which you can mix with yoghurt to form a marinade. Again, this is a cheat’s step as opposed to marinating the bird with fresh spices.

Tray bakes are a fuss-free and more forgiving way to make dishes like biryani, which would traditionally require plenty of experience to get right. As we said earlier, this is by no means a traditional biryani, which in the dum style, entails preparing spices for the marinade and cooking the chicken before layering it in a pot with par-cooked or raw rice that is sealed with a dough made from flour and water.

Here, the raw chicken bakes above the cooked rice, flavouring and keeping the grains moist as they cook. The resulting dish is full of flavour, with some crusty grains of rice around the edges, which we love. Be sure to soak your basmati rice grains before cooking so that they absorb lots of moisture and emerge nice and fluffy after cooking.

Feeds 3 to 4 pax

Ingredients:

1 packet butter chicken paste (we used Dancing Chef)

1 cup plain or Greek yoghurt

1 chicken, cut into stewing parts (e.g. thigh, wing, drumsticks, etc)
or 800g to 1kg of your preferred chicken parts

2 cups basmati rice

2¼ cups water

4 tbsp biryani masala mix (we used House Brand)

3 tbsp ghee

4 tbsp cooking oil

a handful of fried shallots, for garnishing

a handful of chopped coriander leaves

1. Place the butter chicken paste and yoghurt in a bowl and stir to mix well.

2. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly. Leave to marinate for 3 hours or overnight, chilled. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

3. Wash the rice and place in a large bowl. Cover completely with water and soak for 20 minutes to 1 hour. Drain thoroughly.

4. Place rice in the bowl of a rice cooker along with the 2¼ cups of water and the biryani masala mix. Stir to mix well and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or according to rice cooker instructions.

5. Preheat oven to 180°C.

6. When the rice is cooked, open the lid of the rice cooker, add the ghee and stir with a fork (a fork won’t break the rice grains as much as a spoon would) to coat the grains evenly.

7. Transfer the rice to a large greased tray (we used one that is 26 x 20cm) and arrange the chicken pieces on top.

8. Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 mins or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin slightly blistered.

9. Remove from the oven and allow dish to rest for 5 to 8 minutes (this will allow the chicken’s juices to settle into the rice) and serve topped with fried shallots and coriander leaves.

Photos: Alvin Teo