Chicken Mandi

Start cooking opens one step at a time with read-aloud and hands-free voice control — “next”, “repeat”, “how much salt”, “timer 10 minutes”.

1. 1Clean and cut the chicken; marinate briefly with salt, turmeric and a little oil.
2. 2Rinse and soak basmati rice 20–30 minutes.
3. 3In a large pot, heat ghee/oil. Fry chopped onion until golden. Add minced garlic and green chillies and fry 1–2 min.
4. 4Add whole spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves) and ground spices (coriander, cumin). Stir until fragrant.
5. 5Add chicken pieces, brown lightly and add enough water/chicken stock to cover. Simmer until chicken is nearly cooked.
6. 6Remove chicken; measure remaining liquid and add soaked rice. Turn up the heat until boils, then reduce heat, cover and cook rice until almost done.
7. 7Return the chicken to the rice pot on top, cover tightly and steam on low for 10–15 min so flavors meld.
8. 8(Optional) For authentic smoky aroma: heat a small charcoal until red hot, lay the it on a small foil cup in the centre of the pot, add a tsp of butter/oil on the coal then cover immediately to trap smoke for 5–10 minutes.
9. 9Remove coal.
10. 10ServeScatter over fried onions, chopped coriander and serve with chutney or raita.