Chicken Pulao

Today is a day to make something special as we have time to sit and eat a hearty lunch at home. On popular demand I made Chicken Pulao. And to serve with it, I made a simple cucumber raita and some vinegar onions.
Enjoy!

Chicken Pulao (One pot Rice and Chicken Dish)

Chicken Pulao

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole chicken cut into 12 pieces (about 2-3 lbs)
2. 3 cups basmati rice
3. 1 medium red onion sliced
4. 2 tablespoons oil
5. 2 cloves and 1 inch cinnamon bark
6. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder
7. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
8. 1 heaped teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
9. 1 tablespoon yogurt
10. 1 tablespoon each of chopped mint and coriander and fresh squeezed lemon juice

Marinate the chicken with all the powder ingredients and set aside for 30 minutes. Add yogurt and set aside 10 more minutes.

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they become dark brown. Add cloves and cinnamon and the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the chicken and fry for 5-7 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and cook for 1 whistle. 

After the steam escapes, open the cooker and add 4-5 cups of water depending on how much water is left in the cooker. Bring to a boil. Add salt if needed. Add the rice and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked through and the water is all absorbed. Mix in mint, cilantro and lemon juice. Serve with cucumber raita and vinegar onions

Cucumber Raita (Yogurt and cucumber condiment)

Cucumber Raita

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups grated cucumber
2. 1 cup plain yogurt
3. 1 small green chilly finely chopped
4. 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt depending on your taste
5. 1 tablespoon red onions chopped fine

Mix all the ingredients together but hold on the salt till you are ready to serve. Mix the salt right before your serve else the cucumber will loose water.

Vinegar Onions

Vinegar Onions

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup finely chopped red onions
2. 1/2 cup white vinegar
3. 1 or less chopped green onion
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients together and serve. (I was out of green chillies so you can't see them in the picture. But do add them. They are yummy)

All so try Chicken Biryani