Foxtail Awadhi Chicken Biryani

Wash the foxtail millet well, then soak in water for 6 hours. Wash the soaked grains again, and strain using a fine mesh strainer. Discard the water and keep the millets aside.

To make the birista, deep-fry the sliced onions in refined oil on medium heat until they turn golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside. The birista is used to marinate the chicken as well as when layering the biryani.

To make the spice mix powder, dry-roast all the ingredients together on a pan. Let the spices cool, then coarsely grind them in a mixer grinder and keep aside.

Wash and dry the chicken. To prepare the marinade, combine  the hung curd and the coarsely ground spice mix from the previous step. Then add 1 tablespoon of the refined vegetable oil that is left over from frying the birista, along with the lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, salt, and the birista. Allow the chicken to rest in this marinade, and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or preferably overnight.

To make the onion curd, mix all the ingredients listed under ‘for the onion curd’. This will form one of the base layers of the biryani.

Once the chicken is marinated, toss it with the leftover oil used for frying the birista, and cook it until it is about 90 percent done. Now add the chopped tomatoes. Adjust for salt, then cook for approximately 4 to 5 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through.

To prepare the spice potli or pouch, fill a cheesecloth with all the spices listed under ‘for the spice potli’. This is used to infuse aroma into the millets as they cook. 

To boil the millets, add water and some salt to a deep pot . When the water comes to a boil, steep in the spice pouch and add the millets.

Keep checking the millets by picking up a small amount with a spoon. They should be about 80 percent cooked. The grains should be soft to chew but still have some bite.

Turn off the flame and strain the millets through a strainer. Once strained, spread the millets on a wide plate to allow them to cool. 

Now make sure that all the ingredients listed under ‘for the layering’ are at hand.

Place onion curd at the bottom of the handi. This is the base layer which receives the maximum amount of heat. The vapour from the moisture in this layer rises upward, imparting flavour and aroma through the other layers. The onions also get cooked and caramelised at the bottom as they get cooked through.

The next layer is the boiled millet grains. Top the millets with all the layering elements, sprinkled evenly across the vessel.

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After the layering ingredients, place half of the cooked chicken on top of the millet layer.

Cover the chicken with a second layer of millets. Then top the millets with all the layering elements again.

Cover this with a second and final layer of the cooked chicken.

Cover the chicken with a third and final layer of millets.

As the final layer, sprinkle the remaining layering elements on top of this third layer of millets.

Place the lid tightly on the handi. Tie a wet cloth around the lid to secure the vapour inside the handi.

Keep this handi on full flame on the stovetop for the first 5 minutes, then lower the flame to the lowest level and cook the biryani for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Open the lid, but do not mix the biryani. Insert a flat serving spoon straight down  to the base of the handi and scoop out the biryani, ensuring that all the layers are intact.