Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Recipes / South African / Chicken & lentil biryani for lazy cooks

Chicken & lentil biryani for lazy cooks

by Jeanne Horak on November 6, 2007 10 Comments in Main course - poultry, NaBloPoMo 2007, South African, South African products

Chicken biriyani

I am embarrassed to admit that, when I first met Nick 9 years ago, I did not eat curry.  Well, I ate my mom’s famous chicken curry (recipe sadly missing, otherwise I would be making it by the bucket), but that was more of a sweetly curry-flavoured chicken stew – think warm coronation chicken – and really not a proper curry.  Every time I had tried curry, it was of the take-the-roof-off-your-mouth hot and seriously unpleasant for those of a sensitive palate like myself.  But then I met Nick, who adores every kind of hot food known to man and eats Tabasco like sherbet.  The thin edge of the wedge was chicken korma, which was bearable with its coconut milk and almonds.  And then after a year or two, I began finding that too sweet.  From there I moved on to that UK favourite, chicken tikka masala.  And from there I made tentative forays into Balti curries, Thai curries and such like, discovering nuances of flavour I never knew existed.  A happy revelation and a slippery slope into curry eating!

Much has been written about biryani, a fragrant layered dish of rice, lentils and chicken/lamb/vegetables.  General consensus us that its origins lie in Persia rather than India.  It is a classic example of the Moghul cuisine of Northern India, part of the legacy that was left behind when the Moghul dynasty (a line of Muslim emperors descended from Tamerlane and Genghis Khan) ruled the Indian empire for over three centuries in the 16th to 19th centuries.  The Moghul cuisine displays strong Persian influences in its use of dried fruits, pistachio nuts, cashews and almonds in meat dishes, as well as liberal use of saffron and rosewater or its use of dairy products in meat dishes.  As you will see from the recipe, there appear to be a daunting number of steps involved in the preparation – anything assembled in layers and you just know every pot in your kitchen is going to be dirty by bedtime.  Which probably explains why traditionally, biryani is served on celebratory occasions like weddings and birthdays, not for a rainy Tuesday night in front of the TV.

So, given what I’ve just told you, how is it possible to have the biryani for lazy cooks, as described in the title of this post?

The secret is proudly South African Nice ‘n Spicy one-off spice recipe packs. If you love the taste of proper curry but the spices are a mystery to you; or if you understand the spices but don’t want to buy a big packet of spice that will then lie around your cupboard for months losing flavour, then these little babies are the answer. You get a piece of paper, roughly A5 size, and stapled to one side of the paper you will find four to six little sealed plastic packets of pre-measured spice mixes. Written on the other side, you will find easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions to make a particular dish. Things like “fry the onions and garlic in the a little oil together with the spices from the first packet. Add the chicken together with the spices from the second packet” and so forth. Couldn’t be easier, really! And the end result has turned out perfectly every time I’ve used one of these marvelous packs.

 

Nice n Spicy spice kits

 

Nice n Spicy spice kits

 

I was even more thrilled when I noticed that the business address printed on these packs is… in my hometown of Port Elizabeth! As it turns out, Nice ‘n Spicy is the brainchild of Vina and Gene Hayden. They used to own Valley Harvest, the best shop in town for exotic ingredients, including their collection of spices and the pre-measured spice packets for a single dish. Although they sold Valley Harvest in 1996, they are still in the spice trade with their retail outlet in Forest Hill where you can find things like Szechuan peppers, vanilla pods or juniper berries, should the occasion call for it. But they have mainly focused their business on their pre-measured spice packs which are available at their outlet and at many local supermarkets – but also around the world (Biltongmakers here in the UK stocks a full range).

 

 

So… what have I made using these wonderful packs? The recipe I’ve probably made the most is the Balti chicken curry and I have to say it is a total winner. Creamy, spicy and a real crowd pleaser – you can even make a vegetarian version, substituting butternut and chickpeas for the chicken. The bobotie turns out perfectly every time and has been made many a time for our friends here in London. The roasted vegetable curry is a hit, Nick swears by the masala and Vindaloo and I love the seafood curry. And most recently I made their chicken biryani which was spectacular. It seems that, whatever pack you choose, you can’t really go wrong.

Which is why I bring them back by the truckload every time I visit home – in fact, my suitcase is redolent with the smell of exotic spices because of the number of these packets I’ve brought over to England in my luggage over the years.  If those little customs spaniels at Heathrow ever get a good sniff at my suitcase, they’re in for a big surprise 🙂

If, on the other hand, you aren’t a) as lazy as I am or b) lucky enough to have a handy stockist of Nice & Spicy spice recipe packs, you can do a lot worse than turning to the excellent Cass Abrahams’ Cooks Cape Malay, which is where the recipe below is taken from.

 

 

CHICKEN & LENTIL BIRYANI (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

4 cups basmati rice
1 stick cassia and 2 cardamom pods
salt to taste
1 cup brown lentils
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and halved
1 kg chicken pieces, bone in
125g butter
250ml water
a generous pinch of saffron

FOR THE MARINADE:
500ml natural yoghurt
1 can shopped tomatoes
2 sticks cinnamon
4 allspice berries
6 cloves
15ml ground cumin
10ml ground coriander
5ml turmeric
5ml crushed ginger
10ml crushed garlic
30ml masala powder & salt to taste

Method:

Boil the rice, cassia, cardamom and salt in sufficient water to cover.  Drain and set aside  when cooked.  Boil lentils in sufficient water to cover until almost soft.  Drain and set aside.

Fry onions in oil till golden, remove witha slotted spoon and set aside.  Fry potatoes in the same oil until golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Wash chicken, pat dry and place in a large bowl with half the fried onions.  Make the marinade and cover chicken pieces with the marinade.  Leave for at least one hour.

Pour the oil used for frying into a large saucepan.  Sprinkle 500ml of rice over the oil, then arrange the chicken in its marinade over the rice.  Layer the lentils, potatoes and the rest of the rice over the meat.

Arrange the remaining onions over the rice and sprinkle saffron over it.  Dot with butter, pour water over and close the saucepan tightly.

Cook for 10 minutes over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is tender.

Follow me every day in November as I complete National Blog Posting Month – a post a day, every day, for 30 days! Here are all my NaBloPoMo ’07 posts so far.

More deliciousness for you!

  • Margherita pizza grilled cheese sandwichesMargherita pizza grilled cheese sandwiches
  • Sensationally simple beef raguSensationally simple beef ragu
  • Kousa mahshi (Lebanese stuffed courgettes)Kousa mahshi (Lebanese stuffed courgettes)
  • Chicken with tomato, olives and capers from “Hazan Family Favourites”Chicken with tomato, olives and capers from “Hazan Family Favourites”

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« Waiter, there’s something in my… topless tart!
J-E-A-N-N-E spells… »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Pille says

    November 6, 2007 at 7:47 pm

    Those spice-packets are neat!! Lovely-looking & comforting dish. The temperatures have fallen to ca 0 Celsius here, so something heartwarming like your biryani would be excellent..

    Reply
  2. johanna says

    November 6, 2007 at 8:17 pm

    wish you had posted this earlier, am waiting for an indian take-out/delivery as we speak. have never tried biryani and was tempted by it today, but stuck with the safe choices… tikka masala for chris and jalfrezi for myself! i like it hot, too!!

    Reply
  3. Claude-Olivier says

    November 6, 2007 at 8:38 pm

    Oh I was looking for this kind of recipe! I love all sort of curries, indian, thai and so one. Let test yours once 😉
    Cheers

    Reply
  4. Charlotte says

    November 6, 2007 at 11:20 pm

    And we’ve just finished our last pack of Nice ‘n Spicy. Now we are going to wait for our next SA visitor.

    Reply
  5. andreea says

    November 7, 2007 at 12:18 pm

    ah, i have a pack of these! they’re the best spice mix/ pack i ever got. friend of mine is from SA, lives now in Brussels, so everytime she goes back – i get a pack of nice’n’spicy 🙂

    Reply
  6. bee says

    November 7, 2007 at 5:55 pm

    dear jeanne,
    your biryani looks yum. what brits call ‘curry’ and what we indians call ‘curry’ are different animals.
    explained here:
    http://jugalbandi.info/2007/04/a-curry-and-a-kingfisher-please/

    Reply
  7. Sarah Pipilini says

    November 8, 2007 at 3:41 pm

    Hello My Cardamom Pod!
    I read this entry into food blog and felt I just had to give you a report back on things epicurian from your home town. The Valley Harvest place you and I so fondly remember has been taken over by a new crowd. They clearly hate food and have embarked on a one-way ticket to self destruction as the service, quality and quantity of what they have to offer has gone, ahem, to hell.
    Also, I don’t know if you recall, but they had a delightful assortment of health foods and bags of grainy stuff that neither you nor I had ever dreamt of indulging in? Well, sadly, that too has all gone!
    So, alas, like their bible-punching-religous-zealot neighbours who share the same name, I do believe they have condemed themselves to eternal culinary damnation.
    Love and kisses from the heart of my bottom,
    Sarah.
    PS: Don’t you DARE delete this post this time OK?

    Reply
  8. Jeanne says

    November 8, 2007 at 4:30 pm

    Hi Pille
    Below zero already?? Yikes! Estonia is not for sissies like me 🙂 We have been having the most amazing mild autumn here, but I think all that is changing today. I can highly recommend this recipe – it’s interestingly spicy rather than burning hot and it certainly looks intriguing when you serve it in its many layers. And the spice packets are the BEST! Will try to remember to bring back extra for you when I go home in Feb.
    Hi Johanna
    You should have asked 😉 Anyway, even though our Brit curries aren’t authentic as far as Indian cooks are concerned, they are a special little cuisine all on their own, with their own conventions, and can be tremendously comforting on a cold night. Hope you had a good meal!
    Hi Claude-Olivier
    As I said above, the nice thing about this curry is the warm, fragrant flavour, not burn-your-tongue heat. If you cook a big batch you can layer half and then keep the rice, lentils and chicken separately in the fridge – the flavours just improve overnight.
    Hi Andreea
    Hey – that’s great! Glad to hear other Saffers are spreading the word about these amazing and foolproof packets. I swear by them…
    Hi Bee
    LOL – I believe so! We had the lovely Padmaja from Spicyandhra down in London a few months ago to teach us Indian cooking and it was a world of different tastes. What with NaBloPoMo, I might even get to blog about it this month!!
    Hi Sarah
    Ooooh, did we not take our medication this morning?! 😛

    Reply
  9. myfrenchkitchen says

    November 10, 2007 at 12:51 pm

    I can never wait for winter to show up…ONLY for a nice curry and a “bredie” (the Afrikaans word just sounds so warm…)Your chicken biryani looks divine!
    ronell

    Reply
  10. Tougiedah says

    June 15, 2015 at 11:32 am

    Must the rice be fully cooked. Will it not be to soft if it should simmer for an hour

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Oxtail and red wine potjie
My big, fat South African potato bake
Beef, broccoli and udon noodle stir fry from "The Japanese Larder" by Luiz Hara
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!

Featured on

Also available on

The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a 7 metre diameter scale model of the moon suspended in the Painted Hall at the  @oldroyalnavalcollege in Greenwich this week, by @lukejerramartist. A surreal and fabulous sight!
Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT