Chick'n Biryani - Frys Family Food South Africa

Chick’n Biryani

Curry, Dinner
Intermediate

This Chick'n Briyani, from Top Chow 2024 winners Radha and Rookmoney, is full of competition-winning flavour. It’s made with warming spices and layered with spiced lentils, golden fried potatoes and fluffy basmati rice, then finished in the oven until perfectly fragrant. Serve with dhall, cucumber raita and poppadoms for a celebration dinner the whole family will love.

Serves: 4–6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 bag Fry’s Stir-Fry Strips
1½ cups cooked basmati rice
½ cup lentils
1 tsp biryani spice
2 Tbsp curry powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp crushed ginger & garlic
3–4 curry leaves
1 tsp ground jeera
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground dhania
1½ tomatoes, chopped
3 onions, finely chopped
3 potatoes, cut into small wedges and fried until golden
1½ tsp salt
½ cup margarine
¼ cup oil
½ cup peas
Fresh dhania (coriander), finely chopped, for garnish

Optional Accompaniments

Dhall
Cucumber raita
Poppadoms

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and fry the onions until golden brown.
Add the curry leaves and biryani spice, stirring to release their flavours.
Add the crushed ginger and garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, ground jeera, garam masala and ground dhania. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously to prevent the spices from burning.
Add the chopped tomatoes and salt, then cook until the tomatoes have softened.
Stir in the lentils and cook for about 10 minutes, allowing them to soften slightly.
Add the Fry’s Stir-Fry Strips and peas, mixing well to coat everything in the spices.
Fold in the fried potato wedges.
Layer the biryani mixture with the cooked basmati rice in an ovenproof dish.
Dot the margarine over the top, cover if desired, and bake for 20 minutes until heated through and fragrant.
Garnish with fresh chopped dhania (coriander) and serve hot with dhall, cucumber raita and poppadoms, if desired.

What is Top Chow?

Top Chow is Fry’s annual plant-based cooking competition, inviting home cooks to create winning recipes using Fry’s products. This Chick’n Briyani was a Top Chow 2024 winner.

Can I make biryani with plant-based chicken?

Yes — Fry’s has a number of products that would work well as chicken alternatives. Their Stir-Fry Strips, Spiced Pieces and Original Pieces would all work beautifully in biryani. They absorb the spices just like chicken and hold their shape well when layered and baked. This Top Chow recipe is a great starting point.