Sindhi Chicken Biryani with Prunes, Potatoes & Sour Yoghurt

⏱ 110 min · Serves 6

The loudest, tangiest biryani in the subcontinent — chicken slow-cooked in a fiery tomato-yoghurt masala with green chillies and dried plums, layered with golden potatoes and saffron rice. Sour, spicy, sweet and deeply fragrant all at once.

Per serving: 790 kcal · 38.0g protein · 82.0g carbs · 34.0g fat

Ingredients

• 900g bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 500g basmati rice, rinsed and soaked 30 minutes
• 250g thick natural yoghurt, whisked
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 12 dried prunes (aloo bukhara), pitted
• 6 green chillies, slit
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1.5 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp biryani masala (or garam masala)
• 1 cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Large handful coriander leaves, chopped
• Handful mint leaves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp saffron soaked in 4 tbsp warm milk
• 150ml neutral oil
• 3 tbsp ghee
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and fry the sliced onions until deep golden. Lift out half onto kitchen paper for garnish.
2. Fry the potato quarters in the same oil until golden at the edges; set aside. Season with salt.
3. To the remaining onions add ginger and garlic pastes, cook 1 minute, then the tomatoes, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin and 1 tsp salt. Cook 10 minutes to a thick masala.
4. Add the chicken and green chillies, brown 5 minutes, then stir in the whisked yoghurt off the heat. Return to a low flame, cover and simmer 25 minutes until the oil separates.
5. Add the potatoes, prunes, biryani masala and lemon juice. Simmer 8 minutes more; the gravy should be thick and tangy. Taste for salt and sourness.
6. Meanwhile boil a large pan of well-salted water with the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay and caraway. Add the drained rice and cook 5–6 minutes until 70% done, still firm in the centre. Drain.
7. Spread half the rice over the chicken. Scatter half the coriander, mint and fried onions. Add the rest of the rice, then the remaining herbs and onions. Drizzle over the saffron milk and dot with ghee.
8. Cover tightly (a foil layer under the lid helps), cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes, then rest off the heat 10 minutes.
9. Dig down through the layers with a wide spoon to serve, bringing up potato, prune and chicken with every scoop. Serve with raita and sliced onion.