Chicken Biryani

I'm a planner.  You know this, right?  I have to be able to plan out my meals for the week so that I know what to shop for.  Nothing drives me crazier than wanting to make a dish and discovering I'm missing That One Ingredient.  Argh!!

But life has been topsy-turvy though since Kieran was born so my meal planning isn't as stellar as it used to be.  I have a bunch of meals in the freezer but I'm trying to space those out so they last as long as possible.  So there have been days where the calendar remained blank for that day's dinner.  Those days I have all day to obsess about what to make based on what I have available.  Sometimes that's fun.  Sometimes, not so much.

One day I got lucky though.  A friend of mine posted a link to a recipe she was trying out, and in looking it over, I realized that I could make it too WITHOUT heading to the store first!  Excellent!!

Chicken Biryani
Recipe adapted from Confections & Musings 

2 tsp canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced [I made this optional since I didn't have one handy]
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala 
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chopped plum tomato [Or be like me and use a drained can of petite diced tomatoes]
1 cup uncooked basmati rice [I used whatever I had in my pantry canister]
1/3 cup raisins
1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro [optional but it REALLY brightens the flavor if you have it]
1/4 cup sliced almonds [optional but that little crunch adds awesome]
4 lime wedges

1.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté about 3 minutes. Add onion and jalapeño and cook another 3 minutes.

Psst! It's easier to cut up chicken while it's still a little frozen.

2.  Add ginger, garam masala, cumin, salt, and garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add tomato, rice, raisins, and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is tender.

I keep my ginger peeled and in the freezer.  Lasts longer that way.

3.  Stir in cilantro. Sprinkle with almonds; serve with lime wedges.

Oooohhhhh delicious!

If you don't have Garam Masala on-hand, I'd really recommend getting it.  It's AMAZING and becoming more popular so you should be able to find it with the spices at your grocery store.  Otherwise you probably could make some of it yourself, since it's a blend of cinnamon, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, and other more common spices.

This dish is YUMMY.  So yummy in fact that I cannot wait to make this again, this time using more of the ingredients I felt were optional, especially the jalapeno.  If you aren't a fan of the heat though, leaving it out is just fine.  Because of the blend of spices in Garam Masala, you have this flavor that's somewhere between sweet (from the cinnamon) and spicy, but not HOT spicy.