In Fatima Ashraf’s kitchen in Clarks Summit, a whole chicken marinated in a blend of spices, lemon juice, oil and yogurt overnight.
“This is very special for me,” she said. “I love this biryani.”
Heaps of savory, seasoned rice and marinated chicken make up the versatile dish that is Fatima's biryani. She makes it for special occasions, for friends, but mostly for her family. It’s a beloved meal among her children.
Each time she cooks biryani, she follows the recipe her mother learned from her grandmother. The same one she has passed on to her children.
It’s Hyderabadi Biryani, she says, the method used in Hyderabad, India, where her family is from. The chicken she has marinated overnight will wait a bit longer to cook all together with Basmati rice. That’s what makes this biryani recipe different from most. Other recipes from different regions usually call for the curry and meat to be fully cooked before adding it to rice.
“This is my family recipe… my parents would make us this biryani,” she said. “The main key of the marination is it (makes) the chicken very soft, juicy…it will cook perfectly under the rice.”
While the chicken continues to marinate, Fatima watches the rice cooking in water on the stovetop, waiting for the moment when it is ready to drain and layer with more spices, saffron soaked in water and the chicken.
Her son, Fahad, lingered in the kitchen. He says his mom would make this biryani for the family at least once a week, and they still recognize the smell of a biryani coming together.
“Sometimes when I come home from college, I’ll step outside of my car in the driveway and because of the exhaust fan the smell goes outside,” he said. “I’ll step out of my car like oh, she made biryani today.”
Fatima says her daughter, who lives in Pittsburgh now, has a particular love for biryani and has recently started cooking it for herself. The first time she tried, Fatima spent hours on FaceTime with her, helping her through the steps.
“She had goggles on her eyes and she said ‘Mom, the onions are very bad,’” Fatima said. “She was dramatic like that. But she ended up with it nice when she sent me pictures it was looking very good.”
She did miss a crucial step the first time though — using the right kind of rice.
“She did not have basmati rice…she used regular rice so they broke,” Fatima said. “The next time she came (home) I gave her the basmati rice, that is very important. Otherwise, no matter how you cook, it will break.”
When the rice is slightly undercooked, she drains it into a colander. Then, she layers the chicken into the bottom of a pot with fried onions, cilantro, mint, saffron and cardamom.
She never has trouble finding any of the spices she needs. The more specialty ingredients, like black cumin, she finds at Indian grocery stores in the area.
Fatima grew up in Pakistan, where her mother passed down the recipe for Hyderabadi Biryani. Fatima has lived in Northeast Pennsylvania for more than 20 years. She happily shares the recipe with anyone who asks.
“It gives me pleasure to feel like they are enjoying…the same recipe,” she said. “This is a special recipe from India…we love to share the recipe to spread it as much as we can.”
Fatima Ashraf’s Hyderabadi Biryani with chicken
Prep Time: At least two hours to marinate chicken
Cook Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds, cut into pieces
4 cups basmati rice
3 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 and ½ cups of oil
2 tablespoons ginger paste
2 tablespoons garlic paste
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups fresh mint
1 ½ cups cilantro
Juice from 1 lemon
2 green chiles cut into small slices
½ teaspoon saffron
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups yogurt
Ground spices
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red paprika powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander powder
1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 pinch ground mace
½ teaspoon black cumin powder
Whole spices
1 ½ cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
4 cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon whole black cumin
Spices to layer into rice with chicken
4 tablespoons fresh mint
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon saffron
Procedure
1. Wash 1 whole chicken, cut into about 12 pieces and set aside.
2. Heat a large pot on high heat and add 2 cups of oil. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Remove the onions from the oil and drain onto a pan with a paper towel. Keep the oil.
3. In a mixing bowl, add the following: chicken, yogurt, ground spices, 1 cup mint, cilantro, chiles, juice from one lemon, ginger paste, garlic paste, ½ teaspoon saffron, salt, half of the oil used to fry the onions and half of the fried onions. Mix thoroughly and leave chicken to marinate, ideally overnight but at least 2 hours before cooking.
4. Soak a pinch of saffron in 3 tablespoons of whole milk for around 30 minutes.
5. Wash basmati rice until the water is clean, then soak clean rice in water for 30 minutes.
6. While rice is soaking, fill a new large pot approximately ¾ full with water and place on high heat. Once boiling, add the whole spices, 1 teaspoon oil, 3 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 cup mint and boil for 5 minutes.
7. Drain the basmati rice and add to the pot with the boiling spices. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the rice until it is ¾ of the way done, for about 10-15 minutes. The rice should be just slightly undercooked.
8. Once rice is slightly undercooked, drain the pot into a colander.
9. In the pot used to fry the onions, add the marinated chicken. Layer the remaining onions on top of the chicken along with 4 tablespoons cilantro, 4 tablespoons mint, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon saffron and 4 tablespoons of oil. Pour one cup of water into the pot and mix thoroughly.
10. Pour all of the drained rice into the pot with the chicken. Pour the soaked saffron on top of the rice for color and flavor, then add 5 tablespoons of the oil used to fry the onions into the mixture. Garnish with some mint, cilantro and remaining fried onions on top.
11. Seal the opening of the pot with aluminum foil, then add the lid to make it airtight and keep the steam in.
12. Place the pot on high heat for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium-low and let cook for 15 more minutes. The biryani is done when both the rice and chicken are tender.
13. Mix the biryani in the pot, then serve on a platter and enjoy.
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