Beriani, the Biryani from Brunei

Beriani, the Biryani from Brunei

Brunei, one of the most well known Muslim countries of East Asia has it's own and very famous version of Mughlai Biryani which they call Beriani. A simple and easy dish to prepare, but tastes yum. When I first ate it I was surprised by it's simplicity. No exotic spices, no ittar, no keora water, still the taste stays with you for a long time. I thought you might also like this version of meat and rice, as much as I do.

Preparation time   : 20 minutes
Cooking time        : 45 minutes
Difficulty               :  Easy
Serves                   :  4 - 6

Ingredients :

1 Chicken, about 900gms (cut into medium pieces, washed, drained)

1 tablespoon Poppy seeds

1 clove Garlic

1 cup Small Onions - sliced

1 teaspoon Curry powder (use any packaged version)

Salt to taste

2 green Chilies

1/2 Coconut - grated

5 cm piece Ginger

4 tablespoons Ghee

5 Cloves

5 cm Cinnamon stick

10 Cashew nuts

10 Almonds

450 grams long-grain Rice

Method :

1) Cut chicken into 6 -- 8 pieces, wash and drain them.

2) Grind together garlic, ginger, chillies, poppy seeds, cashew nuts and almonds. Keep them separately.

3) Heat ghee in a non stick vessel (which has a proper lid) add cloves, cinnamon, and sliced Onions and fry them till onions are cooked and are lightly browned.

4) Add in the chicken pieces, salt, ground ingredients and curry powder. Stir in to mix. Sprinkle 1 tsp of water, so the spices don't burn, put the gas to simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.

5) Extract 1 - 2 cups coconut milk from coconut.Need not be thick cream, you can use water to extract milk. Add in a little salt. Mix this milk with washed rice and cook it.

6) When the rice has absorbed all the milk, make a well in the centre and put the chicken mixture. Cover and allow rice to cook over very low fire.

7) Check in between, sprinkle some luke warm water in between so that the rice don't stick at the bottom.

8) When the rice is completely cooked, check the seasonings and adjust if necessary. Then keep it covered and let it stand for 15 minutes.

9) Serve hot with Indian style raita or simple onion salad.