Spicy Chicken Biriyani

Growing up in Panama, Biriyani became one of my favorite dishes of all time. In Panama, my mom came up with her own version of a Indian-Panamanian biriyani that eventually she taught me how to make. What I love about a biriyani is that you can add so many different flavors to it as well as different meats. My mom's recipe is vegetarian, but her recipe is actually what inspired me to make my own version of a chicken biriyani. I loved how this one turned out. It is super delish and I'd hope you try it out and enjoy it!

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Spicy Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients

- 1 cup of Uncle Ben's rice (boiled and drained)

- 1/2 cup of julienne carrots

- 1/2 cup of julienne bell peppers, green or colored

- 1/4 cup of julienne serranos peppers

- 1/2 cup of julienne onions

- 2 chicken bullion cubes

- 1/2 tbsp of garlic paste (minced garlic)

- 1/2 tbsp of ginger paste (minced ginger)

- 1 tsp of chicken tandoori masala

- 1 tbsp of Badshah Sindhi biriyani masala

- 2 tbsp of parsley paste/minced

- 2 tbsp of EVOO or canola oil

- Salt to taste

- 2 laving kernels

- 1 medium cinnamon stick

- 3-4 bay leaves

- 1 tsp of habanero paste (optional)

Prep Work:

1 -Clean the chicken tenders and cut them up in 1 inch pieces and marinate them in 2 tsp of lemon, 2 tsp of red chilly pepper, 1 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of tandoori chicken masala, and 1/2 tsp of salt.

2 - Boil the rice in salted water until its al dente/cooked to your preference.

Directions

1 - You will want to use a large flat saucer pan to make this biriyani. Heat up 2 tbsp of oil over medium to high heat and throw in the laving kernels, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf and let them sizzle for about 10-15 seconds.

2 - Turn the heat to medium and add in the two chicken bouillon cubes and mix them in the oil by breaking them up in there; they should break apart pretty easy. This will flavor the oil.

3 - Throw in all the veggies (carrots, onions, serrano peppers, bell peppers) and saute the veggies for about 3-4 minutes until they are semi done. Note: Do not cover the pan because it will create moisture and you want to avoid that.

4 - Once the veggies are semi-done, which means that they still have a slight crunch to them, add half of following (biriyani masala, ginger, garlic, habanero paste, minced parsley) and mix it all up. Once the masalas are all mixed into the veggies, take the veggies out and set them aside.

5 - In the same pan, add 1 tbsp of oil, 3 bullion cubes and 2 bay leaves to flavor the oil. Next, add the marinated chicken along with the remaining half of all the masalas, ginger, garlic, habanero paste, and parsley and then cook the chicken on medium to low heat slowly for about five minutes or so that chicken remains tender.

6 - Once the chicken is cooked, mix in the veggies and the rice and stir it together.

7 - Serve the biriyani warm with cucumber raita on the side. Enjoy!