Quick & Easy Fruity Chicken Biryani

This week marks the 19th National Curry week (10th-16th October), and to celebrate I'm sharing my recipe for a quick and easy Fruity Chicken Biryani. Whilst a Biryani isn't exactly a curry, it does use spices found in many curries that we eat here in the UK, such as Korma, Tikka Masala and Madras, and is popular in Indian restaurants and takeaways - why get a takeaway when you can make a fakeaway in just 15 minutes!

Friday night is our usual night for a curry, and I will admit that the sauce usually comes from a jar, due to time constraints. This dish was loved by all of the family and, despite using whole spices, was cooked in less time than it usually takes to cook a curry from a jar, and tasted so much fresher too.

Microwaveable rice is an absolute godsend when you're making meals in a hurry, as you can have perfectly cooked, tasty rice in just 2 minutes. Veetee have a wide range of microwaveable rice including Chinese style, Mexican style and plain long grain rice. I decided to use Pilau rice in this dish as it's not only infused with cumin and spices, but it's a great colour too.

Quick & Easy Fruity Chicken Biryani - serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

handful of cashew nuts

handful jumbo raisins/golden sultanas

seeds from 4 cardamom pods

tsp cumin seeds

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2cm fresh ginger, peeled & grated

2 tbsp mango chutney

3 roast chicken breasts, skin removed & shredded

2 packs of Veetee Pilau rice

handful of fresh coriander, chopped

• heat the oil in a large pan
• add the onion and fry over a high heat until the edges start to brown
• add the cashews and continue to cook until onions and cashews are browned 
• turn the heat down and stir in the raisins/sultanas
• crush the cardamom & cumin seeds and add to the pan along with the garlic and ginger
• fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly
• stir in the mango chutney and shredded chicken 
• place the lid on whilst heating the rice in the microwave (as per directions on the pack)
• stir the rice into the pan along with the chopped coriander
• serve immediately

Lots of lovely juicy fruit bits from the sultanas, raisins and mango chutney, along with crunchy nuts and moist chicken.

This recipe has been commissioned for Veetee