Six servings of biryani for under $35.00 + my favourite (easy peasy) version/recipe of it.

Today’s grocery haul is dinner themed. I wanted to cook a massive batch of chicken biryani because its amazingly tasty and pretty easy to cook, and I also wanted to see how much it would cost me to make, as I’ve made it many times before, but never really made a mental note of the cost.

I ended up spending just under $35.00 for all the ingredients. Now I know this is a bit dearer than part 1 of my grocery haul, but it still ends up pretty cheap when you realise that you have just made 6 hefty servings of it (It comes to about $5.80 a meal). In the photos you only see 5 servings, and that is because I ate a serving right after I cooked it…it was just that good. :)

I shopped at Coles (Australian supermarket) & I tried to buy the Coles brand of most of the ingredients where possible. You would probably be able to find cheaper chicken thighs from a butcher & you could also save on the veggies by buying from a fruit and veggie market, but I am big on convenience & keeping my grocery hauls to a “one stop shop” for the purpose of keeping them realistic for most busy people. With that being said, if you can make this cheaper, then even better!

Moving on, here is a list & picture of the ingredients:

1kg chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces

2 cups Tikka Masala curry paste

3 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil

2 large brown onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoon grated ginger

2 tablespoon crushed garlic

2 cup Basmati Rice

3 cups Stock Chicken

2 cups thick Greek-style yoghurt

1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves

1/2 cup finely chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup finely chopped cucumbers

And here are the directions:

-Combine the chicken and curry paste + ½ cup of yogurt in a ceramic bowl. Cover & refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight if you have time.

-Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat ghee or oil in a frying pan over medium heat until sizzling. Add onions. Cook for 15 minutes or until caramelised. Transfer half of chicken to an 8-cup capacity ovenproof casserole dish. Spoon half of onions over chicken.

-Place rice into a sieve. Rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Sprinkle rice evenly over onions. Then add another layer or two.

-Place stock into a microwave-safe jug. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 2 minutes or until hot. Pour stock over rice. Mix everything together evenly. Cover with foil then cover with a lid. Bake in the oven for 2 hours-2 ½ hours or until rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper.

For the raita:

-Chop up the mint, tomatoes and cucumbers. Add the remaining yogurt and mix it together. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Stir through the yoghurt.

Let me know if you try it! It’s so simple and delicious, and handy for meal prep as you can just reheat it in a microwave for lunches or dinners.

[caption id="attachment_292" align="alignnone" width="300"] SAMSUNG CSC[/caption]