Crock Pot (Slow cooker) - Dum Biryani

Note: If you dont have a slow cooker, you can always use a regular rice cooker but it wont be real Dum Biryani. Cooking time mentioned below also varies in that case.

Ingredients and preparation *
Serve 2 to 3 person


Step 1.
Chicken - 2 lb, small/medium size
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tbsp
salt as required
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 and a half tbsp
Curd -1 and a half spoon
Wash chicken for 3 change of water and add other ingredients given above. Leave it to set for 1 hr.


Step 2.
Onion -1 and 1/4 red onion, Straight cut
Cooking oil -1/2 cup
Now heat oil in a pan/kadai. Deep fry the onions and set aside. Leave the oil to cool.


Step 3.
Red chilly powder -1 tbsp
Coriander powder -1 tbsp
Garam masala 1/4 tbsp
Green chillies -4, slit them
Mint -1/2 cup
Coriander leaves -1/2 cup
Oil -left over from step 2
Now add all the above ingredients to the chicken marinated before. Leave it to rest at least for 2 to 3hrs. Longer the time it sets increases the taste of the biryani.


Step 4.
Lime(medium) - 1 nos


Step 5.
Basmathi rice -1 and a half cup
Salt -1/2 spoon
Cardamom, Bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves
Boil 4 to 5 cup of water in a big pot. Add all other ingredients given above to it. When the rice is half cooked strain the water and set the rice aside.

Step 6. CROCK POT
NOTE: Transfer the chicken to the bottom, then sprinkle fried onions/Tomato on it. Next spread half quantity rice on it, next spread onions and then with left over rice again. Make 5 to 6 holes and pour lime juice into it. cover with lid. Set the cooker to cook for 4 hrs. Don't open the cooked often. After 4 hrs switch it off and fold rice and chicken with spatula without breaking the rice. Serve biryani with Onion raita, boiled eggs.

Burden dropped !!

Today I was fully busy seeking a new flat for myself. I went to a close by hotel and was waiting for the broker to come as we had already discussed about my requirements and the meeting point. I was hoping that at least this one will show me something good because prior to that I had been trying with few other brokers but nobody was able to actually show me even close to my expectations. Which was really frustrating and annoying.

It must be 3 pm in the afternoon and I was sitting on my standstill motor bike. I was kind of frustrated after waiting for 15 minutes for that broker guy to show up. In between these 15 minutes I called him up twice on his cell phone but every time the response I got was him on the way to meet me up and he is gone take another 2 minutes to reach.

I was waiting in front of this darshini(small hotel) and I observed a good amount of rush. In Bangalore one can see these darshinis every here and there, which sometimes make me wonder if people have stopped preparing food at home :)

I was really getting bored so I called up one of my friend staying close by. While I was busy in chitchatting with her an old man came from nowhere to me. He looked old, dark and pale. He tried to tell me something in kannada(probably). I just ignored him continuing with my chitchat.

Now he realized that I really didnt get what he really trying to convey me, so he started to explain me in his broken hindi. He told me that he didnt get any work from morning and was very hungry. While I still continued with the ongoing chitchat I also looked at him to try to see if he really was a needful person. He asked me 10 rs to buy chapatis from darshini. For a moment I though that he might be like any other beggar who would just ask for money telling some or other problems. This was the time when I decided to ignore him but then something clicked my mind. Those words "I didnt get any work since morning" and I decided to help him. My initial thoughts were still striking my mind again and again saying he may be a lier and given 10rs to him he would go to the next person telling the same needs and asking for more money. But what if he was telling the truth and If was really very hungry. I really believe and try to follow the parable which says help only the truly deserving. So I finally decided to help him but not in his way but in my decided way.

I went to the counter of darshini and asked for chapati-sabji which cost me 24rs. I took the coupon and gave it to him and pretended like if I was done. After a couple of minutes he had his order in his plate. He sat nicely on one of the tables and started having it. I was still waiting for the broker to turn up and had a look at the old man. He looked to be busy with his food.

I though one can probably never decide if a person is genuinely needy or not but I am sure that everyone must try to follow the parable I stated above. I could have given him 10rs and would have felt cheated or I could have said no to him and carried a burden with me. But I added few more bucks to the amount he asked for and dropped possibility of the burden of either cases which I would have been if done otherwise.