Ingredients:

• 1 kg – Chicken
• 4 – onions, medium sized
• 1 tbsp each – ginger, garlic, Green chillies and coriander paste
• 1/4 cup – Coriander leaves for garnishing
• 2-3 tbsp – Curd
• 1 tsp – besan
• 1 tbsp – Red Chilli powder
• 1 tsp – Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp – Garam Masala
• 1 tbsp – tandoori masala
• salt to taste
• 2 cups – Rice
• 1/4 tsp – Saffron
• 2 tsp – shahi Jeera
• 2 pieces – Cinnamon
• 1 – big elaichi
• 2-3 – small elaichi
• 7-8 – Cloves
• 10-12 – peppercorn
• 2-3 – Bay Leaves
• a few Cashewnuts (optional)
• 5-6 – black Currants
• 1 cup – Rice

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken for an hour with red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, ginger, garlic, green chillies, coriander paste, tandoori masala, salt, curd and besan. Mix well and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and saute 1 onion (cut length-wise) until pink. Set aside for garnishing.
3. Dice the remaining onions and add to a pan of boiled water. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Grind the cooked onions into a paste and keep aside.
5. Heat oil/butter/ghee in a pan and add the shahi jeera, bay leaves and fried big elaichi. Add the onion paste to it.
6. Cook until the onion starts leaving oil.
7. Add all the powders, tandoori masala, ginger-garlic paste and stir until it blends well.
8. Add the marinated chicken and salt to taste. Stir well and add water if required.
9. Cook on slow fire until the meat is tender and the gravy thickens.
10. Divide the rice into 2 part – for saffron and jeera rice.
11. For the saffron rice: Boil water in a pan, add saffron and salt and then the rice.
12. Once the rice is cooked, strain the water and keep aside to cool.
13. For jeera rice: Heat ghee/butter in a pan and fry the shahi jeera, small elaichi, bay leaves, peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon, cashewnuts and black currants.
14. Mix and add the other half of the rice along with the salt.
15. Add water and cook the rice.
16. Once the rice is cooked, drain the water and keep the rice to cool.
17. Now grease a big bowl with butter/ghee and add the saffron rice as the base.
18. Add the gravy and then put the layer of jeera rice.
19. Garnish with shallow fried onions. Seal it with an aluminium foil or seal the lid with some dough.
20. Bake in the oven at 110 degrees C for 20-25 minutes or on a large tava for 10 minutes on very low flame.
21. The rice and gravy are now mixed.
22. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Recipe courtesy of Nikita Kambli