(Video for this recipe is available only on My Malayalam Channel)

What is Manjali Biryani?

Manjali / Manjaly is a small village in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. Manjali is famous for Halwa (sweet) and more recently a variety of Biryani. My sister in law is also from there. So here’s the story! A few years ago, a new style of popular hotel food came into existence, and this is the Manjali Biryani.

Kerala has so many varieties of Biryani. The Malabar varieties claim to be the most sought after. However, each district has its own delicious Biryanis and I am not one to frown upon any of them.  So, living in Singapore, I had not tasted this Biryani yet. Last time I went on vacation, however, I managed to try one of the more popular ones. (Yes there are many hotels and home caterers now, who serve this Biryani in a similar fashion. It is even sold behind small vans on the roadside, and still gets lots of customers).

So at first, I was super surprised that this Biryani is actually Ghee Rice and Chicken/Meat masala on the side.  It is not a ‘Dum’ Biryani. Rice and Masala are cooked separately and just served together.

However, it was very yummy actually – the rice can be served over the masala on each individual plate, and it looks just like a Biryani, or you can just serve it separately. The rice is nicely scented (Kaima rice is used and cooked with garlic ). The masala, a rich, tasty and velvety gravy. Thec chicken pieces really soak in the masala flavour. As I had it, I noted down the layers of flavours and already had a pretty good idea, how it is made. I watched a video where a hotel, shows you the process and followed the recipe, but I did not get the same result as the one I had. Later, I had a go at it again with my gut feeling combined with some ideas from the video.

This time it was really yummy. The girls and I loved it. We had the remaining Biryani the next day and the platter was polished off, literally licked the platter clean! I suggest using the freshest chicken only for this recipe.

Watch Video and Scroll below for Recipe.

Manjali Biryani

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Watch the Video or click to read Complete Recipe – Link Below. 

How to make Manjali Biryani- Recipe at a glance:

• Marinate the chicken with simple ingredients for 20 minutes.
• Saute onion and the other ingredients for the masala patiently for about 15 minutes.
• Cook the marinated chicken in 3 simple stages according to the recipe. The chicken is cooked in the last stage along with the masala.
• Prepare the fragrant, unique. style of Ghee Rice.

Ingredients:

Marinating the Chicken:

• 1 1/2 kg chicken (pieces suitable for Biryani)
• 1 Tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp Hot chilli powder
• 3/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt

Masala:

• 1/4 cup Ginger
• 1/2 cup Garlic (Indian garlic prefered)
• 6 medium Onions
• Coconut oil and Sunflower oil for frying about 1/3 cup each for light shallow frying
• 2-3 sprigs, fresh curry leaves
• 4 small-sized or 3 large Tomato, sliced thinly
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 3 Tbsp Coriander powder
• 3/4 Tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala (I recommend my recipe-see notes)
• 1/2- 3/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed, Lime juice
• 1 tsp Ghee

Rice:

• 4 cups Kaima /Jeerakasala rice
• 4 Tbsp Ghee
• 1 onion, sliced
• 5 extra-large cloves of Garlic ground with 1/4 cup water
• 2 small sticks of Cinnamon
• 4 Green Cardamom 4-5 Cloves
• 1 Star Anise broken
• 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
• 3 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 cup pineapple cubes
• FULL RECIPE BELOW – click link

It is recommended that you open the recipe page and keep this page going if you like to WATCH / LISTEN to the video alongside the written instructions.

Key Ingredients: Chicken, Rice(Kaima), Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Tomato, Coriander leaves, Curry leaves, Lime, Ghee, Oil, Coconut oil, Spices ( powders and whole spices), Pineapple and Carrot.

EAT AND TELL!!! Let us know if you tried –  Manjali Biryani

Mail me your pics and testimonials 🙂 – recipesaresimple@gmail.com

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