Biriani, also spelt breyani and beryani in the Cape,  is Indian of origin, and has been embraced in the Cape by the Muslim community as a dish of their own.  This is a generous festive dish.  It was perfumed with saffron, though today, with saffron being an expensive item, turmeric is used to colour the rice.

Chicken Biriani

You’ll need: 400g long grained rice, 2 litres water, 1 Tbs salt, ½ tsp turmeric, 2 Tbs warm milk, 4 medium onions, three of them sliced into rings & one chopped finely, 4 cloves garlic, peeled & finely chopped, a 4cm piece of peeled fresh ginger, 6 Tbs slivered almonds, water, 6 Tbs seedless raisins or sultanas, 1½ kg skinned and boned chicken thighs, cut in half, 250ml yoghurt.

Spice mix : 6 whole cloves, 1 tsp cardamom seeds, 2 tsp each whole cumin and coriander seeds, a 4cm quill of cinnamon, a good grating of nutmeg, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, sea salt & freshly milled black pepper.

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled & quartered [if desired for garnish], sprigs of coriander leaves.

Method: Wash the rice well, changing the water frequently.  Place in a large bowl and pour over 2 litres of cold water and add the 1 Tbs salt.  Allow to stand for about 2 hours. This will keep the rice as white as possible and keep the grains separate. Dissolve the turmeric in the warm milk and set aside. Put the one chopped onion, garlic and ginger with a little water into the bowl of a blender and process until you have a smooth paste.  Set aside for the garnish.  In a heavy bottomed casserole using 4 Tbs oil, fry the slices of onion until they are brown and crisp, drain on kitchen paper and set aside.  In the same pan using the same oil, repeat the process with the sultanas frying them for a short while as they fatten up and the almonds until they are a light golden brown.  Drain on kitchen paper and set aside. Preset the oven at 180°C.  Brown the chicken pieces all over in the same oil.  Drain and set aside on kitchen paper. Add more oil to the casserole only if necessary and add the onion-garlic-ginger paste and fry gently adding a little water if necessary to prevent sticking until the paste takes on a light brown colour.  Add the yoghurt a spoonful at a time stirring well between each addition and then place the chicken pieces on top of the yoghurt.  Cover the casserole and bake in the preset oven for 30 minutes. In the meantime put the spices into a pestle and mortar and pound together or grind in a spice or coffee grinder until quite fine.  When the chicken has simmered for 30 minutes remove any oil from the top with a spoon or kitchen paper, sprinkle over the spice mixture and salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste, turn the chicken pieces over and bake covered for a further 30 minutes. Meantime rinse the rice again and boil in lots of well salted water for 6 minutes. In the casserole pile the rice on top in a pyramid, dribble the turmeric milk down the sides.   Sprinkle over a little of the browned onions.  Cover closely with foil and the lid and bake in the oven for a further 20 minutes. When ready to serve, mix the chicken and the rice together gently with the chopped parsley or coriander and garnish with the remaining browned onions, the raisins and the almonds and place the egg quarters or slices decoratively on top. Serve with a green vegetable like shredded steamed cabbage flavoured with nutmeg.

Serves 6