Ingredients Needed:
1 cup chickpeas
1 medium sized onion
1 tomato
2 green chillies
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste

Salt to taste

Home made chole masala
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 fennel seeds
4-5 pomegranate seeds (anardana)
1/2 inch piece cinnamon
3 cloves
3-4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 red chillies

Kasoori methi (optional)

Method to prepare:
1. SOAK chickpeas overnight or for atleast 8 – 10 hours.Wash well before use.

2. COOK the chickpeas in a pressure cooker and switch of the gas after 4 whistles.

3. TAKE 1-2 tsp oil and fry onions with a little salt till they turn light brown.Add ginger-garlic paste,green chillies and fry for another minute or so and then add tomatoes till they turn soft.Switch off the gas and let it cool. Step 3 can take roughly 10 – 12 minutes. Meanwhile get the ingredients for your chole masala ready.

4. In a seperate pan roast all the ingredients listed in the chole masala section till they change color or darken (approximately 5 mins). The more you let it darken,the darker your gravy will be.Let it cool.

5. Grind all the ingredients roasted in step 4 to a fine powder. Then add the onions and tomatoes from step 3 to create a fine paste.

6. Transfer the paste from step 6 to the chick peas in the cooker. Add a little water if needed and let it boil for 10 minutes.

To fry
1 large Onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves
4 peppercorns
1 inch cinnamon stick
4 bay leaves
1 black cardamom

For the paste
4 garlic cloves
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 inch ginger

Other ingredients
1/4 cup poppy seeds
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 red chillies
1 tsp garam masala
2 tomatoes
1 tbsp lemon juice
6 eggs, hard boiled and cut into halves
½ cup coriander leaves.

Salt to taste

…..Preparation….

Make paste:
Mix all the ingredients listed in the paste section to a smooth paste. Fry in a little oil, coriander seeds,poppy seeds,coconut and chillies till they are light brown. Add it to the paste in the blender along with tomatoes and grind it into a fine paste.

Now the frying part:
Heat the oil in a pan and then add cumin seeds.Once they are brown add the cut onions and spices with a little salt.Stir fry it till the onions are light brown. Then add the blended paste. Fry for 5 minutes and then add turmeric and garam masala. Stir it well and then fry till the water is absorbed. Add 1 cup water and lemon juice and bring it to boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes and then add the eggs and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Take it off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves.

Now the frying part:
Heat the oil in a pan and then add the cut onions with a little salt.Stir fry it till the onions are light brown. Then add green chillies,cardamom and peppercorns. Fry for 10 seconds and then add finely cut mint leaves. Stir it well and then add the marinated chicken and cook till the chicken is done. The end result should be a thick gravy NOT runny. Mix a little rice with the saffron mixed in milk to get some orange colored rice. Mix the rest of the rice with the gravy and your biryani is ready to eat.Top it with the saffron colored rice and garnish it with coriander.

For the marinade
1 pound chicken thigh
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped mint leaves
2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic Paste
1 cup plain yogurt
Salt to taste

To fry
1 large Onion
1 teaspoon of saffron mixed in 2 teaspoons of warm milk.
2 black cardamom
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoon Oil

2 cups of rice (presoaked for an hour,if possible)

 Make marinade:
Mix all the ingredients listed in the marinade section except chicken.Cut the chicken into 2 inch cubes.Coat the chicken with the prepared marinade and refrigerate it for an hour or overnight if possible (P.S – I marinated it for 15 minutes while I was frying the onions and it turned out well)

 Make rice:

Took 2 cups of rice and added 3 cups of water.Boiled the rice in the microwave for 14 mins.Kept it aside to cool.The rice should be almost done but not quite :),if that makes any sense.

Now the frying part:
Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they seem done add cardamom pods,bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Fry them for a minute or so and then add the cut onions.Stir fry it till the onions are light brown. Add the marinated chicken and cook till the chicken is done. The end result should be a thick gravy NOT runny. Mix a little rice with the saffron to get some orange colored rice. Mix the rest of the rice with the gravy and your biryani is ready to eat.Top it with the saffron colored rice.