chicken biryani

i am happy to report that chicken biryani at home is not very hard. my husband is absolutely crazy for biryani, so that i was able to make a decent version at home the first time is like well, magic. abracadabra.

usually the recipes i post on cup and table are tried and true and i have been making them for years, years. but this, this i've only made once, so it is a recipe under development. most likely it will change over time, as things tend to do around here. one great thing about biryani is that it has few ingredients. namely rice, chicken, yogurt, onions, cilantro and spices. it is not really that spicy in that it is mostly rice. and you can control it to make it as crazy spicy or super mild as you like at your place. we like it moderately spicy here. who knew this could be conjured up with so little skill? not me. a great secret. adding beneficial spices like turmeric, garlic, ginger, cayenne, couldn't be much easier.

chicken biryani

phase 1: marinate

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into medium size chunks

1 cup plain yogurt

3 teaspoons garlic smashed (in a mortar and pestle)

1 teaspoon smashed fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

cut chicken and place in a bowl to marinate. smash garlic and fresh ginger with 1 teaspoon sea salt in a mortar if you've got one, if not finely mince and mix together with the salt. add in the coriander cayenne turmeric cumin pepper and paprika. sprinkle the spice mixture onto the chicken. mix in the yogurt and stir to combine the spices, yogurt and meat pieces thoroughly. marinate for several hours, at least 2, as many as 6 hours.

next make the rice. you don't want to cook the rice all the way. just get it started. basmati is the best rice for this dish, traditionally. it cooks fast.

phase 2: prepare for the oven

now is a good time preaheat your oven to 375 degrees farneheit

2 cups basmati rice

1 teaspoon salt

3 large onions

1 /2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup (half a stick) butter

1 cup coriander leaves, freshly washed, separated from the stems

1/4 cup water

to make the rice, first rinse and then soak it for half an hour or so. drain. boil a medium pot of water. (about 8 cups or so). add in a teaspoon of salt. when the water begins to boil add in the rice. cook vigorously for 5 minutes, until the rice is tender but still quite firm, not done yet but a good way there. drain and reserve.

now the onions. slice up the onions and cook them in the pot you plan to bake the biryani in. you will need a dutch oven type pan with a good lid on it. i am lucky enough to have a cast iron pan that worked beautifully. any sort of dutch oven type pot with lid would work great. otherwise you will need to fashion a tight fitting foil lid underneath the lid of your regular pot.

and for the onions, saute them on medium high heat in the butter/olive oil mixture for 10 minutes until they are soft, translucent and have some lightly browned edges. remove them from the pan and reserve 2 TBSP of the oil you used for cooking and leave the rest in the pan.

now begin your layering. place in half the chicken, spacing it over the bottom of your pot, add half the rice over top, next layer half the onions, then half the coriander leaves, then repeat: chicken; rice; onions; coriander. now pour 1/4 cup water over the whole mixture. and the 2 TBSP reserved butter/oil from cooking the onions.

phase 3: bake for one hour

seal the top nice and tight, if you don't have a dutch oven you'll want to use foil to real seal the pan underneath the lid. cover it up and place it in your preheated oven for one hour.

phase 4: enjoy

when the hour is up remove the pot, remember both the lids and handles will be searing hot, use mitts. serve immediately with some plain yogurt, maybe a nice salad and or maybe some toasted naan. the crispy browned bits along the bottom and sides of the pan are delicious and highly sought after in my house, make sure to dig these magical crusty yummy bits out of the pan when serving. biryani at home, a new favorite.

note: for this recipe, i adapted one from naomi duguid and jeffrey alford's book mangoes & curry leaves, i changed several of the details and ingredients to fit my families' tastes, and to more closely mimic the texture of biryani's we've enjoyed in the past, but the process is nearly the same. their book is wonderful and the pictures alone are worth the price, but the recipes....superlative. very inspiring those two. and they really walk you through the recipes, which i both need and love when tackling a new cuisine.

i love my dough whisks

i love my dough whisks. i do.

someone, george bernard shaw i think it was, said something like: there is no love more sincere than the love of food, and that is probably not only vastly true, but largely what this blog is about. but i do love my dough whisks, most sincerely.

every time i make portuguese sweetbread or apricot oat bars or choux paste or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, they make short work of tough dough handling.

i also love my new ceramic knife. i have had a ceramic vegetable peeler for years, (since we lived in japan in the mid 90s, and i always loved it). but this new ceramic knife by kyocera is a dream for slicing scallions, parsley, carrots, celery. never mangles the scallions, or herbs, nothing but clean cuts. i love my steel knives too. but this is a treat to use, so lightweight, so delicate, handles so cleverly.

i also love my hardworking wooden spoons. i would be empty-handed without them. they stir every dish i make. i clearly need some spoon oil, like stephanie on her fabulous blog 3191 miles apart, to care for them properly. i have ordered some beeswax to make this happen.

some of these tools have been with me for more than 15 years. none of them were expensive. they have carried me a long way. true love. hope you had a super valentine's week. we've nearly conquered february and we're well on our way toward spring (yipee). happy weekend all, xo, g.

p.s. in case you are in need of any of these items: i bought my dough whisks for almost nothing at an online outfit called breadtopia, marvelous shop. the wooden spoons i bought mostly at sur la table in san francisco and the kyocera i picked up at whole foods.

pancake tuesday

never one to miss a food holiday, whether or not i fit the religious/geographic profile of the traditional celebrants, i felt compelled to start the day off with pancakes today. these pancakes are rich, luxurious, complex, and flavorful and yet the recipe is so ascetic and healthful, it seems impossible. and yet, here they are:

sour cream oat pancakes with apples and cider

sauce

3 cups organic apple cider

topping

4 large or 6 small apples, peeled and sliced

1 TBSP unsalted butter

dry

3/4 cup unbleached flour

3/4 cup oat flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

liquid

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 TBSP olive oil

add in

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

more milk to thin them if necessary.

okay. first set the cider in a saucepan. let it boil for 10 to 15 minutes until it is reduced by half. swirl in a pat of butter if you are feelling so luxurious. while that is boiling, peel and slice the apples. set a copper or other skillet on high heat. add a bit of butter and saute until the apples brown on the edges just a bit and soften slightly 5 minutes or so. add the reduced cider to the apples, let them sizzle together for a minute or two. then turn off heat.

to mix up your batter sift the dry ingredients. mix up the eggs and liquid in a bowl. add in the dry ingredients. mix up well. batter should not be too thick and gloppy, thin it with extra milk if necessary, it usually is. add in the oats and give a stir.

heat your griddle pan to medium. pour pancake batter into pleasing shapes. flip when the bubbles have bubbled sufficiently.

serve immediately. generously butter your pancakes if you are so inclined, and spoon the apple and cider mixture over all. mmmmm. tender, tart, sweet, buttery deliciousness. not too sweet.

banana bread chronicles

terribly excited to have cup and table's apricot banana oat bread recipe featured on ruth reichl's website today in the excellent company of some really great cooks, foodies and food bloggers. you can check out ruth's post banana bread chronicles here. february is a great time to make banana bread, you can warm the whole kitchen with the oven's heat and warm the whole household with the bread's wonerful aroma. i just may have to try a new banana bread recipe this week. even more snow is headed this way. it is always nice to have a good excuse to stay in and bake.

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